Paula Brugger 

Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

http://www.proz.com/profile/588632

EDUCATION B.A., Economics, Minor: French (“Applied Translation Track”), International Business Certificate, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 1990

Successful completion of the following legal courses through the Kaplan University on-line program: Civil Litigation I and II, Legal Ethics, Family Law and Contracts, 2004-2005

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Freelance French to English Document Translator, Myrtle Beach, SC and previously Minneapolis, MN Self-employed, December 2000 to Present

• Translate a wide variety of text such as medical device documents, medical consultations, contracts, company by-laws, financial documents, leases, consumer surveys, bids/tenders for projects such as railway improvement and drinking water purification systems, bank employee tests, historical documentaries, birth certificates, divorce decrees, criminal and civil case documents, and more over my 23 years as a translator thus far.

• Translated over 300 medical consultation documents within one long-term project.

• Translated a chapter in a book relating to World War II soldiers and aircraft.

• In recent years, have participated in many MTPE (machine translation post-editing) projects.

• Review and transcribe video files for subtitling purposes.

• Projects are obtained by continuous work with agencies through long-term, trusted relationships based on quality and timeliness as well as through bidding on projects with new contacts via professional translation job board websites such as ProZ.com.

Pearson Company, Remote, work done at my home, Myrtle Beach, SC, March 2022- Present

• Score standardized tests for students using the company's remote scorer platform. 

My main work involves scoring both written and audio ESL (English as a Second Language) and non-ESL tests, with criteria being based on a specific rubric. Project based. Projects are usually done in the late winter, springtime, and early summer months. 

Internet and AI Rater, Ranker, and Writer, work for various agencies and companies

• Rate and rank internet and AI content, and write complex prompts to yield AI generated results, in the goal of continuously improving internet search results. Project based.   

Instacart Shopper/Driver (delivery person), Myrtle Beach, SC April 2020-Present

• Shop customer grocery orders at various stores in the area using the Instacart app when I choose to do so, as a way to support my translation career when I am without translation work or in need of fast cash. 

Ameriprise Financial, Minneapolis, MN, October 2006 to October 2007

Mutual Fund Customer Service Representative (Series 7 NASD New York Stock Exchange licensed in order to take orders/do trading over the phone)

• Assisted customers, financial advisors, and advisors’ assistants with mutual fund and money movement transactions over the phone in a fast-paced call center environment.

H.B. Fuller Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 2000 to July 2002

Export Customer Service Representative

• Entered orders for international customers paying close attention to product lead time, compliance requirements, and follow-up with customers and account representatives.

• Coordinated export shipments of adhesive products which traveled mostly by ocean freight and via truck and LTL. Calculated amount of freight that could fit on 20’ and 40’ containers and on trucks. Processed various export documentation and interacted with logistics companies.

Sigma Chemical Company (Sigma Aldrich Corp.) (now Millipore Sigma, a Merck Company), St. Louis, Missouri, December 1991 to May 2000

Bilingual Export/Customer Service Representative

• Acted as the company’s bilingual English-French representative, a call-center customer service representative, an export documentation clerk, and an export area traffic consolidator utilizing SAP during my 8 ½ year employment term.

• Bilingual telephone work included order entry/customer service exclusively in French or three-way interpreting conversations between client, technical service or accounting (mainly with customers in Quebec) and myself as well as contact with French subsidiary and other direct Francophone customers in various Francophone countries.

• Heavy emphasis on export documentation including: airwaybills, dangerous goods declarations, shippers’ export declarations, proforma invoices, shippers’ letters of instructions, export licenses, certificates of origin (including NAFTA) and more.

• Chief accomplishment was the maintenance of animal health certificates in English and French to comply with French Ministère de l’Agriculture import guidelines. Involved frequent interaction with French affiliate, USDA, internal technical specialists, and the purchasing and legal departments. Required very high attention to detail.

Société Générale Bank, St-Etienne, France, Summer 1990 (Summer internship)

• Processed travelers’ checks and related correspondence at the front counter of the international department, assisted customers with related questions, and assisted in communications with North American Banks.