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Abstract: With the majority of translation graduates failing to find in-house translation positions, this paper asks the question of whether we should train students to create their own employment opportunities as freelance translators. This paper contains the results of student employment surveys and outlines the typical skills which need to be incorporated into translator training programmes.
Introduction
Much of the emphasis of translator training in recent years has been on moving away from strictly classroom-based exercises and incorporating elements of “real-world” and practical knowledge into training programmes. The reality of today’s employment market means that many of the opportunities for students lie in freelance translation. However, many students are intimidated by the prospect of setting up their own business and they are reluctant toconsider freelancing as a career option. Many say that they feel unprepared and do not know what is involved in freelancing and that they do not know how to go about setting up in business.
With a very small number of exceptions, few, if any training institutions include freelancing as part of their professional development training. Dedicated modules designed to train students how to become practising freelance translators are scarcer still. Indeed, the responsibility for providing this information is generally assumed by regional translators’ associations but this information generally comes too late for those students who have already dismissed freelancing as a career option for the reasons mentioned above.
This paper examines the employment prospects for translation graduates. While this analysis uses Ireland as an example, the conditions facing graduates can just as easily be found in other countries. The paper discusses the need for a separate module to be included on training programmes which will arm students with the specialised knowledge they need in order to become professional, freelance translators and to run a successful and efficient business. Such knowledge includes how to set up as a freelancer, professional conduct, commercial and financial housekeeping, technical housekeeping etc. The paper will, of course, highlight subjects which would need to be included on the curriculum of such a module.
Why we train translators ?
While it might seem an obvious question, it rarely does any harm to refresh our memory as to why we actually train translators. Why do we devote such time and effort into improving syllabi, teaching methods and materials? Of course we do this to produce better translators but this is only part of the picture. Ultimately we train translators so that they may find jobs as translators. While we are justified in exploring translation from a theoretical and academic point of view with the aim of producing the next generation of academics and scholars, the goal for most students is to obtain a qualification which will help them find a job. It would, however, be unrealistic to think that we can prepare students for every eventuality. Indeed students must assume some responsibility for adapting to the challenges of the marketplace. However, we can and perhaps, should deal with the primary scenarios facing our graduates.
The traditional job for translators is that of the staff translator working for a large corporation or international organisation. The number of such jobs, however, is by no means sufficient for the numbers of translation graduates each year. So where does this leave those graduates who do not find a coveted staff position? With a bit of lateral thinking, a highly skilled translation graduate can find any number of jobs which draw on their language, writing, computer or interpersonal skills although such jobs may have nothing to do with translation. This, of course, begs the question of whether the training provided to students on translation programmes is in vain if graduates do not ultimately end up working in translation. This is not to say that there is no point training translators if there are not enough jobs for them. Quite the opposite in fact. Given that computers are still unlikely to replace human translators in the foreseeable future, the demand for human translators seems assured, albeit not in traditional employment. Instead we should ask ourselves whether the training we provide adequately prepares students for the employment market which awaits them. With this in mind we need to focus on how students claim a share of the huge volume of translation work that takes place every day. We should teach students how to create their own jobs as translators rather than rely on increasingly scarce in-house positions.
The market for graduate translators
Ireland has traditionally been regarded as a global leader in the localisation industry. However, this industry is now in a state of slowdown. Even at the height of its boom, the localisation industry in Ireland offered very few, if any, opportunities for translators with English as their mother tongue. This was due largely to the fact that the majority of software was being localised from English into other languages. According to Inger Larsen, Managing Director of Larsen G11N, a recruitment company with offices in London and Dublin, it has only recruited for 17 translation jobs none of which was based in Ireland. Of these 17 jobs, six were into English with the remaining 11 out of English. Appendix 1 shows the full figures provided by this recruiter.
A similar situation is reported by Keith Morrison at Headhunt International, a recruitment agency based in Dublin. In the 12 months to August 2002 this company recruited for a total of just six translation positions in Ireland; only one of these positions arose in 2002. The language combinations for these positions were as follows: German to English (2), English to German (1), English to French (1), Italian to French (1), English to Spanish (1).
