| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Master's degree: is it considered by employers even if not recognized as a University one? Thread poster: Valentina Cigarini
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| Thank you Josephine! | Sep 15, 2022 |
Josephine Cassar wrote: Kay Denney wrote:
Things are changing though Phil! I mean, I started out without any higher education, I had just studied a little EN-FR translation in French language classes, but managed to really rock a translation test at an agency looking to hire someone in-house, because I happened to know all the technical terms since it was about one of my hobbies.
When it came to hiring another translator because I was a victim of my success, all applicants had at least a Master in translation, which barely existed when I started out. So anyone starting out now is competing against these people. If you have more applicants than jobs, you have to weed them out, and it's easy to weed out those lacking a diploma. Not only that but also the topics studied. For instance when I was at university when I started the MA in translation, the university had included CAT tools as the department felt these were necessary but now, it's included audio visual services as they are in great demand and literary translation. I think what's important is to have linguistic competence plus proven experience in the field you specialise in. If you're young, I think a degree is paramount but on its own, it's definitely not enough. University does not equip you for real life and you cannot expect to be given jobs just because you have a degree. Also you have to have some money put aside till you get enough jobs to be able to say you can support yourself and make it your career. Many students give up as they will need to find a job quickly after university.
You are absolutely right Josephine, thank you for adding to the description of today's situation!
For what I could see, the "easiest" way to get into the translation field today is to enroll in a University course that offers an internship, do that, and use that experience to get other jobs that require some (if the company/agency you did your internship with doesn't keep you). Doing an internship with the University, or exploiting the fact that many (most?) companies love to hire people who just came out of University, is of paramount importance. If I were cynical, I would go as far as saying that not doing an internship is a waste of your efforts to get a degree (and not just in the translation field).
[Modificato alle 2022-09-15 07:33 GMT]
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Valentina Cigarini wrote:
I am unsure which Master's to choose between a Master's by a University on Audiovisual translation and the Master's degree on Translation and new technologies by ISTRAD (actually the diploma will be by Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA)), because:
- While one is given by an actual University and is recognized so, the second one isn't (quoting the site: 'This master's is not part of an officially recognized degree program in accordance with art 4.4 del Decreto 84/2004 del 13/Mayo de la CAM –Art. 4.4 of Decree 84/2004 of May 13 of the Community of Madrid').
(...) will my Master's degree amount to nothing in the employers' eyes if it isn't recognized as a University one?
To answer my own question in case it becomes useful to somebody else, this is what the coordinators of the course wrote to me:
"This master program is considered valid by institutions and translation companies/agencies. In fact, many of our students do an internship and get a contract in these companies and agencies after. In Spain, there are two types of master degrees: the "official" ones, which allow students to enroll in a PhD program after graduating; and the ones which are not officially recognised but are equally valid as Master's programs and professionally. Students who graduate from these programs cannot enroll in PhD programs but the master is totally valid and qualifies the graduate to work in the translation industry."
The coordinators are incredibly professional, precise and good mannered, something that is incredibly rare to come by. I sent emails to ask for info about another two Masters to different universities, and the answers were awfully imprecise and messy. This might sound crazy, but if not even coordinators know how to write and answer properly, there is no chance I'm wasting my time and money on those courses. I do value this as one of the criteria to choose what is best.
Kudos to ISTRAD, I will definitely enroll in this course!
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 11:02
Member
English to Turkish
| Specialisation and degrees | Sep 15, 2022 |
I've never understood (and never will understand) why a doctor or an engineer would leave their well paid, secure job (with status, paid leave, guaranteed free time on weekends, in short a 'life') to take up translation to become medical or technical translators. They don't do that where I live (if you discount those lying through their teeth or having a medical/mechanical engineering degree, but zero real life work experience under their belt), maybe they do that in the first world countries or... See more I've never understood (and never will understand) why a doctor or an engineer would leave their well paid, secure job (with status, paid leave, guaranteed free time on weekends, in short a 'life') to take up translation to become medical or technical translators. They don't do that where I live (if you discount those lying through their teeth or having a medical/mechanical engineering degree, but zero real life work experience under their belt), maybe they do that in the first world countries or in major languages.
