Formal Education and Its Importance to a Translator

Formal Education and Its Importance to a Translator

One of the questions you may have been asking yourself is whether or not a degree is important to your career as a translator. This is a common question that people ask as they consider a career in translation or as they advance up the company ladder.

If you are wondering if formal education is important to your career, you will want to ask around and see what those that are successful in your field are saying. Asking your boss, your mentor, or even your human resources department can be very helpful in deciding how important a degree can be to career advancement in the field of translation.

Doing some online research can also be helpful. You can probably find statistic of who gets hired or advanced in your field and what percentage have a formal education or degree or not. This can also be valuable in helping your make your decision.

Something else you will want to consider is whether formal education will help you make more money in comparison to the cost of the program. Understanding how much a degree or other types of formal education will costs in relation to how much more companies pay someone with a degree will be good information to have. You may find that the cost of the program is much more than the small amount more a company will pay you for having the degree.

However, if there is a particular company you want to work for you may want to contact them directly to find out if they require any type of formal education. If you are currently employed as a translator, you will want to ask those higher up in your company whether formal education will be required for advancement. Taking all this information into account can help you make an educated decision on whether formal education is necessary for your career in translation.

-By Adriana Tassini

The following Translator Q & A is part of our Translator FAQ Series.Question:Answer: Learn more:Tags: