Becoming certified as a translator

A Stranger asked: I am currently working for a call center and have been translating different scripting for them for 3 1/2 years. They would like me to become certified.

My questions are, where do I start and where do I go? If I do become certified I could then have them pay (besides my regular salary) for my translation work. Possibly a promotion to better support our organization and it's bilingual employees.



The Spanish Translator: This happens fairly frequently, where an organization wants an employee to become certified in translation in order to receive a pay increase. For someone that hasn't been around the translation industry for very long, this can be a little confusing.

The first thing to do in this situation is figure out what exactly the organization means when they say they want you to become certified as a translator. There are different organizations out there that offer certification. Yes, there is a well-known organization in the US called the American Translators Association that offers certification tests that aren't easy, but this is not the only organization that offers translation certification.

There are more and more schools throughout the United States (and globally) that offer online translation certificates. Would one of these translation certifications be acceptable to the organization you work for? You'll need to make sure you get this in writing so that you don't spend all that time and money getting a certification that in the end they don't accept.

Hope that helps, and good luck!