So here I am, a graduate of Political Science, translating pharmaceutical and clinical trials texts. I effing hate technical stuff, but I do get that sort of thing every now and then. Should I be frowned upon because Turkish doctors or engineers (most of whom can't speak proper English anyway) won't take up translating?
Unfortunately, native English speakers are not interesting in learning Turkish, and much less in moving to Turkey to become TR>EN translators (I'm willing to pay 10k if anybody can show me a British practicing lawyer that decided to quit his job to become a certified TR>EN legal translator in Turkey after having gone through a burnout syndrome). So somebody's gotta translate all that stuff from Turkish to English as well, hence you see people with dodgy gray N signs in their profiles (always the US English variety) trying pathetically to pass themselves off as native English speakers despite having never set foot outside Turkey.
Countries and language pairs do matter. Native English speakers and those living in the West seem to have a certain understanding of things (I don't blame them), but the realities differ for others majorly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 10:02
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| An internship can be important. | Sep 15, 2022 |
Valentina Cigarini wrote:
For what I could see, the "easiest" way to get into the translation field today is to enroll in a University course that offers an internship, do that, and use that experience to get other jobs that require some (if the company/agency you did your internship with doesn't keep you). Doing an internship with the University, or exploiting the fact that many (most?) companies love to hire people who just came out of University, is of paramount importance. If I were cynical, I would go as far as saying that not doing an internship is a waste of your efforts do get a degree (and not just in the translation field).
A (decent) translation internship is gold. You learn more in those few months than in the rest of your university or college career and if you are lucky you end up with a translation position in the same company after you've graduated, which is great to gain a lot of experience. I would strongly advice every aspiring freelancer to gain a few years of experience as an inhouse translator first. Translators that just graduated and immediately jump into freelancing are not ready at all, since most of the learning to become a good translator happens on the job. At least, that's my opinion and experience.
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| Thank you Lieven! | Sep 15, 2022 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
A (decent) translation internship is gold. You learn more in those few months than in the rest of your university or college career and if you are lucky you end up with a translation position in the same company after you've graduated, which is great to gain a lot of experience. I would strongly advice every aspiring freelancer to gain a few years of experience as an inhouse translator first. Translators that just graduated and immediately jump into freelancing are not ready at all, since most of the learning to become a good translator happens on the job. At least, that's my opinion and experience.
Thank you Lieven, this is a great piece of advice that never gets old. Learning from others while practicing and being supervised while doing so, makes all the difference.
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Baran Keki wrote:
I've never understood (and never will understand) why a doctor or an engineer would leave their well paid, secure job (with status, paid leave, guaranteed free time on weekends, in short a 'life') to take up translation to become medical or technical translators. They don't do that where I live (if you discount those lying through their teeth or having a medical/mechanical engineering degree, but zero real life work experience under their belt), maybe they do that in the first world countries or in major languages.
Everyone has their own necessities and likes/dislikes, there cannot be a one-fits-all answer. To give a random example: I have heard translators with expertise in those fields gain lots of money, and they might prefer a freelance translation career than being a doctor, which can be incredibly stressful. Not that being a translator isn't so, but it is a different kind of stress, I guess. You also enjoy far more freedom of choice, as a freelance translator (at least I think). But I see what you mean with this statement.
Baran Keki wrote:
So here I am, a graduate of Political Science, translating pharmaceutical and clinical trials texts. I effing hate technical stuff, but I do get that sort of thing every now and then. Should I be frowned upon because Turkish doctors or engineers (most of whom can't speak proper English anyway) won't take up translating?
(...)
Countries and language pairs do matter. Native English speakers and those living in the West seem to have a certain understanding of things (I don't blame them), but the realities differ for others majorly.
If this is true for your language pairing, I would hope that those who choose you for the job would at the very least understand/know the context. If they do not, well... the only way out is to enlighten them. It is very easy to get frustrated at ignorance, but it would just hinder us to become angry. To give a common example: who here has not rolled their eyes at random people offering an interpreting job, even if you offer just translation, because they do not know the difference?
To summarize, your opinion is: a Master's in translation has no meaning for the English - Turkish language pair, when dealing with medical/technical texts. Is my assumption correct?
[Modificato alle 2022-09-15 08:05 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 11:02
Member
English to Turkish
Valentina Cigarini wrote:
To summarize, your opinion is: a Master's in translation has no meaning for the English - Turkish language pair, when dealing with medical/technical texts. Is my assumption correct?
