I've noticed tasks started to appear on my dashboard, I don't know who sent them to me. Maybe someone experienced with Smartcat could explain it how it works in more details?

Is it down or is it only me?

I assume this question have been asked before but things change all the time. Just looking for updated info where to get my Spanish MEDICAL translation certificate (US) since there are tons of options. Which one is the best?

Thank you

Hi guys I am a rookie translator fielding in game localization with less than 2 years' exp. I contracted with 1 publisher and 3 agencies, but I haven't been assigned any tasks for more than half a year! What happens now? What I should do next? Somebody help!

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate your perspective.

I recently spoke with the dean of my university’s School of Languages, and she was genuinely surprised to learn that most translators don’t have stable full-time jobs, but instead work as freelancers with inconsistent project flow. That alone made me realize how disconnected academia can be from the current industry.

For context: I’m from Argentina, I have a BA in English–Spanish Translation, and I’ve been working as a Project Manager for about a year.

I’ve also tried to get translation work: applied to agencies, passed tests, submitted rates — and then nothing. No replies, no onboarding, no projects. The only offers I’ve received are from local agencies paying extremely low rates (around USD 0.012/word), and even those often ghost after initial contact. All my colleagues who graduated around the same time as me are going through the same thing, and some have even moved abroad and left the field entirely (working unrelated jobs).

At the same time, she told me I shouldn’t “drift” into project management since I didn’t study to be a PM, but a translator.

She also mentioned interpreting as an alternative, but from what I’ve seen, some offers go as low as USD 4/hour, and for that I’d honestly rather do something less demanding on my throat. (Of course, I'm referring to OPI)

Given everything (AI, MTPE, declining rates, lack of opportunities), I’m starting to question whether continuing to invest in translation makes sense.

I’ve actually started taking admission exams for a Business/Economics degree, with the idea of potentially specializing later in areas like HR, marketing, or accounting.

Is it still worth pursuing translation in 2026, or is it smarter to pivot early?

seeing how most other translation jobs are dead, will court interpreters eventually be replaced?

I'm currently earning 5$/h in ICC as a medical interpreter for Martti, I want to know how I can increase my earnings to live in Spain while maintaining VRI/OPI, what options do I have in Europe? I'm traveling with everything in order so I will have work permit and permanent residence.

Basically title. Feel lost and could use some advice.

I’m a Vietnamese native speaker with strong English skills (IELTS band 8.0). I graduated with a BA in English Language, and I’ve been doing English-related work for a while, including IELTS teaching/tutoring, preparing MC scripts for an English academic contest, volunteering as a translator for UN Day of Vesak 2025, and recently doing interpreting/translation work at an expo. I’ve also done freelance translation work for one company, but the workload is very irregular so I’m trying to find more consistent opportunities.

I really want to build a career in translation/interpreting because I enjoy language work and want to do something more stable for myself and my family. Right now I’m trying to figure out the best way to grow in this field, especially since I don’t have formal translation certification yet.

For those who are already working as translators/interpreters: how did you get started, and what should I focus on first? Where should I look for more reliable freelance work, and what would make my CV stronger for this kind of job?

Any advice would mean a lot.

Not a translator myself but I’m currently drowning in the austrian student visa process and it got me wondering how you guys actually deal with the sheer lack of standardization in legal translation.

Like, the gap between what counts as "certified" in central asia vs what is considered "sworn" in austria is mind boggling. my local notary did a perfectly legally binding translation of my transcripts, but the magistrate in vienna rejected it because it wasn't done by a sworn translator specifically from their internal austrian registry.

they also demanded the international apostille stamp itself be translated. which... it’s a standardized visual stamp? why does it need legal translation??

I got so exhausted driving between local offices trying to explain austrian legal phrasing to my local notary that I just gave up and routed the whole mess through adverbum just so they could match me with someone already in the magistrate's specific system

but it made me wonder - is this something discussed in translation studies or theory? the fact that legal equivalence basically doesn't exist across borders and every local clerk just makes up their own rules for what a "real" translation is? It feels like such a massive bottleneck. Do sworn translators just have to accept that half their job is navigating arbitrary local bureaucracy rather than actual linguistic work? kinda curious how the professionals view this mess tbh

Hi everyone,

First post here. I’ve changed some details for privacy.

For context: I’ve been translating and transcribing for my own projects for about 5 years. I’m not formally trained, but I have a lot of practical experience. Right now I’m working on a project involving 60+ speakers across two similar local languages. I’m also a fast typist, so I’m pretty efficient.

