by Sun Meilan

Created on: September 27, 2010   Last Updated: January 31, 2012

If you have fluent language skills and want to use them in your career, then considering a career in translation could be perfect for you. If you find the right niche, you could be onto a lucrative way of earning money and it could often you lots of freedom and independence. However, translation is not for everyone, because there are a number of disadvantages to being a translator.

• Hard work

Being a translator isn't just a matter of sitting down and turning one language into another. No matter how good your language skills, you will almost certainly come across words you don't need to understand and will have to research. There may even be words that you can't translate just by looking them up in a dictionary - you need to really understand them and this could require much more involved research. If this isn't factored into your fee, you could find yourself not being paid for your time.

• Need more than just language skills

Even when you've done your research, it still isn't just a matter of translating one language to the other. You need to really have a feel for both languages, so that you know when something can be translated literally, and when you need to change things around to make it flow better. You will need to develop your writing skills more than you ever considered which, if you are not particularly creative, could be a very difficult task. 

• Low earnings

Depending on the languages you are using and the niche that you find yourself working in, you could find that your earnings do not reflect the amount of time you need to spend on your work to get it up to the right standard. In these times of recession, clients will probably be looking for ways to cut costs and will not be prepared to pay as much as they should; you will find that there is often someone prepared to undercut you, even if their work isn't as good as yours. 

• Time-consuming and stressful

On a full-time basis, translation can be very time-consuming and stressful. You will nearly always be working up against a deadline, especially if your client is pushing for it as soon as possible, and you may find it hard to maintain the quality you want from your work. There probably won't be set working hours, so when you have a project on, you will just have to keep working on it until it's finished. Over time, you may find that it is just too much for you. 

• Lots of competition

There are a few languages for which there are very few good translators; in which case, you could charge a very good fee for your work. However, in the case of most languages, you will find that there is a lot of competition. They may not all be as proficient and fluent as you are, but if they undercut you, you could lose out. These days, many translators work via the Internet, so someone in a country with a lower cost of living could well be more cost-effective for the client. 

If you're unsure whether translation is for you, then you could try it out as a part-time job to begin with, perhaps while you are at college. That way, you will get a feel for translation as a career and can earn some money on the side. 

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