If you are proficient in a second (or third, or fourth) language, your language skills may qualify you for home – based freelance work as a translator. Translators can work full time or part time, just like any other freelancers. It is possible that you might not have thought about looking for work as a translator because there did not seem to be an immediate need for translators that speak your languages in your geographic area. Fortunately, we live in a world where your translation talents can be accessed by clients in the next town, or halfway around the world.
Before you think about how many years of Spanish you completed in high school and college and wonder whether you are qualified to work as a translator, remember that it is more about fluency than about learning the language in a classroom setting. Word for word translations are important, but people who have used the language in one or more specific cultural settings can translate even more accurately because they can account for regional differences in how the language is used. For example, Spanish is spoken in quite a few places besides Spain. There are words, phrases, and other subtleties that do not carry over from one Spanish – speaking country to another.
If you do not feel that you are fluent in a language right now, you can work to build your skills in that language until you are. If you are confident that you are fluent in one or more languages, you may want to try your hand at translation. Translation pays fairly well, with many translators earning between twenty and fifty dollars per hour. There are also home – based translation jobs, in addition to freelance translation projects. Since translation work involves other languages, there are a couple of things to be aware of going in to it. One of these things is that the people who need translators and who post projects and jobs for translators may not speak the language exactly the way that you do. There may be a little bit of a learning curve that you will have to get through in order to understand each other. Also, some of your clients may be located halfway around the world. If your correspondence is all online through email, that is fine. If telephone correspondence is required, make sure that you discuss the time difference and find a mutually agreeable time to talk.
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