One of the issues with which beginning translators most frequently struggle is specializing: what to specialize in, how to decide what to specialize in, what the most/least requested specializations are, how important it is to specialize, etc. While there aren’t too many hard and fast rules when it comes to translation specializations, here are a few general guidelines.
- The larger the language, the greater the need to specialize. Here in the U.S., translators in smaller-diffusion languages like Finnish or Thai often don’t need to specialize at all, because there are so few of them that specializing would be impractical. On the other hand, French, German and Spanish translators must specialize in order to find a niche in a rather large market.
- Pick a specialization that you enjoy researching. This advice comes from Jill Sommer, who teaches in the graduate translation program at Kent State, and I agree completely. Think about picking up a news magazine; which section are you most likely to read first? Business? Finance? Health? Technology? Any area that you enjoy learning more about is a potential specialization.
- Realize that for better or for worse, many translators are self-taught in their specializations. Many people seem daunted by the idea of specializing, fearing that they need to go back to school and get a nursing degree to be a medical translator, or become a paralegal to be a legal translator. Certainly, many translators do have a strong background in their areas of specialization, and if you come into the field as a former financial analyst, physician or attorney, you are likely to command a higher income than a translator who learned that terminology on the job. But if you’re entering the market with a general liberal arts background, don’t be intimidated by the idea of selecting a specialization.
- Oddly enough, specialization can lead to more work rather than less, as clients think of you as the go-to person for documents in your area of expertise. Also, as several people have commented on this blog, one way to make more money as a freelance translator is to work faster, and the better you know the terminology of the documents you work on, the faster you can translate.
- While it’s theoretically possible to specialize in almost anything (I’ve met translators specializing in horses, philately, and fisheries, to name a few), you’ll probably want to pick an area that you know is in demand. A few such domains would be medicine, medical instrumentation, pharmaceuticals, law, finance, automotive, computer hardware and software, engineering, environmental science, patents, advertising, technology, the hard sciences and general business documents.
- Consider delving deeper into a specialization that you enjoy. A great way to position yourself ahead of your competition is to take courses in the terminology of your specialization, or to spend a day at a place of business or an industrial facility that works in your specialization, then let your clients know about it!
Great article, specially for for those of us that are still getting a focus on the translation market.
I have a questions, currently I’m listed with Language123, are there any other good online places where to promote my services.
Michelle Collins
Translator/Interpreter
I couldn’t agree more with your post, Corinne. I specialise in recycling and waste management (German-English) and choosing to focus on this narrower specialiation rather than a broader one (environmental issues ) has been one of the best business decisions that I have made.
@Michelle, registering with the larger translation portals such as ProZ and TranslatorsCafe can’t hurt and can increase your exposure, but in my experience these sites are geared toward translators who either work for lower than average rates or who work in niche languages or specializations. If you work in a common language combination and a common specialization (i.e. French, German, Spanish, legal, medical, financial, etc.) I think you’re probably better off promoting your services via your own website or blog.
@Abigail, I’ve been meaning to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your recent article in the ATA Chronicle, it was one of my favorites in at least the last year of issues. I think you have a great example of a very targeted specialization where the workload is going nowhere but up. I’m also sorry it took me so long to discover your blog, I just added it to my feed reader. Thanks for visiting!
Dear Corinne,
I find your article very nice and very informative, as usual. I cannot agree more with the need for specialized translators!
Some years ago, (before I decided to create the Anyword translation company), I used to work as a translator specialized in computing. To promote my services, I explained to potential customers that it was very difficult to find people able to combine technical precision with linguistic quality. As a former journalist in the computing field, I was used to write and to research (and to manage everything in a hurry). And I had a passion for computing and programming, which enabled me to technically review most of the texts I translated.
I believe that every specific area of specialization needs to be translated by people who are in position to evaluate the technical validity of the source text and to find the best wording in their mother tongue. It is not only about research. It is also about personal interest, passion for the specific field, and so on.
Thanks again for your so valuable posts (and please forgive my poor English).
Corinne,
Thank you so much for this invaluable resource. I found your blog yesterday, and I’m consuming every word of it! I also bought your book a week ago. I read it in it’s entirety the evening it arrived. (I actually need to sit down and study it again.)
I recently made the decision to actively pursue a career in translation (Sp->Eng), and I sat down at my computer this evening to specifically research the importance of specializing and the best ways to learn that specialization.
Your post explained the importance of specializing in detail (as does your book), and you mentioned taking courses in the terminology of your chosen specialty, etc.
Are you aware of any particular courses offered online designed to teach specialized terminology, or any other ways to prepare for a specialization? Or is it common for a translator to simply identify an area they’d like to specialize in, market themselves as specialized in that area, and then learn as they translate? That sounds a little scary to me!
Thanks,
Brandon Fancher
@Brandon, thanks for your comment, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog and good luck to you with your business! Specializations are a tricky issue. Honestly, I think that most translators are self-taught in their specializations; some people come from a previous career as an epidemiologist or a CPA or an attorney, but most learn as they go along. Pursuing some training in an area of specialization will definitely put you ahead of the game: you could try NYU’s online translation certificate program, or English-only courses (i.e. medical terminology, business law, etc) at a local college.