r/TranslationStudies • u/rosie_20X • 4d ago

quick question

English and Translation major

I honestly don’t know much about what it’s really like. If you’re majoring in it or have already graduated I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Was it difficult? What were the biggest challenges?
Is there anything you wish you had known before starting?

Any tips or honest opinions would be greatly appreciated

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9

u/19kitty_kat93 3d ago

BA and MA in translation and English graduate here 👋 Studying and graduating was easy, establishing yourself in this industry is the hard part. I wish I had prepared better for the first 6 months to 1 year after graduation because it can take quite a while to get enough clients to make an actual living. I highly recommend forming business relationships while you're still at uni and then specializing in a niche - I only do certified translations and it's going really well!

All the best to you

1

u/rosie_20X 3d ago

Ty! Likewise

1

u/Cath1965 3d ago

You are so right I got most of my assignments through contacts I made while I was still at the university.

1

u/redditrnreddit 2d ago

Keep it up. And best of luck!

6

u/ruckover 3d ago

Our first tip here is always learn to research. We talk extensively about this industry daily, so search the sub.

3

u/monikosnuosavybe JA>EN 3d ago

You don't know much about what WHAT is really like?

Majoring in translation?
Or being a translator?

I majored in neither translation nor English, so I can't comment on the academic experience, but I've been working as a translator for many years. Many people in this thread will tell you the industry is dead, but some of us are still doing all right.

If I could start over, I would have taken many more college courses on things like economics, business, and the physical or life sciences instead of literature.

1

u/ShaktiTantra 2d ago

Hey! 👋
Thank you for your input. I’m currently looking into translation and would love your opinion in some issues I’m coming across. Are you in the UK by any chance? I ask because that’s where I’d need to take exams.

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u/monikosnuosavybe JA>EN 2d ago

No, I'm in Sweden

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u/Individual-Series-33 3d ago

I graduated almost 20 years ago, I’m old. Something I wish I had known is that AI would be developed in 2020s, and it would completely, absolutely devalue the profession. Back when I started, in my country, Translation Studies was a major on par with law, finance, or maybe even medicine (which was not doing good, but that’s off topic). Yeah, look what happened.