| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | What do you reply to 'What's your job' Thread poster: Christine Ghafoor
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| A colleague! | Jul 29, 2009 |
AWa wrote:
I'm a (freelance) translator...
... with a universitiy degree in mechanical engineering.
That's my usual answer, sometimes I add a sentence about translating manuals.
Being a translator and a mechanical engineer, I started out translating manuals when I was a sophomore.
However - at least in Brazil - the next question is always: "Are you sworn?"
If they knew as much as I do about the trade, I'd say that I am sworn at by greedy translation agencies when I tell them my rates and payment terms.
AWa wrote:
The worst reaction I ever got was a heartfelt "How boring!"
Then, if they knew what a sworn translator actually translates as such, upon hearing my "yes!", they'd actually have a reason to say "How boring!"
Fortunately, most of my work is not sworn, and most of the translators I know personally (a few hundred) aren't either!
| | | | Laureana Pavon 
Uruguay
Local time: 20:09
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...
MODERATOR
jasmen wrote:
Then I face the usual question "where do you work?". Honestly, I stopped saying that I'm a freelancer because they make me feel like a loser who can't find a place to work in. I see their eyes saying "Oh, how poor she is!"
So, I'd rather say that I have my own "small" translation office and it seems they can understand it well. They still can't perceive the nature of our freelance work.So, I think it is meaningless to try to explain what a freelance translator is.
When I say I'm a freelancer I can see most people thinking (and hear them saying!!) "Oh, how lucky she is!".
Which of course, as many have pointed out already, is absolutely true
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 19:09
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| "I'm a translator...." | Jul 29, 2009 |
I used to just say, "I'm a translator," but this only caused confusion.
People assumed this meant a court interpreter (they'd seen those on TV) or they would look perplexed, think for a moment, and then say, "Oh.... Like..... with languages?"
Here in the U.S., most people don't have to think much about languages unless they live in one of the few areas where one can't get by in English. So translation isn't a profession they're generally aware of.
For clar... See more I used to just say, "I'm a translator," but this only caused confusion.
People assumed this meant a court interpreter (they'd seen those on TV) or they would look perplexed, think for a moment, and then say, "Oh.... Like..... with languages?"
Here in the U.S., most people don't have to think much about languages unless they live in one of the few areas where one can't get by in English. So translation isn't a profession they're generally aware of.
For clarity's sake, my standard reply is now (verbatim): "I'm a translator: people e-mail me documents in different languages, and I put them into English and send them back."
[Edited at 2009-07-29 18:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Lucky indeed | Jul 29, 2009 |
I think most of us really take pride in what we do and it really doesn't matter what others think.
When I say "I am a translator.", I usually follow the statement by listing a few of the perks of running a freelance translation business, which makes almost everybody go "wow, really?". I guess the "freelance stuff" is what makes one curious, not the part involving translations. However, the most interesting thing is when you hear the question "how do you get jobs if you are not emplo... See more I think most of us really take pride in what we do and it really doesn't matter what others think.
When I say "I am a translator.", I usually follow the statement by listing a few of the perks of running a freelance translation business, which makes almost everybody go "wow, really?". I guess the "freelance stuff" is what makes one curious, not the part involving translations. However, the most interesting thing is when you hear the question "how do you get jobs if you are not employed?"; of course, the person is already assuming (although not uttering it) that just about anyone can translate almost anything, from subtitles to texts on aeronautics, provided some language classes and a good dictionary.
Nothing worth while is actually easy in this world. I'm just lucky I found something I really enjoy doing. ▲ Collapse
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| "where is your job" is a more common question | Jul 29, 2009 |
People usually ask me WHERE I work... Of course, they expect to hear a name of one of those big shiny banks.
Luckily, I work at a wonderful stress-free company of my own, which happens to be located at my home! (Everyone, including myself, get impressed )
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 01:09
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| "People" and their views | Jul 29, 2009 |
Laureana Pavon wrote:
When I say I'm a freelancer I can see most people thinking (and hear them saying!!) "Oh, how lucky she is!".
Many people over here believe i just play video games in my home office, or do my work in pajamas. When I name a few extremely technical or serious and delicate " subject-matters" I'm currently working on they just gaze at me in disbelief. 
But that's people, you can't expect them to understand if they are not in your shoes.
I remember when I was a student, one time a cousin visited us, stepped into my study room, skimmed my library and my studying materials ( quite a big number of books) and asked me:
" Have you read them all?"
