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Poll: Does the completion of certified courses on translation guarantee more and better jobs?
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ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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May 23, 2022

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Does the completion of certified courses on translation guarantee more and better jobs?".

This poll was originally submitted by Jenitta jaffrine Vernest. View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Португалија
Local time: 15:14
Член (2007)
англиски на португалски
+ ...
Other is missing May 23, 2022

I wonder what is meant by a certified course on translation? Anyway, either you have completed a course or you haven’t. If you haven’t, you can’t compare the before and the after and you won’t be able to say if it has guaranteed more and better jobs.

Ana Vozone
Josephine Cassar
Ian Keith Jones Williams
Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
neilmac
expressisverbis
Kay Denney
 
Ana Vozone
Ana Vozone  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:14
Член (2010)
англиски на португалски
+ ...
No, not really May 23, 2022

I have a specific "Specialized Translator Course" (3 years - ISLA - Lisbon 1973) and it has not guaranteed more and better jobs. In fact, throughout my career, I have "competed" with colleagues who have very different courses, often full graduate 4- or 5-year courses) from engineering to medical to language/literature.

As a rule, clients do not ask me about my academic qualifications, they ask me about my experience and often ask me to do small tests to prove my skills.

... See more
I have a specific "Specialized Translator Course" (3 years - ISLA - Lisbon 1973) and it has not guaranteed more and better jobs. In fact, throughout my career, I have "competed" with colleagues who have very different courses, often full graduate 4- or 5-year courses) from engineering to medical to language/literature.

As a rule, clients do not ask me about my academic qualifications, they ask me about my experience and often ask me to do small tests to prove my skills.

The only exceptions are probably European Union bodies and other international organizations where applications have become extremely burocratic and complex, and where applicants are required to have "official" language skills (but not necessarily translator courses) when applying for positions as "linguists".
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Robert Rietvelt
Ian Keith Jones Williams
Jorge Payan
Philip Lees
 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Холандија
Local time: 16:14
англиски на холандски
+ ...
No May 23, 2022

Obtaining the Diploma in Translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists gave me more confidence as a translator. In the course I did I also learned some useful tricks and insights. Although some potential clients have asked me about my qualifications, others have not. I would say it is certainly no guarantee, but it may help convince some potential clients that you know what you are doing.

Rachel Waddington
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
Обединето Кралство
Local time: 15:14
холандски на англиски
+ ...
Not necessarily May 23, 2022

I would focus on courses that you believe will make you a better translator. Clients won't necessarily care what courses you have done, but they do care whether you can consistently deliver top-quality work.

At best, an impressive course will get you a foot in the door. The rest is up to you.


Josephine Cassar
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Република Чешка
Local time: 16:14
француски на англиски
+ ...
Not really May 23, 2022

I do have professional credentials, but hardly any clients are asking for them, and those that do are in fact less likely to give you any serious work than those that don't. Enough said.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Robert Rietvelt
Josephine Cassar
Ian Keith Jones Williams
Nathalie Bullen
Thayenga
Jorge Payan
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Малта
Local time: 16:14
Член (2012)
англиски на малтешки
+ ...
Or May 23, 2022

Anton Konashenok wrote:

I do have professional credentials, but hardly any clients are asking for them, and those that do are in fact less likely to give you any serious work than those that don't. Enough said.

Or use them for some tender and never give you work. However, experience in your speciality fields does lead to work so that is what counts in my opinion and delivering quality and respecting deadlines and a professional relationship.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Ian Keith Jones Williams
polishedwords
 
Paulinho Fonseca (X)
Paulinho Fonseca (X)  Identity Verified
Бразил
Local time: 11:14
англиски на португалски
+ ...
In my case, it has made a difference. May 23, 2022

Although I agree with some colleagues regarding competing with 'non-qualified' translators and interpreters.
XD


 
neilmac
neilmac
Шпанија
Local time: 16:14
шпански на англиски
+ ...
Other May 23, 2022

It might.

Speaking from experience, I've never done any type of translation course, but I get enough work.


Philip Lees
 
It will help initially May 23, 2022

Back when we recruited and outsourced, we would look for candidates with a translation qualification.

Not only can you get an idea of general aptitude from their grades, and especially from their referees, but they will have had more practice in some rather important things that "subject experts" often struggle with at first, such as understanding the source language, writing the target language and proofreading their work.


Rachel Waddington
expressisverbis
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
Франција
Local time: 16:14
француски на англиски
. May 23, 2022

I can't say that it gave me access to more or better jobs, because I was working in-house at the time.
What I can say is that it erased all trace of the irrational imposter syndrome I suffered from.
And I felt far more comfortable launching myself as a freelancer knowing that I could point to my master's from the best school in France. Although none of my clients have actually asked me about it, since most of them already knew me in some capacity or other.
It certainly didn
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I can't say that it gave me access to more or better jobs, because I was working in-house at the time.
What I can say is that it erased all trace of the irrational imposter syndrome I suffered from.
And I felt far more comfortable launching myself as a freelancer knowing that I could point to my master's from the best school in France. Although none of my clients have actually asked me about it, since most of them already knew me in some capacity or other.
It certainly didn't improve my translation skills, since I obtained it on the strength of my professional experience rather than slogging away at uni for two years.
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Robert Forstag
Robert Forstag  Identity Verified
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 10:14
шпански на англиски
+ ...
A hill of beans May 23, 2022

In many language pairs, having a translation-related degree and/or one or more certifications essentially puts you in a position to compete with tens of thousands of others with similar qualifications for poorly paid gigs that that might, in the best of cases, lead to more opportunities for similarly poorly paid gigs with the assigning agencies.

Jorge Payan
Matthias Brombach
 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Германија
холандски на германски
+ ...
Other May 23, 2022

Personal relationships to contract teachers ("sub lecturers") at your University (at least mine, a small University of Applied Sciences here in the provincial north of Germany) make the difference whether you get contacts to end clients or not. Forget about your diploma, background experience, KudoZ points, or education: Only personal contacts pay at the end of the day.

The Shredder
Jorge Payan
 
Gennady Lapardin
Gennady Lapardin  Identity Verified
Руска Федерација
Local time: 17:14
италијански на руски
+ ...
unrelated things May 24, 2022

these are absolutely unrelated things: being a [certified] professional and being a well-paid person, ask Omar Khayyam about it )

expressisverbis
Jorge Payan
 
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)  Identity Verified
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 07:14
шпански на англиски
+ ...
Sometimes May 24, 2022

When I used to hire translators, some of the best were ones who had graduated from a multi-year course at a serious university. A certificate for taking a single course means a lot less.

The Shredder
 
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Poll: Does the completion of certified courses on translation guarantee more and better jobs?






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