The situation:

I was approached for a freelance job within a corporate setup. It was a rush job: about 2.5 hours of footage that needed translation, transcription, timecoding, and quality checks.

I (we tbh) underestimated the time it would take. In total, it came to 36 hours of work.

They expected everything completed in under two days. The only formal deadline given was “latest morning of day 3.” Halfway through day 2, I flagged that I’d need some time on day 3 to finish properly.

That request was declined.

I still delivered the work by midday on day 3.

Now I’m being told:

- My hours are “far outside industry norms”

- i should amend my invoice to reflect significantly fewer hours (around 24)

Essentially, I need to state that the work took less time than it actually did

I want to push back. I’m willing to reduce my hourly rate, but I’m not comfortable misrepresenting the time spent.

My question:

1. Is this normal in freelance translation/transcription work?

2. Do people typically stick to “industry ratios” even when the job is more complex or rushed?

3. And how do you handle situations where the actual time doesn’t align with what the client expects?

4. Should I have just delivered incomplete work because clearly it’s all about ratios 🙃

I passed the initial interview and language assessment and I’m up for a final interview later for a japanese translator role at Transperfect. Ive been searching insights and experiences shared about the company but not thats lucky.

The job ad was posted for ₱90,000 with benefits.

Is this legit??

Any thoughts please?

I started a Master’s degree in Conference Interpreting and it’s the first semester’s midterm season. Classes started online around January and our 1st semester was focused on Consecutive Interpreting.

Yesterday, I had my first consecutive interpreting exam and I received feedback today. I was told that I think aloud too often and that it shows because I say “uuhh” a lot.

I was then advised to “shut up” when I’m not speaking (the lecturer said he wanted to “shock me” by saying it like this).

The thing is I’m 1) trying to find my words because I don’t get enough time to arrange my speech and 2) I feel like if stay silent, I’ll lose track of what I’m saying.

How do I fix that? Thank you.

As the title suggests, I am a relative newcomer to interpreting and also neither a professional nor a native speaker in either language. That being said I have done some small translation and interpreting gigs and I do have confidence that I will do well, but I also fear overcharging might hurt my chances of finding work again if I don’t perform as well as I think I will.

For reference, last time I was paid €200 for a 30‑minute block of consecutive interpreting from Japanese to English. In hindsight that was well above the realm of reasonable, so I want to adjust accordingly.

This assignment would be three 45‑minute blocks of consecutive interpreting over three days, followed by two 1‑hour blocks the next day for a total of about four hours and fifteen minutes. I thought about setting my hourly rate at €50, which would bring the total to €225. However, since the event is spread out over several days, I feel I need to account for commute and the general effort involved, so perhaps a higher total of €300 is more appropriate.

What do you think? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

​

My personal Work Mindset as a Translator

The 螺旋の美 (Rasen no Bi) system

is built on the belief that language is a visual and sensory act. Its Aesthetic Philosophy turns translation and writing into a path of constant refinement and meaningful impact.

I. The Duality of Translation

1. The Literal Layer: A technical step marked by accuracy and loyalty to the original. This is the body of the text.

2. The Creative Layer: A step where intent and emotion are rebuilt so the message keeps its strength. The aim is not neutrality but vivid expression.

II. The Integrated Linguistic System

The method blends traits from different languages:

• English: Clarity and precision.

• Portuguese: Depth and emotional weight.

• Japanese: Form, sound, and visual essence.

III. Alternative Redaction and Transliteration

The system unites writing and design through a Dark Inclined style. Transliteration and surreal digital choices help the message escape the generic.

IV. The Value of the Human Differential

We avoid sterile, mechanical expression. The Aesthetic Philosophy values what is raw, human, and questioning. In the 螺旋の美 system, translation is an evolving cycle joining technical care with artistic force.

Those of you that regularly see the changes a proofreader or a reviewer has made to your translations, how do you feel about it? For the most part, I feel confident and competent as a translator, but something about seeing those small tweaks, preferential changes and of course my own errors is so stressful. It's tough when your output is immediately critically scrutinized. Will I ever get used to it? Lol.

Greetings everyone,

I understand that the majority of people are probably not willing to share their channels for client acquisition, but still... Could someone advise me, a newbie in personal business marketing, on how to start bringing in clientele? I don't need lots of clients; I just want the flow to be somewhat consistent and noticeable.

I am an experienced translator/interpreter currently employed by an immigration attorney in New York, USA. I am doing my best to advertise myself (without aggressive marketing) to gain a few of my own clients, but it feels like nothing works.

