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aliaeli
Joined: 04 Jun 2008
Posts: 46
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 Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: translation for SEP |
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Where is a cheap place to get my degrees and transcripts translated that will be acceptable to meet SEP's standards?
What a nightmare, all my attempts to be progressive and well prepared are rendered useless. I find out I need to get my birth certificate and bachelors degree apostilled so I gladly do it ahead of time, and now that I am here I find out that I have to get them verified at the SEP. No where I read before said I needed that! And now they want my high school diploma appostillized? As far as I am concerned that thing went obsolete the moment I got my Bachelors.
Just venting.
The question is where can these documents translated and how much will it be costing me? |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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Just like any professional service, cheap translation can mean trouble. I suggest you put your documents in the hands of a professional perito traductor(a). I don't have the sello de perito, but do know a qualified person, feel free to PM for details.
How would you feel about a potential student posting "Where can I find a cheap place to get my English acceptable to meet ***** standards?" |
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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry for your trouble. Like Milenka says, no perito is cheap. They had to go to a lot of trouble to get perito status, and they charge accordingly.
And this is another example of varying standards on documentation required for immigration status. I had my degrees apostilled, and there was never any requirement to get them verified at the SEP. I did have to get the translations done by a perito traductor and I recall it costing some $200�400 MXN per document (some 7 years ago). |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Sorry to hear you're having all these problems. Where will you be working? For the SEP? That could be why no one here told you about all these translation requirements because it's unusual for foreigners to work at a SEP school. |
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aliaeli
Joined: 04 Jun 2008
Posts: 46
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for the information that I just need to find someone with the "sello de perito". I know a few people that do translation work here in the city, now I just need to find out if any of them have that sello. So thanks for the magic word.
So I can assume that SEP will accept a translated document by a person with this sello de perito?
Perhaps, "cheap" is poor wording. Perhaps I chose it because I was venting. Perhaps "reasonably priced" would be less confusing. |
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aliaeli
Joined: 04 Jun 2008
Posts: 46
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the ballpark figure notamiss.
MO39- I would like to teach at a SEP school. I am also applying for grad school for next year at Mexican Universities, so that is the main reason why I am looking to validate my degrees. |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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| aliaeli wrote: |
Perhaps, "cheap" is poor wording. Perhaps I chose it because I was venting. Perhaps "reasonably priced" would be less confusing. |
Thanks for your reply, aliaeli. It's a sore spot for me as I consider myself a translator, not someone who "does translations," meaning that in my book this is both a craft and a profession, and not something I do on the side or on my free time or while something better comes up. I guess many English teachers feel the same way about their work: the fact that someone speaks English doesn't magically make them teachers. The fact that someone is more or less bilingual and/or has good dictionaries doesn't magically make them translators.
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| Milenka wrote: |
It's a sore spot for me as I consider myself a translator, not someone who "does translations," meaning that in my book this is both a craft and a profession, and not something I do on the side or on my free time or while something better comes up.
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Milenka, I'd appreciate your point-of-view on this matter. I think that right now I am somewhere in between being someone who "does translations" (in addition to teaching English) and someone who is a professional translator. In your opinion, how do you know when you've gone from one to the other? |
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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:21 am Post subject: |
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| To find a perito traductor, you can check the yellow pages. http://www.seccionamarilla.com.mx/ or a hard copy. Look for keywords traductores or traducci�n. Some translation agencies mention that they can provide peritos, or you can contact them and ask. |
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Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: translation for SEP |
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| aliaeli wrote: |
| I find out I need to get my birth certificate and bachelors degree apostilled so I gladly do it ahead of time, and now that I am here I find out that I have to get them verified at the SEP. No where I read before said I needed that! And now they want my high school diploma appostillized? As far as I am concerned that thing went obsolete the moment I got my Bachelors. |
Interesting to say the least. The only school that I ever saw that asked for an apostilled high school diploma was Interlingua language schools. You said this is for the SEP, are you going to be teaching for a SEP school or in a private school incorporated with SEP?
I took my TEFL in Mexico so it didn't need to be apostilled, just translated into Spanish. The school's lawyer handled all of that. |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| MO39 wrote: |
| Milenka wrote: |
It's a sore spot for me as I consider myself a translator, not someone who "does translations," meaning that in my book this is both a craft and a profession, and not something I do on the side or on my free time or while something better comes up.
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Milenka, I'd appreciate your point-of-view on this matter. I think that right now I am somewhere in between being someone who "does translations" (in addition to teaching English) and someone who is a professional translator. In your opinion, how do you know when you've gone from one to the other? |
Hi MO,
I think there are several factors involved in being a translator and not someone who "does translation":
The most relevant difference is already expressed in my post: considering yourself a translator! I.e., not taking it as something on the side, to bring you extra cash every now and then, or while something better comes up. It has a lot to do with your own attitude toward the craft, art and profession that comes along with translation. I've seen it many, many times: people who "think" they can translate because they are pretty much bilingual or have great dictionaries, but have never been trained or have no experience. I know people with translation (or interpretation, for that matter) degrees who make lousy translators, and I know people who don't have a degree in it but are wonderful translators because they are experienced, attentive to detail, know how to deal with clients/agencies, respect the profession and either study on their own or take some training courses. Ideally, a professional translator combines training with experience, and is specialized in a certain field or number of fields. Specialization also gives you access to better rates because you can develop a niche of your own.
Going back to the attitude, translators always display a professional attitude (with clients/agencies, fellow colleagues, themselves and the work they're doing) regardless of how much they need the money (e.g., they may not be the breadwinners at home or be independently wealthy, but each and every project is treated as work and not with disdain because "I don't really need the money"... and this also applies to rates: know what your background, research skills, language skills, overhead and time are worth).
In response to your specific question, I don't think that it's so much a matter of it being your primary pesos-earning job, but rather how you go about it and how aware you are that your professionalism (or lack thereof) can not only affect you, but may also hurt the reputation of a whole group of people. You are a translator when you call yourself one... because you believe you are one! |
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MO39
Joined: 28 Jan 2004
Posts: 1970
Location: El ombligo de la Rep�blica Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:47 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks, Milenka, for a straightforward, thoughtful answer to my question. You've given me a lot to chew over... |
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Milenka
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 113
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: Translation as a profession |
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There's an excellent series of artciles by Roger Chriss that was compiled into a book (Translation as a Profession, you might want to buy it in the States or through Amazon). I found a link on these articles that still works:
http://gda.utp.edu.co/traductor/Documentacion/SitiosWeb/www.foreignword.com/Articles/Rogers/default.htm
p.s. Only the links to the first two articles work, but they make great reading material: The Profession and Life as a Translator. |
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Gab
Joined: 09 Apr 2008
Posts: 26
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:17 am Post subject: |
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Hi,
I'm wondering if it's absolutely necessary to have your degrees/certificates translated to get a working permit.
I'm planning on getting an FM3 independiente, or might work in a small or even chain language school.
Do I need my degrees/certificates translated to get a working permit?
Thanks |
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Samantha
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 2038
Location: Mexican Riviera
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| Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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| As long as they are legalized (or apostilled), you can always get them translated later if need be. It isn't required by my local immigration office to have such documents translated. |
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