Poll: How old were you when you did your first paid translation?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Sep 26, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How old were you when you did your first paid translation?".

This poll was originally submitted by Teresa Borges. View the poll results »



 
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:25
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
over 30 Sep 26, 2017

I turned 30 years old the day I returned to University to study for my MA in Translation Studies and it was a couple of years after that before I did my first paid translation. I benefited from being older when I started out, as by that time I had a ready made specialism arising from the experience I had gained in my previous career.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:25
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
30-40 years old Sep 26, 2017

I started translating quite late in life (my late 30s) as a complement to my full-time work. I translated part-time (mainly nights) for a good while until I had a good clients base and then decided to jump in the entrepreneur bandwagon…

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 20:25
English to Italian
19 Sep 26, 2017

19 years old

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:25
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Probably 20 Sep 26, 2017

I was studying/working at the then-Institute of Languages & Linguistics at Georgetown University and the office would get requests for translations.

I did translations on the side for another 10 years and finally landed my first job as a full-time translator at the age of 30.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:25
Spanish to English
+ ...
Don't remember Sep 26, 2017

Some time last century.
However, one translation that does stick in my mind from early on was the transcription of a speech by a high-ranking politician. What I found striking was that the rhetoric, which sounded so convincing and stirring when delivered verbatim, made so little sense when seen in black and white on paper.

[Edited at 2017-09-26 09:33 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-09-26 09:34 GMT]


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 20:25
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Speeches are a special genre! Sep 26, 2017

neilmac wrote:

Some time last century.
However, one translation that does stick in my mind from early on was the transcription of a speech by a high-ranking politician. What I found striking was that the rhetoric, which sounded so convincing and stirring when delivered verbatim, made so little sense when seen in black and white on paper.


I translated some speeches for a veteran woman trade unionist, and she weighed every word! The source text was beautiful, and it was a real challenge - always under pressure of time - to do them justice in English.

Luckily I was well over 40 before I started doing paid translations ... and had read some speeches and literature beforehand. Maturity is an advantage.


 
Gudrun Maydorn (X)
Gudrun Maydorn (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 20:25
English to German
+ ...
19 or 20 Sep 26, 2017

This wasn't freelancing and it was before I was a fully qualified translator, but the mechanical engineering company I was working for at that time was aware of my language skills and occasionally tasked me with translations or interpreting. I'll always be grateful for that chance and mechanical engineering still fascinates me to this day.

 
David Brown
David Brown  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:25
Spanish to English
over 60 Sep 26, 2017

"How old were you when you did your first paid translation?".
Soon realised that my NHS pension would not support me in Spain post-euro.
Still going strong!!!
Good luck to those newly started


 
Alexandra Speirs
Alexandra Speirs  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:25
Italian to English
+ ...
about 26 Sep 26, 2017

Just after graduating I got a job in an English language school in Italy.
I was asked to do translations too, usually commercial correspondence.
After 3 or 4 years I gave up teaching, apart from the odd private lesson, and concentrated on translation.


 
Toni Faisal
Toni Faisal  Identity Verified
Indonesia
Local time: 02:25
English to Indonesian
+ ...
25 Sep 26, 2017

I got my first payment in one or two months after I registered as free member back in 2014.

 
HendriV
HendriV
Switzerland
English to German
+ ...
Age Sep 27, 2017

I was 19 and translated a couple of pages from a medical book for my mother. After that I translated a website from German to English.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:25
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
22 or 23 Sep 27, 2017

It was in the late 80's, but I don't remember the exact date.

 


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Poll: How old were you when you did your first paid translation?






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