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Our extensive language directory comprises of more than 7,000 translators and interpreters ready to assist you. You can easily find individuals and organizations based on criteria such as language translation, ATA Certification, location, and more. Assistance is just one click away!
Read by more than 10,000 people in 100 countries, The ATA Chronicle offers resources and practical solutions to challenges facing translators and interpreters, as well as member news and announcements.
ATA members stay up-to-date with the increasing news coverage about the vital role translators and interpreters play in a global society through our twice-monthly e-newsletter. This informative newsletter provides comprehensive media coverage from around the world, focusing on their profession. Stay informed and connected with the latest developments in the language industry!
About 7,200 openings for interpreters and translators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Interpreters and translators aid communication by converting messages or text from one language (typically called the source language) into another language (the target language). Although some people do both, interpreting and translating are different skills: interpreters work with spoken communication, and translators work with written communication.
Legal or judicial interpreters and translators typically work in courts and other judicial settings. At arraignments, depositions, hearings, and trials, they help people who have limited English proficiency. Accordingly, they must understand legal terminology. Court interpreters must sometimes read source documents aloud in a target language, a task known as sight translation.
Literary translators convert books, poetry, and other published works from the source language into a target language. Whenever possible, literary translators work closely with authors to capture the intended meaning, as well as the literary and cultural references, of the original publication.
Internships offer prospective interpreters and translators an opportunity to learn about the work. For example, interns may shadow an experienced interpreter or begin working in industries with particularly high demand for language services, such as court or medical interpreting.
General certification typically is not required for interpreters and translators. However, workers may show proficiency by passing a variety of optional certification tests. For example, the American Translators Association (ATA) provides certification in many language combinations.
Employers may require or prefer certification for some types of interpreters and translators. For example, most states require certification for court interpreters. Federal courts offer court interpreter certification in several languages, including Spanish, Navajo, and Haitian Creole. At the state level, courts offer certification in multiple languages.
Continuing education is required for most state court and medical interpreter certifications. It is offered by professional interpreter and translator associations, such as the ATA and the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters (NAJIT).
The U.S. Department of State offers aptitude tests for interpreters and translators at various levels, from basic to advanced. Although these tests are not considered a credential, they are a required step for candidates to be added to a roster for freelance assignments. Other federal agencies may offer similar proficiency tests.
Experience is not typically required to enter the occupation, but it may be especially helpful for interpreters and freelancers pursuing self-employment. Prospective interpreters and translators may benefit from activities such as spending time in a foreign country, interacting directly with foreign cultures, and studying a variety of subjects in English and at least one other language.
Working in-house for a translation company or taking on freelance or volunteer assignments may help people gain firsthand knowledge of the skills that interpreters or translators need. Volunteer opportunities for interpreters may be available through community organizations, hospitals, and sporting events, such as soccer, that involve international competitors.
By developing relationships with experienced workers in the field, interpreters and translators build their skills and confidence and establish a network of contacts. Mentoring may be formal, such as through a professional association; for example, both the American Translators Association (ATA) and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) offer formal mentoring programs. Mentoring also may be informal, such as with a coworker or an acquaintance who has experience interpreting or translating.
Some interpreters and translators advance by becoming self-employed. They may submit resumes and samples to different translation and interpreting companies who match their skills to assignments. They may get work based on their reputation or through referrals from clients or colleagues. Those who start their own businesses also may hire translators and interpreters to work for them.
Business skills. Self-employed interpreters and translators must be able to manage their finances. They need to set prices for their work, bill customers, keep records, and market their services to build their client base.
Cultural sensitivity. Interpreters and translators must be aware of expectations among the people for whom they are helping to facilitate communication. They must understand not only the language but the culture.
Interpersonal skills. Interpreters and translators must be able to put clients and others at ease. Interpreters may work on teams and must get along with colleagues to ensure success.
The median annual wage for interpreters and translators was $53,640 in May 2022. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $33,540, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $93,140.
These wage data exclude self-employed workers. Pay for interpreters and translators may depend on a number of variables, including the language, specialty, experience, education, and certification of the interpreter or translator.
A more diverse U.S. population and increasing globalization are expected to create demand for interpreters and translators. The ongoing need for military and national security interpreters and translators should result in more jobs as well.
Computers have made the work of translators and localization specialists more efficient. However, many of these jobs cannot be entirely automated because computers cannot yet produce work comparable to what human translators do in most cases.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Interpreters and Translators,
at -and-communication/interpreters-and-translators.htm (visited November 01, 2023).
Instead, translators play a critical role in bridging the technical expertise of data engineers and data scientists with the operational expertise of marketing, supply chain, manufacturing, risk, and other frontline managers. In their role, translators help ensure that the deep insights generated through sophisticated analytics translate into impact at scale in an organization. By 2026, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that demand for translators in the United States alone may reach two to four million.
At the outset of an analytics initiative, translators draw on their domain knowledge to help business leaders identify and prioritize their business problems, based on which will create the highest value when solved. These may be opportunities within a single line of business (e.g., improving product quality in manufacturing) or cross-organizational initiatives (e.g., reducing product delivery time).
Translators then tap into their working knowledge of AI and analytics to convey these business goals to the data professionals who will create the models and solutions. Finally, translators ensure that the solution produces insights that the business can interpret and execute on, and, ultimately, communicates the benefits of these insights to business users to drive adoption.
Domain knowledge is by far the most important skill for any translator. Translators must be experts in both their industry and their company to effectively identify the value of AI and analytics in the business context. They must understand the key operational metrics of the business and their impact on profit and loss, revenue, customer retention, and so on. Additionally, knowledge of common use cases (e.g., predictive maintenance, supply-chain management, inventory management, personalized marketing, churn prediction, etc.) in their domain is important.
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