Another recruitment company, Richmond Recruitment which is also based in Dublin reports that the market slowdown has had a drastic effect on the opportunities for translation graduates. According to Emer Walsh, IT Consultant for Richmond, the company did not recruit for any translator positions in the 12 months to August 2002 and one client in particular now carries out its own recruitment work, and works almost exclusively with freelance translators. This situation is unlikely to be unique to Ireland and depending on the indigenous industries in each country, students in other countries may face the same scarcity of jobs to a greater or lesser extent.
Instead, Irish graduates are forced to look abroad for translation jobs. One notable example is Germany where software companies such as SAP not only produce software for English-speaking countries but also develop their products in either an English-speaking or a bilingual environment. However, many students for whatever reason are reluctant to go abroad in search of work with many choosing to remain at home and settle for other non translation-related jobs which call on their language skills.
Other opportunities for translation graduates exist within international organisations such as the European Union, United Nations etc. Permanent translator positions with the institutions of the European Union are, after an initial probationary period, essentially jobs for life and employees “cannot be dismissed without serious cause” (Wagner et al. 2001 : 29). Understandably, demand for these prestigious jobs is enormous and the selection procedures are stringent and demanding. Such jobs are generally advertised every three years and applicants face a gruelling competition process which frequently lasts at least 18 months (Wagner et al. 2001:30). Realistically speaking, only the most talented and gifted graduates will obtain such jobs and even then, most translators are recruited at the grade of LA7 which requires a minimum of three years professional experience (Wagner et al. 2001:95). Graduates may also find both paid and unpaid placements or “stages” within the European Union institutions. These placements provide practical experience of translation and can boost the career prospects of graduates. Indeed, over the past number of years the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (SALIS) has secured placements in the European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions as well as in the European Commission and European Parliament for graduates from its MA/Graduate Diploma in Translation Studies programme. However, because of the shortage of places and the resulting difficulty in guaranteeing placements for all students, such placements “are an additional feature of the postgraduate degree programme rather than an integral component”, explained Dr. Dorothy Kenny, who organises these placements and teaches translation technology on the programme.
Some statistics
Dublin City University Careers & Appointments Service conducts a First Destination Returns (FDR) survey each year of the first destinations of graduates when they leave DCU. The results of this survey are then presented for each programme. The following is a discussion of the results obtained for graduates of the BA in Applied Languages programme in 1999 and 2000. At the time of preparing this paper, the figures for 2001 were not available. However, 1999-2000 broadly coincide with the peak in the localisation industry in Ireland.
The figures for 1999 show that of 37 graduates who responded to the survey, only 8 found employment as translators. This represents 21.6% of respondents. Of those who found work as translators none found work in Ireland: 6 went to Germany, 1 went to Switzerland and 1 to England. The majority of graduates stayed in Ireland: 21 stayed in Ireland while 16 went abroad.
In 2000 the figures were quite similar. Only 6 graduates out of a total of 38 who responded found work as translators. This corresponds to 15.8% or respondents. Of these, only one found work in Ireland with two going to Germany, 1 to Belgium, 1 to Spain and 1 to England. It is, perhaps, surprising that the graduate who found work in Ireland did not find work in the localisation industry but rather in the financial sector working for an insurance company. Again the majority of graduates chose to remain in Ireland: 23 stayed in Ireland while 15 went abroad. This perhaps shows a certain reluctance among graduates to leave Ireland despite the availability of jobs outside Ireland. Of those who remained in Ireland, only one found work as a translator.
With such a shortage of accessible translation jobs, many students in a sense, turn their backs on translation and take up jobs as project managers or software testers in the localisation industry, call centre staff or similar. Table 1 illustrates just some of the jobs taken up by DCU graduates in 1999/2000.
