Well, for starters, becoming one isn’t exactly a walk in the park. If you want to start out correctly, and you should really want to do it that way, there are a few crucial aspects that you need to familiarize yourself with. If you don’t take the time to do these early steps properly, you risk becoming yet another wannabe translator that tried and failed miserably at becoming a respected professional. So, don’t say we didn’t warn you! And, as you might be guessing by now, starting out correctly down this translation career means doing a lot of research about it: Checking whether any skills are required, what types of translation work are out there, what translation software tools are available and how to use them, how to set up competitive but at the same time profiting prices, how to find good clients and avoid scammers, how to effectively run your freelance translation business guaranteeing its sustainability, and the list goes on.
Intimidating stuff, right? Well, you’ll be glad to learn that all these and a lot more have been looked into already, and placed neatly into a comprehensive guide by an experienced professional of the Translation Industry. Titled “Translation 101: Starting Out As A Translator”, it puts you on the right track instantly, giving you the best crash course available out there for becoming a proficient translator in no time. The author, Petro Dudi, is a Translation & Localization Industry veteran, with more than 17 years of hands-on experience in translating and project managing numerous projects for Microsoft, IBM/Lotus, Adobe, Symantec, GE Energy, Caterpillar, Toshiba, LaCie, Canon, Sony, Nokia, Bosch, Siemens, just to mention a few. With this guide, he has managed to distill all those years of experience and knowledge into a single point of reference, making it a well worth investment.
But there’s more! The author of “Translation 101: Starting Out As A Translator”, being the translation expert he is, has prepared and included for free 3 special and very practical translation tools that will prove indispensable to your translation career. These unique concepts have been developed using common spreadsheet software, but their design and usefulness is far from common. And to be exact, you won’t find anything like them anywhere else. Here’s an outline of these tools:
Translation Project Dashboard
Keep all your translation project details in full view and never miss another deadline. TranslationProject Time-Frame Calculator
Find out instantly how much time it will take you to complete a specific translation volume within a given set of dates.TM Match Matrix Calculator
Decipher those Translation Memory logs and easily calculate the weighted word counts for your projects.And as if the above goodies weren’t enough, the guide is readily available in all 3 major eBook formats: PDF, EPUB and Kindle (MOBI). In case it’s not clear enough: You get all 3 eBook formats with a single purchase of the guide! Plus, all versions are unlocked, meaning you can read the PDF version on any computer (and print it out on paper too!), or sit back and enjoy the guide on any tablet, eReader or smartphone using the EPUB and Kindle versions.
So becoming a translator might not exactly be a walk in the park, but with “Translation 101: Starting Out As A Translator” you’re actually taking that walk with the author being your pathfinder in this translation career trail. There’s nothing better than having a true expert of the field show you the ropes, the tips and tricks and inside information of the profession. Be sure to check this guide out if you’re considering getting involved with translations!