I honestly did read many, but if I had read a full library of books( various subject-matters), I would have turned into Cosmic dash.
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When I fill out a form and there is a field that says 'Occupation', I write 'translator'. Being a freelancer is not an occupation...
When people ask me what I do for a living, my answer is 'I translate'. Seriously, that's what I do. Freelancing is not an activity, it is just a work setting.
But I do understand those who are frustrated by people who think we are sitting on our bums all day clicking away. However, I really only seldom get that. Maybe it is my standard ans... See more When I fill out a form and there is a field that says 'Occupation', I write 'translator'. Being a freelancer is not an occupation...
When people ask me what I do for a living, my answer is 'I translate'. Seriously, that's what I do. Freelancing is not an activity, it is just a work setting.
But I do understand those who are frustrated by people who think we are sitting on our bums all day clicking away. However, I really only seldom get that. Maybe it is my standard answer that helps me avoid those judgmental looks... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I laughed out loud! | Jul 30, 2009 |
AWa wrote:
The worst reaction I ever got was a heartfelt "How boring!"
- from someone who was in the exciting field of
exporting wallpaper.
Wow! That must be a headrush, yeah? Living the James Bond life, the women, the hotel suites... I'm envious!
Seriously, I don't like to bore people with the details and most of them will misunderstand a lot of it anyways. As for those who seem genuinely interested, what I put forward is that I am passionate about my job because I learn much more than I could have through a doctorate degree, on a nice variety of subjects. When they tell me how lucky I am to be freelancing, I tell them it is damn hard and not many people are cut out for it (including most translators). I also tell them it's tough to be your own boss, but that I forget all about it when I take a leave in the middle of July without advance notice.
Sometimes, they will ask how one becomes a freelance translator--that's when I get nervous and feel like running away. I can see their pupils dilating at the prospect of sitting on their bums clicking away while a shipload of money gets deposited in their accounts. That's when I really get bored talking about what I do--and turn their guns back at them with a "So, what do YOU do for a living?" I sure hope nobody ever replies "I export wallpaper"--that would be too bad for them and embarassing for me!
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AWa (X)
Local time: 01:09
English to German
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| I'm glad I gave you a reason to laugh | Jul 30, 2009 |
ViktoriaG wrote: AWa wrote:
The worst reaction I ever got was a heartfelt "How boring!"
- from someone who was in the exciting field of exporting wallpaper. Wow! That must be a headrush, yeah? Living the James Bond life, the women, the hotel suites... I'm envious! I see something more like sitting in an office filling in thousands of forms for the custom officers Seriously, I don't like to bore people with the details
That's exactly why at the occasion mentioned above I limited myself to two sentences.
The event at which this happened was supposed to help female entrepreneurs by giving them a chance to form a network. There were many people with more exciting career choices than translation: a woman selling food supplements made from algae, another one you could hire to tell fairy tales at your party. Quite a lot of the attendees, however, saw their future in the latest rage at that time: becoming an ebay power-seller.
Do I have to say that besides spam I never heard from any of the "contacts" made there ?
That's when I really get bored talking about what I do--and turn their guns back at them with a "So, what do YOU do for a living?" I sure hope nobody ever replies "I export wallpaper"--that would be too bad for them and embarassing for me!
I hope I'll be around should that ever happen to you. I'd love to hear how you'd explain you laughing fit.
| | | | | I'm a project manager at a translation agency | Jul 30, 2009 |
Which all too often leads to a reply along the lines of "Oh, I could translate for you." Translation is definitely an underestimated profession...
| | | | Kay Barbara
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:09
Member (2008)
English to German
+ ...
| A common misconception | Jul 30, 2009 |
I often encounter (in the UK) when telling someone that I work as a translator is, that people think that I work as an interpreter.
If anyone is genuinely interested to hear more about my profession, I usually tell them that I translate computer and video games for a living which almost always results in something along the lines of "Games? Aw, that's so(oooooo) cool!" or "Wow, that's fantastic". Then I normally feel obliged to clarify that I indeed said "translating games" ... See more I often encounter (in the UK) when telling someone that I work as a translator is, that people think that I work as an interpreter.
If anyone is genuinely interested to hear more about my profession, I usually tell them that I translate computer and video games for a living which almost always results in something along the lines of "Games? Aw, that's so(oooooo) cool!" or "Wow, that's fantastic". Then I normally feel obliged to clarify that I indeed said "translating games" not "playing games".