A series of informal discussions with final year students in 2001 and 2002 revealed that most wanted to pursue a career in translation but they were not particularly hopeful of their chances given the current employment market. When asked whether they were considering freelancing, they admitted that they had not seriously considered it and would be hesitant to do so because they did not know how to go about it.
What’s being done now ?
As stated in my introduction, most, if not all universities incorporate some aspects of professionalisation into their translator training programmes. This reflects an awareness by educators that translation is more than just an academic discipline and that students need practical and professional training in order to become practising translators. However, a number of Internet searches revealed that with the exception of the University of Bath, the Monterrey Institute of International Studies and the University of Portsmouth there are very few institutions that actually address freelancing and I suspect that the number of institutions that provide dedicated courses in freelancing is even lower. The University of Bath offers a module called “Approaches to Professional Work” as part of its MA/Diploma in Interpreting & Translating. According to Dr. Steve Slade, Director of Studies for the programme, the module deals with issues such as setting up as a freelancer, handling relations with clients and agencies, how to deal with the kind of practical problems that crop up when working as a translator, etc. “The idea is to prepare the students for making the transition from training into work” explained Dr. Slade in an email. The unit is delivered by people with direct experience in this area and the University’s in-house translation business also provides some input.
The Monterrey Institute of International Studies offers a course entitled “The Business of Translation”. The following is an excerpt from the course description provided on the Institute’s website:
[The course] emphasizes practical knowledge necessary to succeed as freelance or in-house translators. Defines the role of the translator and the realities of working in the profession, including the job market, salary negotiation, and future trends. Students learn to write resumes, cover letters and to how find clients or employers. Marketing, advertising, and negotiating are covered in depth, as are legal and tax issues. Students learn more about translation technology, business software, on-line services and the Internet, as well as machine-assisted and machine translation software.
It is both admirable and encouraging that these institutions are providing such practical training. Unfortunately, the apparent scarcity of similar courses as well as dedicated freelancing courses would indicate that the importance of such training is not widely recognised.
Translators’ associations such as the ITIA, ITI and BDÜ are an excellent source of information, advice and practical knowledge such as how to get into translation, how to present oneself to translation agencies and even how to lay out an office but unfortunately this information is generally only of use to people who have already decided to become freelancers. Unfortunately, this information frequently comes too late for those who have already given up on freelancing as a career option.
What can we do ?
It is clear that we need to do something to better prepare students for finding work as freelance translators. Kiraly (2000:123) maintains that “education should realistically reflect actual practice with respect to the tools, methods and procedures of the profession with which students are becoming acquainted”. To do this, we first need to make students aware of the various career options open to them. Then we need to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among students and provide them with the confidence and means to create their own jobs. Students should believe that they can and will find work as translators and be confident enough to actively create jobs for themselves.
But how do we do this? How do we prepare students for life as freelance translators? We can, of course, incorporate aspects of freelancing into translation modules. Examples would include the submission of translations in electronic format, issuing invoices for class translations, timesheets, group work etc. This type of practice is widely used already. Unfortunately, the problem with this approach is that there is a limit as to what we can reasonably include in a translation class without shifting our focus away from translation “proper”. By incorporating extensive practical freelancer training into translation classes, we run the risk of forgetting to teach translation because we are teaching the practicalities of the translation business and not translation itself.
Some universities such as Dublin City University already provide modules which cover significant parts of the training required. In SALIS, extensive modules in translation technology are provided at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. These modules cover office automation and communications (for example, Windows, word processing, communications software etc.), CAT tools, linguistic, computational and organisational issues in machine translation, software localization, corpora research (using WordSmith tools and Multiconcord) as well as wider social issues relating to translation such as unemployment, deskilling etc. While such modules are undoubtedly of immense value to students it would be useful to draw on this and other expertise which is already available within departments and develop a cohesive curriculum based on these skills for the purpose of training freelance translators.
