Need help finding a job/getting established as a beginner Thread poster: Matthias_2000
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Hello,
I am currently doing my semester abroad as final part of my Bachelor studies and looking for a full time employment as a Translator in Germany (preferably in North Rhine-Westphalia). As you can probably guess, employment offers are scarce, especially for my language combination (English/French TO German). Additionally, I do not have much experience in translation, only the translations I have done for university.
Does anyone have an idea how I could gather some ... See more Hello,
I am currently doing my semester abroad as final part of my Bachelor studies and looking for a full time employment as a Translator in Germany (preferably in North Rhine-Westphalia). As you can probably guess, employment offers are scarce, especially for my language combination (English/French TO German). Additionally, I do not have much experience in translation, only the translations I have done for university.
Does anyone have an idea how I could gather some experience to become a freelancer?
Any constructive input is highly appreciated.
Kind regards
Matthias ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alan Halls 
Germany
Local time: 12:09
German to English
| Contact agencies and companies | Sep 21, 2022 |
Hi Matthias,
I am an English native speaker and have lived in NRW since 1980. I have been a self-employed translator into English since 1982.
The market has changed dramatically in recent years. Very large agencies have grabbed all the large companies so it makes sense to apply to as many agencies as possible - but be prepared for horribly low payment rates.
At the same time, apply to large companies as well. Even if they farm out the majority of the jobs, they often have int... See more Hi Matthias,
I am an English native speaker and have lived in NRW since 1980. I have been a self-employed translator into English since 1982.
The market has changed dramatically in recent years. Very large agencies have grabbed all the large companies so it makes sense to apply to as many agencies as possible - but be prepared for horribly low payment rates.
At the same time, apply to large companies as well. Even if they farm out the majority of the jobs, they often have internal language services to organise this. These jobs are often quite well paid.
The German job centres may have ideas as well.
Then there are plenty of networking groups around. Although Xing and LinkedIn are basically a waste of time for getting orders as a freelancer. Try local groups. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 12:09
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Matthias_2000 wrote:
Additionally, I do not have much experience in translation, only the translations I have done for university.
Fortunately, you can cheat a bit. When clients ask for experience, they usually want a number, and that number is the number of years that you have been a translator. In a few cases, clients might actually ask for the number of projects or the number of words that you have translated, but most of them don't look past the number of years. And if you consider some of the translations that you did at the university as "translation experience", why not include them in your "years"?
As for getting real experience for real, I suggest you start translating extensively for volunteer projects like Wikipedia, and get feedback from fellow-translators. Clients may not care about such "experience", but you'll notice the difference in yourself.
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Hi Matthias,
If you are currently doing your year abroad in an English/French-speaking country then I would recommend getting out to as many business networking events as you can while you are there.
If you translate into German, your main customers will be businesses based in your source language countries wanting to export. There is never a better time to network with those companies than when you are there. Going to events and chatting to business owners is also grea... See more Hi Matthias,
If you are currently doing your year abroad in an English/French-speaking country then I would recommend getting out to as many business networking events as you can while you are there.
If you translate into German, your main customers will be businesses based in your source language countries wanting to export. There is never a better time to network with those companies than when you are there. Going to events and chatting to business owners is also great experience.
Also, join a translator's network as a student member and get out to events and talk to established translators. They will point you in the right direction.
Another also: don't discount the value that taking a seemingly unrelated job can have to your prospects as a translator in the long run. It will give you experience of how businesses work, the chance to develop specialist knowledge and a stable income.
I don't know if any of that helps - in any case, good luck with your studies and your job hunting
Rachel ▲ Collapse
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Any job in a bilingual environment will be a good step towards finding a full-time translation - look at the travel industry, import/export industry, and the mining industry.
There are also a lot of US, UK, and joint military bases in NW and SW Germany that employ civilian staff.
| | | | | Full-time COB | Sep 30, 2022 |
Just to see what's out there, I googled "jobs US bases in Germany" and this was one of them. Looks like a wild time!
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SuperCOB (Full-Time)
Valbin
Hohenfels, Germany
Apply directly on Glassdoor
12 days ago
Full–time
Valbin Corporation is currently recruiting a large number of Civilian on Battlefield (COB) full-time role players for an upcoming opportunity. The work will be performed at a US military base in Hohenfels, G... See more Just to see what's out there, I googled "jobs US bases in Germany" and this was one of them. Looks like a wild time!
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SuperCOB (Full-Time)
Valbin
Hohenfels, Germany
Apply directly on Glassdoor
12 days ago
Full–time
Valbin Corporation is currently recruiting a large number of Civilian on Battlefield (COB) full-time role players for an upcoming opportunity. The work will be performed at a US military base in Hohenfels, Germany. A COB candidate will perform role-playing work at a professional level for the U.S. Army field training exercises.
The purpose of COB role players is to facilitate realistic training scenarios in order to prepare military personnel for real world emergency situations which the unit will likely encounter during operations. The full-time COB will speak level II ILR German and Level II ILR English with superior knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform complex scenarios.
Requirements:
• Live in Germany (close to Hohenfels)
• Pass a basic fitness test prior to employment
• Must be able to walk considerable distances (20+ km), carry baggage in arms and on shoulders, and be exposed to simulated fire ranges
• Must be able to work from a field environment, both inside and outside and in all weather conditions
• Must be able to work a possible 8+ hour shift
• Must demonstrate language proficiency in English and German with an equivalent ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) score 2
General Duties:
• Accurately depict the local populace through the portrayal of translators, officials, dignitaries, townspeople, resistance forces, etc.
• Apply cultural knowledge to the realism of military scenarios
• Provide appropriate social media replication for targeted populace
Language Set Needed:
• English (ILR Level II) AND German (ILR Level II)
Visit our website to learn more: ValbinJMRC.com ▲ Collapse
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