The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2021 - 23

peers in their language
of choice.
y Expert translators
frequently know the
answers to term queries
posed in translation groups
off the top of their head, or
have a sixth sense for how
a sentence or phrase should
be worded to sound right.
Choosing a Specialization
No two career paths are
the same. That said, most
language professionals
come to the industry in one
of two ways.
Fortifying an Existing
Specialization: A fair number
of translators and interpreters
come to the industry after an
initial career in a different
field. They study for years
to become a doctor, lawyer,
chemist, or banker, and then,
due to a change in interest
or personal circumstances,
decide to leverage that
knowledge and love or
affinity for languages into a
new career in the language
professions. Industry
transplants often have
advanced degrees or many
years of concrete experience
under their belts and a
lifelong interest in languages,
but might need time to
perfect their translation or
interpreting skills.
Building a Specialization
from Scratch: Conversely,
many less-experienced
language lovers gravitate
toward a career in the
language industry without
a prior career. They might
graduate from a translation
or interpreting program
with a solid foundation but
without the subject-matter
expertise of a career expert.
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As these professionals
build their careers and
their practice, they might
identify in-demand fields
that complement their skills
and interests, then jump
headfirst into becoming an
expert in those fields.
Clients are crying
out for subject
matter experts.
To identify those fields,
consider your market.
What industries are strong?
Mining? Viticulture? And
how broad are those fields?
Medical and financial are
giants where you may need
to narrow down further
into a sub-specialty, like
orthopedics or regulated
banking. On top of focusing
on a specialization that could
be considered in demand (i.e.,
producing a steady stream
of work), we recommend
picking an area you truly
enjoy. If you despise reading
contracts even when you have
to sign them, legal will likely
not be for you. If you spend
hours browsing museums'
websites, watching all the
virtual tours, and devouring
the descriptions of every work
in an exhibition, perhaps
museum texts would be a
great target market.2
Regardless of how they
choose their specialization,
all language professionals
must work to build,
maintain, and transform
their areas of expertise to
attract great clients and earn
top dollar.
Building a Specialization
Specialized translators
live and work in the habit
of immersing themselves
in their specializations.
Some of these habits are
easy and inexpensive to
cultivate, while others take
more dedication, effort,
or investment. To take the
first step, try one of these
approaches. Experts combine
all of these, year after year.
Reading Industry
Publications: Every
specialized translator
should have an array of
subscriptions to trade
journals, magazines,
newspapers, newsletters, and
other industry publications
that track and analyze the
extralinguistic aspects of the
field in both their source and
target languages. Financial
translators working to
or from English read the
Financial Times or The Wall
Street Journal, while legal
translators subscribe to the
many law reviews of the
world's most prestigious
law schools. Extralinguistic
aspects might include
technological advancements
and discoveries, legal or
regulatory changes, and
more, and staying abreast of
evolving terminology and key
issues and trends is a must.
Taking Courses: Whether
for credit or not, online or
in person, many specialized
translators pursue
opportunities to beef up their
specialization and expertise
through formal courses,
while others arrive in the
industry with advanced
education and credentials.
The acceleration of virtual
workspaces and classrooms
means that there are now
thousands of online classes,
massive open online courses
(MOOCs)3
, and even full
American Translators Association 23
Specialists have the
credentials to work
more like partners
than providers,
which results in
higher quality in
both the source and
target languages.
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The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2021

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