The most attractive solution would be to have a dedicated module which is language-independent and which will cover a broad range of subjects which will provide students with the knowledge they need to understand, and if desired, pursue freelancing as a career option. The advantage of this approach is that, because it is language-independent, it can be delivered to all students on a programme at once regardless of their chosen languages thereby reducing the teaching resources required. It is also conceivable that the wealth of expertise already available both within language departments and the wider university community could be drawn upon. For example, relevant experts from the business school could be drafted in to discuss accounts, business plans, taxes etc. while other experts from the computer department (or as in the case of SALIS, from within the language department itself) could teach students about software applications, computing, hardware and Internet technologies. These are just two examples of how the resources in a university can be drawn upon.
What subjects should be covered ?
It would be easy to simply refer students to the books “How to Earn $80,000+ per year as a Freelance Translator” (Eames 2001) or “A practical guide for translators” (Samuelsson-Brown 1995) during the course of a translation programme but as useful and practical as these books are, they only cover part of what students need. Designing a course to provide students with a solid grounding in what it takes to become a freelance translator takes much thought, consideration and planning as well as a lot of flexibility on the part of trainers. Indeed, the composition of the course will, by necessity, vary from country to country to take into account market conditions, work practices, laws and regulations. However, it is possible to pinpoint certain core areas which will remain fairly constant although the precise content of each area may vary. The following are areas which are of major importance in designing a training course for freelance translators:
1. Where do translators work? |
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2. Finding work |
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3. The Translation Environment |
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4. Professional Conduct |
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5. Financial Housekeeping |
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6. Technical Housekeeping |
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7. Computer Skills for Freelancers |
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8. Legal Matters |
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Conclusions
In the preceding paragraphs we examined the current employment climate facing translation graduates and we can see how there simply are not enough in-house jobs for the numbers of translation graduates leaving universities and colleges each year. Even taking into account that there are those graduates who, for whatever reason, do not want to work as translators, this is far from an ideal situation. Ironically, translation is every bit as important now as it has ever been, if not more so.
So who is doing this translation work? In a word, freelancers. We can see, therefore, that in order to provide students with training and qualifications that will help them find employment and ultimately set them on a career path, we need to prepare students for the market that faces them when they graduate. This means that students need to be taught how to become freelance translators so that they can at least create translation jobs for themselves.
While much of the expertise required to prepare students for freelancing is frequently available within language departments, a concerted effort is required to draw together all of the various sources of expertise in order to design a curriculum for a dedicated module.
In addition to improving the prospects of graduates finding work as translators, by making the market more accessible to qualified translation graduates we not only improve the quality of translations in the marketplace but we can also go some way to raising the professional recognition and profile of translators.
Appendix 1
The following table provides a detailed break-down of jobs advertised by Larsen G11N Recruitment in the 12 months to August 2002 listing details of translation jobs on the basis of job title, location, language combination, industry and indicative salary.
References:
- Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer (BDÜ): www.bdue.de
- Dublin City University Careers & Appointments Service First Destination Returns (FDR) Survey.
Available online: http://www.dcu.ie/student/careers/fdr/index.html - Eames, Alex (2001) How to Earn $80,000+ per year as a Freelance Translator, 2nd Edition, Amazing Publications. Available online: www.translatortips.com
- Headhunt International
- Institute of Translating and Interpreting (ITI): www.iti.org.uk
- Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association (ITIA): www.translatorsassociation.ie
- Kiraly, Don (2000) A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education, Manchester : St. Jerome Publishing
- Larsen G11N : www.larseng11n.com
- Monterey Institute of International Studies “The Business of Translation”.
Available online at http://www.miis.edu/gsti-course-desc.html - Richmond Recruitment: www.richmond.ie
- Samuelsson-Brown, G (1995) A practical guide for translators, 2nd edition, Clevedon : Multilingual Matters
- University of Bath “Approaches to Professional Work”.
Available online at http://www.bath.ac.uk/esml/madiploma.html - Wagner, Emma / Bech, Svend / Martínez, Jesús M.(2002) Translating for the European Union Institutions, Manchester:St. Jerome Publishing
