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You are here: Home / For Translators / Starting up in translation / How I became a translator

How I became a translator

by Sarah Dillon

First published in March 2006

I always wanted to work for myself and after sampling the delights of a couple of different industries, I realised that translation would offer me a good way to do this. Although this wasn’t a career I had given much thought to during my primary education, I did have some idea of what was involved as I had covered commercial translation and interpreting as part of my BA in Applied Languages (not to be confused with a degree in modern languages!).

So I spent months reading everything I could about what it meant to be a professional freelance translator and the best way to start up, and decided that enrolling on a course would be the best way for me to build on my experience and further develop the skills required (although I realised, of course, that there are some very successful translators who are not formally qualified in translation).

I quickly realised from my reading that specialisation was the way to go if I truly wanted to make a living as a freelance translator. Based on this, I chose a course that would introduce me to a range of areas which I could then decide to specialise in as I grew more experienced (more about this in another post!). I then made what I now believe to be the best decision of all: I decided to do the 1 year course part time over 2 years. This allowed me to work at building up a small client base, while ensuring I had the time and flexibility to fully benefit from the expertise of the teaching staff. (I was also more than a little aware that it also meant I could make a quick getaway if I decided that the course was not for me, without losing too much time or money…)

I finished the course in 2004, and after working for a management consultancy for a year, I had saved enough money to go freelance full time. The contacts I had made over the previous 3 years proved invaluable, and I’m proud to say I’ll be celebrating 12 months of full-time freelancing in May.

Last updated: 23 March, 2006 by Sarah Dillon. Filed Under: Starting up in translation

About Sarah Dillon

Sarah Dillon is an Irish cailín in Brisbane, Australia. She arrived Down Under via Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, and the UK, having originally trained as a professional translator. Sarah has been involved in the start-up phases of several international small businesses as a founder, advisor and director, and has worked for companies such as Apple Computers, Audi AG and Bain and Company. She is currently pursuing a PhD in international business. Read more about Sarah here.

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  1. Apprenticeships for translators: some thoughts says:
    8 November, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    […] valuable of all, I deliberately chose a translation degree which included plenty of hands-on translation work with practising translators […]