Sarah's Archives

an archive of content from ≈ 2005 - 2015, relating to international business, translation, freelancing, and working online.

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Archives for 2012

Weighing up translation degrees: two oft-overlooked tips

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Professor LeviSome of the best translators I know don’t have a degree in translation, so they are certainly not a requirement to becoming a translator.

However, an  increasing number of newcomers to the profession are opting to pursue a formal (usually postgraduate) qualification in the field.

So when translator Lloyd Bingham put out the following call a few months back on Twitter, it set me thinking:

What should you keep in mind when weighing up whether a translation degree is for you? [Read more…]

53rd ATA Annual Conference: In Pictures

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I’m just back from the 53rd Annual Conference of the American Translators Association (ATA), which was held in San Diego 24 – 27 October this year. Here is a little conference round-up in images (written report to follow).

In the meantime, check out the conference Twitter feed and associated quotes, links and photos here.

New beginnings: personal and professional

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Well hello there! It’s been some time, as you may (or may not) have noticed.

Either way I’m back, a little wiser and a lot more refreshed, and I’ll be around for a while.

If you’ve been following me on Twitter or via my other business, you’ll know that I’ve been working on a Very Important Personal Project of late:

Baby Translator

Sarah’s Very Important Personal Project

Needless to say, this has been a period of a huge transition in my personal life, with a significant impact on my professional life too.

Transitional periods invariably make us re-examine our priorities. I’ve had to think long and hard about whether blogging is where I want to spend my precious time these days.

But blogging has never been a purely business exercise for me, and I’m keen to have a go at returning to a regular publishing schedule.

I’m curious to see how I’ll re-find my voice and re-negotiate a position for myself in what is now a very crowded space. With so many outstanding translation bloggers nowadays, it feels more intimidating than it ever did.

So I’ve decided to ditch all my expectations and just do what I enjoy most – write, and see what happens.

I’d be very interested to hear from other translators and interpreters: how have you handled transitional periods in your personal life, and specifically the impact they’ve had on your professional life?

**Apologies if you’ve noticed some funny goings-on with my website and blog this week. I’ve moved host and it’s revealed some interesting gremlins in the system**