Overall, I receive very positive feedback from others and I have not been pitied yet (and rightly so). But once you mention buzz words like "games" "freelancer" "your own boss" people seem to can't help but think it's the most laid-back job there is... I wish ▲ Collapse
| | | | | My son asked me a year ago | Jul 30, 2009 |
A year ago, my son - then five years old - asked me what work I did. I realised that he was sort of envious of some of his friends' parents: one was a musician, another a painter.
I told him that I was a translator, and explained that people e-mail me documents in different languages, and I put them into Italian and send them back (similar to Steven).
A few days later, he asked me once more what the name of my profession was: he couldn' remember the word "translator... See more A year ago, my son - then five years old - asked me what work I did. I realised that he was sort of envious of some of his friends' parents: one was a musician, another a painter.
I told him that I was a translator, and explained that people e-mail me documents in different languages, and I put them into Italian and send them back (similar to Steven).
A few days later, he asked me once more what the name of my profession was: he couldn' remember the word "translator" ("traduttrice" in Italian). Then he repeated it a few times out loud, in order to be able to use it with his friends.
From what I gathered later on, I have the feeling that the most rated professions among his class-mates are musician, painter, teacher, writer. This is obviously because they are linked to things that children grasp immediately: music, painting, books, school.
But after these, translator is a good element to brag about: much better than many others. Actually even better than policeman! (we have no pilots or firemen among the parents: I think they would rank first)
The fact that my son manages to brag about his mother with his friends does effectively mean that what we do is much easier to grasp than many other jobs we are more used to hearing about: those where you sit in an office coping with papers, phonecalls or people, or even easier to understand than a lawyer.
In any case, if my son is proud of me (and can use my profession to feel important among his friends), then why should I worry about what others think? ▲ Collapse
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| Do you earn enough to live on? | Jul 30, 2009 |
When Corey, my boyfriend, and I are asked what we do, the general reaction is an admiring gasp at Corey's response that he's a scientist. My response however is frequently greeted with "Do you earn enough to live on?" Besides the fact that this is incredibly rude, I'm tired of the question because I don't want to have to boast to gain respect for what I do. I also don't want people thinking I live off my boyfriend!
I'm not ashamed of what I have achieved, but I do wish that the pro... See more When Corey, my boyfriend, and I are asked what we do, the general reaction is an admiring gasp at Corey's response that he's a scientist. My response however is frequently greeted with "Do you earn enough to live on?" Besides the fact that this is incredibly rude, I'm tired of the question because I don't want to have to boast to gain respect for what I do. I also don't want people thinking I live off my boyfriend!
I'm not ashamed of what I have achieved, but I do wish that the profession of translator had a higher profile in places like Germany, where there is a frequent tendency for people to assume that any idiot can do it. In my experience, I have not had this problem so much in the US because people are often very admiring of anyone who speaks more than one language, as foreign languages mostly aren't as big a focus as say here.
I've also experienced people unable to tell the difference between translator and interpreter and I get the impression that interpreters are more highly regarded, although the two professions probably can't be compared that easily - they are really very different.
My own father once told me that I could make more of my talents by - guess what? - becoming an interpreter. Thanks, dad! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Anne-Marie Grant (X)
Local time: 00:09
French to English
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| 'I'm a freelance translator' | Jul 30, 2009 |
And proud of it!
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 19:09
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Confusion over the word "translator" just came up yesterday | Jul 30, 2009 |
I've been shopping for disability insurance (income-replacement insurance, in case I ever become unable to work), and one of the underwriters seemed to think there were lots of types of disabilities that would prevent me from "getting around" and doing my job.
It turns out that all the work they've done on my application over the last month was based on the assumption that I was an interpreter who went flying around the world. That explains both the high price they proposed and the ... See more I've been shopping for disability insurance (income-replacement insurance, in case I ever become unable to work), and one of the underwriters seemed to think there were lots of types of disabilities that would prevent me from "getting around" and doing my job.
It turns out that all the work they've done on my application over the last month was based on the assumption that I was an interpreter who went flying around the world. That explains both the high price they proposed and the extremely limited coverage they offered.
This reinforces my view that Americans, on the whole, don't know what "translator" means... and have only the vaguest idea what an interpreter's job is like. Worse, these folks didn't even bother to ask.
Once I got the coverage proposal from them last week, I had to convince my agent to have the underwriter phone me directly so I could talk with her, and then found out we've been talking at cross purposes.
[Edited at 2009-07-30 14:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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