Tag Archives: translation students

Announcing ATA’s Savvy Newcomer blog

After spending some time with UT Arlington students last month, my mind has been churning with ideas to help people interested in joining the profession. I’ve consulted many resources over the years, and many gems are freely available. But it would take a real commitment to retrace my steps and collect them into a little online guide.

Fortunately, right on time, the American Translators Association announced a new blog with this exact purpose. One of the first posts addresses a very common question: how does one find that first paid translation job?

With a diversity of industry contributors, I’m sure this blog will quickly become a point of entry that demystifies those normal newcomer questions.

UT Arlington – Choose Your Own Adventure – Professional Translator/Interpreter Resources

It was a great pleasure to visit my alma mater, UT Arlington, today, and talk with a great group of students and professionals.

Here are direct links to the resources I mentioned during the talk:

One thing I’d like to underline is that it’s easy to feel a little lost starting out in this profession. Don’t be afraid to find your own path, but also know that there are many, many colleagues who will be happy to give you tips and help you along.

Finally, if you’re ready to start going through the steps of setting up your translation business, I recommend you check out Corinne McKay’s online course, How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator.

Correction: My slides included incorrect information for passing scores for the Texas Licensed Court Interpreter exam. The minimum passing score for a Basic license is 60% and the minimum passing score for a Master license is 70%. I’m grateful to the colleague who alerted me to this error.