Job Discussion Forums

[Samurai Blur]

I suppose all I can get is general answers for this.
I'm leaving to a new University to finish my last two years of college and there are quite a few foreign language programs for me to minor in when I get there. I'm pretty unsure right now, but am leaning toward studying German. Getting to the point, my major is English, and I would like to do some ESL teaching for awhile, but ultimately I really want to be a translator. Being an American and seeing how it's a bit difficult for non-EU citizens to get jobs in Germany, I would like to get a general idea of what my chances of landing a translating job in Germany would be, after I graduate.

Any input?

[JN]

I don't know how qualified I am to advise you, but I think you would have to be fairly fluent in German to land a translation job. There are many highly qualified translators in Germany-both Germans and native English speakers. I did a couple of internships, but didn't go into translation. I don't know your background, as far as foreign languages. You might also decide if there is a certain area that you would like to do translation in, e.g. business, auto parts, medicine, etc. Of course, I would just concentrate on learning the language first.
I think I would try to learn German very well and then apply to a school for a Master's in translation.
Perhaps someone else has better ideas than me, but that is my opinion. Hope this helps some.

[spiral78]

I don't know about all aspects of the field, but we work with official translators here for corporations and for general documents relating to a large international university.

Corporations normally hire certified professional translators, as documents must meet a legal standard.
For the uni, my friend is the manager of the translations dept. She hires only people with post-grad related quals - the chance of making errors in meaning make it pretty demanding.

Proof-reading and editing (in your native language) is a bit more likely than translations, unless you've got really high level skills.

I'm not in Germany, but just over the border in the Netherlands, so perhaps things are radically different in Germany - but probably not.

[Minny]

You can always try freelancing using websites like these. Normally if you find an agency that is interested they will send you a test document first and if they are happy with the translation they will give you more work.

http://www.translatorsbase.com/

http://www.translationdirectory.com/

http://www.proz.com/

http://translatorscafe.com/cafe/default.asp

It's tough going though most people I know do translations for a bit of extra pocket money in between the weird ESL teaching schedules they get but they don't have formal qualifications. The couple of people I know who do it for a living have formal translation qualifications and struggled to get them, the exams I have heard are extremely difficult and I know a few very fluent bi-lingual people (they grew up speaking both English and German) who have failed.

[scot47]

For translating and interpreting you need to have an extremely high level of competence in both languages.

Doing German as a secondary subject at college level might be a first step - but you will still have a long way to go !

[smithrn1983]

Translation jobs in Germany are hard to come by because the market is very competitive, and as others have said, being fluent in the language is not enough.

I tried to get into translating German a while back, but everyone wanted a master's degree in translation. Something to keep in mind if this is really something you want to do. Most professional translators also specialise in one field or another, and you need to have a good understanding of that field as well, in addition to native-like competency in a foreign language.

If your goal is to be a translator, you might look at the markets for translating different languages before choosing the one you want to study. Not only is Germany full of professional, certified translators with post-graduate degrees, but most educated Germans speak English with a high level of proficiency, and do not need translations in a number of cases.

Choosing a language whose speakers are less likely to speak English, and where there are fewer certified translators might make it easier for you to get into translating, and you'll have more opportunities later on.