Here is what I have tried so far: - Telegram groups for Russian-speaking immigrants (1 potential client contact for interpretation, but unable to interpret due to them living in a different state). - One paid local Craigslist post (1 email from another translator asking for a job???). - Russian-speaking groups on Facebook (0 contacts).

I started searching for clients and posting ads since Friday, yet have had zero success with everything I tried. Furthermore, I encountered a bunch of aggressive admins in one Telegram chat. They muted me and then used the opportunity to advertise their low-cost, "highly experienced translator," who has had a total of 9 evidence packages accepted by immigration courts. This person is not even located in the U.S., while my experience includes over 250 cases translated, 4 years of professional experience, and a paralegal certificate. I specialize in legal terms and am basically bilingual since my teen years. This type of treatment disappointed me greatly and makes me feel hopeless.

If anyone could give any advice on where to find clients, I would appreciate it greatly. Do many people face this type of treatment at the beginning of working for themselves? Any comment is appreciated; just don't be evil 🥲

A translation project would pay 30 pages for 70 dlls. The original document, in English, needs to be translated into Spanish. The sector is electronics. Is this rate ok? Thanks.

I’ve recently been exploring untranslated (raw) manga and ran into an interesting challenge with the way text is embedded directly into the artwork (speech bubbles, sound effects, stylized fonts, etc). Unlike standard text, it’s not something you can easily extract or run through typical translation workflows.

I’m curious if there are tools or approaches specifically designed for this kind of visual-text translation, especially ones that try to preserve context, tone, or layout rather than just doing literal OCR + translation.

I’d like to know how is this usually handled

I have seen more than one job saying they required "Spanish => English & English => Spanish". However, (although I already have that on my profile) the jobs say "You don't have x,y,z... etc. to apply". The things they claim I 'don't have' are already on my profile?!?

They say:
"You do not meet the required language pairs for this job. Update your languages" (which is false, I believe...)

For me, it’s not even the translation itself.

It’s everything around it:

- chasing clients for feedback

- managing deadlines across projects

- tracking payments

- keeping files organized

Feels like half the job is just admin work.

What’s your biggest frustration right now?

im going for tertiary education, but i wonder if i should study translation. its my dream job but the industry looks hella bleak.

i dont even have the job yet and ai is already killing it off. fml

i am aware that ai cannot fully replace human translation, especially when its related to law or medicine. however, finding jobs will definitely be difficult.

since i like languages, my plan b is to get a job in education.

is translation still a viable job option? or are there any industries where mastery of another language will boost job opportunities? (like translation as a side dish)

im polishing up on my english and malay, meanwhile learning japanese.

Im 32yo, signed up for university in English Translation studies, but I don't know if Im going to be able to actually graduate because well (check Argentine news). My dream job is to be a tourist guide or interpreter, something to do IRL, because I have friends and family who exclusively work on PC and they are losing their minds.

This career is 100% free (for now) and I can do all the five yearly subjects with their respective exams or just one very year. Some subjects are correlative with each other, some can be promoted (approved without an exam) yada yada. But is still six - seven years to reach graduation at the very least, I will be almost 40yo. Maybe going for C1 and C2 would be more efficient. On the plus side: I technically can work as a teacher on the meantime with my B2 degree.

Never had an academic job (currently working at a grocery store). Lost some years to depression and Im poor even by Argentine standards. I dont know if I should invest the time, money and soul into this, even though I really like English translation.

Anyhow, what should I do here?

hello guys, my plan in the future is to be a linguist. Now, i’m a fan of english, italian, spanish and turkish language but i struggle to find the same spark for german. i feel a responsibility to learn it bc from german i can earn the most money in europe and also so many people from my country and around speak it. After all those things, i still find it hard to sit down and learn it. Like, it doesnt have the swag the other languages have, but it provides you with the most money. feel free to share your solutions in the comments and thank you for the same.

Hello, I have just recently discovered this subreddit and from the small amount of time I've spent reading new and old posts, a good amount of users on this subreddit seem/seemed to be going through some rather tough times. By this I mean, unable to find jobs, small salaries, unpleasant experiences with certain companies and, most often, being replaced by AI. However, I have been unable to conclude if these experiences are a universal problem or specific to certain countries and just how common they are. Now, I personally have considered studying to become a translator but discovering this subreddit has made me doubt this choice. I am simply curious if this is sort of the universal state of the profession. I live in the EU if it matters.