From Teacher to Translator

by Laura Meischenguiser
(New Jerey)

Laura asked: I'm a certified K-12 Spanish teacher in NJ, and I want to pursue a career as a translator. What should I do? Passing the exam is enough? There are no exam sites in NJ according to the info in the site.



The Spanish Translator: Thanks for the question, Laura. Many Spanish teachers are interested in becoming translators and there are opportunities for teachers to make this transition.

First of all, passing an exam is not necessary for becoming a translator. There is no organization in the United States that you have to go through in order to become a translator. You become a translator if you have translation clients, not whether or not you have some piece of paper that says you are a translator.

So what to do? Well, the first thing to do is market your services as a translator. Find translation clients by telling everyone you know that you are interested in translating things. Networking is key here. You probably already have many contacts in the education field since you are a teacher, and you should use those connections to find translation clients.

If you feel like you need more training as a translator, there are some good online programs you can take that will help you with the resources you need to succeed. One of these programs is run by a fellow translation colleague of mine and you might want to check it out. It's from the Global Translation Institute and might be just what you're looking for.