Becoming Certified without professional experience seems impossible!?

by Karin
(Washington DC)

Karin wrote: Hi, thank you for all your useful information. I am looking to become a freelance translator and would prefer to become certified or accredited. I've been trying to educate myself about the process, and it seems that in order to do that, you must have either 1. a bachelors degree and 2 years of experience, or 2. have 5 years of professional experience (per ATA).

I am bilingual (German-English), but don't have the professional experience. I don't mind the membership fees and tests, but how do I get around the professional experience that I don't have, but seems to be required to become certified? Any suggestions? Your input is appreciated! Thank you.



The Spanish Translator: Thanks for your comments and questions, Karin. This is a common question that people have not only in the translation industry but in other industries as well, namely, how do you go about getting experience if you need experience first? It does seem impossible when you first look at the issue.

However, the good thing about the translation industry and becoming a freelance translator is that you can get your own experience without becoming certified. Not everyone (and probably not even the majority) who needs a translator requires a certified translator. If you recall some of the things I've written about this in the past, I've mentioned that organizations such as the ATA are not nationally mandated programs that all translators have to go through. If you do want to become certified, there are other programs that offer certification without the same requirements of ATA (you can look at some here: Online Translation Certificates. But you should remember that nobody requires you to be certified as a freelance translator.

Hope this helps, and good luck!