[Modificato alle 2022-09-15 08:05 GMT]
Though I didn't state one in my earlier post, but my opinion is that a Master's in translation has no meaning in any language pair or in any field of specialization. But don't let this put you off if you have the time and money (and of course the desire).
Lieven is right. The best education is an in-house position. I did that for a decade and I regret having done it for so long (I had good mates and banter at the office which kept me in the job). Work as an in-house for 2 years at most to learn the ropes and then break into freelancing would be my advice.
| | | | | Thank you Baran! | Sep 15, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote:
Lieven is right. The best education is an in-house position. I did that for a decade and I regret having done it for so long (I had good mates and banter at the office which kept me in the job). Work as an in-house for 2 years at most to learn the ropes and then break into freelancing would be my advice.
This is great advice. Thank you Baran for sharing your experience!
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 10:02
French to English
Valentina Cigarini wrote:
I want to point out though that, at least in my country, it might still happen (very rarely) that a company would hire a person to cover translation in-house with a high school diploma and some language ability. In my region especially, this happens with technical translation of manuals and related texts, as we are strong in the import-export business.
Yes, probably in that case, those hiring have no idea that you can even study translation!
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 10:02
French to English
Lieven Malaise wrote:
A (decent) translation internship is gold. You learn more in those few months than in the rest of your university or college career and if you are lucky you end up with a translation position in the same company after you've graduated, which is great to gain a lot of experience. I would strongly advice every aspiring freelancer to gain a few years of experience as an inhouse translator first. Translators that just graduated and immediately jump into freelancing are not ready at all, since most of the learning to become a good translator happens on the job. At least, that's my opinion and experience.
I was just about to say exactly this. An internship where you get to translate and proofread other more seasoned translators is really good. And just being at an agency or a company with a translation department, simply listening in to how people work things out, decide on which translator, negotiate tricky stuff, handle clients who want everything yesterday, is all good experience too.
I learned enough on the job to later get a Master almost purely on the strength of my experience.
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
| You forgot a few options | Sep 15, 2022 |
* Marriage + children (mostly applies to women)
* Juggling other family responsibilities in the boondocks (part-timing while propping up the family business and/or taking care of elderly relatives)
* Good ol' legal problems... some people do get kicked out of the doctor and lawyer communities for professional misconduct. Not sure how it works for engineers, but I imagine there's some method of losing certain licenses in some countries there, too.
* Speaking of licenses: unrecog... See more * Marriage + children (mostly applies to women)
* Juggling other family responsibilities in the boondocks (part-timing while propping up the family business and/or taking care of elderly relatives)
* Good ol' legal problems... some people do get kicked out of the doctor and lawyer communities for professional misconduct. Not sure how it works for engineers, but I imagine there's some method of losing certain licenses in some countries there, too.
* Speaking of licenses: unrecognized credentials in current country
* Disability or illness
Baran Keki wrote:
I've never understood (and never will understand) why a doctor or an engineer would leave their well paid, secure job (with status, paid leave, guaranteed free time on weekends, in short a 'life') to take up translation to become medical or technical translators. They don't do that where I live (if you discount those lying through their teeth or having a medical/mechanical engineering degree, but zero real life work experience under their belt), maybe they do that in the first world countries or in major languages.
So here I am, a graduate of Political Science, translating pharmaceutical and clinical trials texts. I effing hate technical stuff, but I do get that sort of thing every now and then. Should I be frowned upon because Turkish doctors or engineers (most of whom can't speak proper English anyway) won't take up translating?
Unfortunately, native English speakers are not interesting in learning Turkish, and much less in moving to Turkey to become TR>EN translators (I'm willing to pay 10k if anybody can show me a British practicing lawyer that decided to quit his job to become a certified TR>EN legal translator in Turkey after having gone through a burnout syndrome). So somebody's gotta translate all that stuff from Turkish to English as well, hence you see people with dodgy gray N signs in their profiles (always the US English variety) trying pathetically to pass themselves off as native English speakers despite having never set foot outside Turkey.
Countries and language pairs do matter. Native English speakers and those living in the West seem to have a certain understanding of things (I don't blame them), but the realities differ for others majorly.
[Edited at 2022-09-15 15:07 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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