Prior background & specialization: doubling down vs. expansion Thread poster: Anthony Rinna
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Anthony Rinna 
United States
Local time: 05:55
Russian to English
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Hello everyone, not a run-of-the-mill question about specialization, I promise.
I’m just breaking into the translation field (one year of volunteer experience). My background prior to that was a hodgepodge of academic research and policy analysis tying into the field of international relations.
My main question is: should I leverage my background in international relations and try to present myself as a translator for different types of texts within the broader spher... See more Hello everyone, not a run-of-the-mill question about specialization, I promise.
I’m just breaking into the translation field (one year of volunteer experience). My background prior to that was a hodgepodge of academic research and policy analysis tying into the field of international relations.
My main question is: should I leverage my background in international relations and try to present myself as a translator for different types of texts within the broader sphere (academic papers, policy-oriented think tank papers, news articles) or should I leverage my academic research background and try to branch out into different fields in the social sciences and humanities (i.e. not just politics, but anthropology, history etc.)?
I ask because my background is strongest in academic publishing, and I recently learned in a translation course that it is more important for translators to be able to do research in a variety of fields than for them to have a tightly-defined expert background in their translation specialization. At the same time, I'd obviously be better at translating a Korean-language think tank report on denuclearization than I would a Korean-language sociology paper on ethnic Koreans in Kazakhstan.
Thank you all in advance for your answers.
-Tony Rinna ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 05:55
Japanese to English
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| specialization | Jul 6, 2023 |
Anthony, I think that, rather than specializing in international relations, you should try law and finance. Thereafter, science and technology. You could approach law firms as some law firms are still dealing with Russia. Good luck!
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In order to answer your question, it would be helpful to know why after years of academic research and policy analysis are you thinking about breaking into the translation field?
| | | | | Cast your net wide and see what you catch | Jul 6, 2023 |
So many translators claim to "specialise" in technical, legal, financial, medical AND general texts (phew!) that I imagine narrowing it down to a couple of those would be enough to sound professional.
You can always narrow things down once you get established.
(Posted at 14:06 on 6 July 2023)
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Tony Keily
Local time: 11:55
Italian to English
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As others suggest, try something like law and finance and then in your profile add further details of your experience. The keywords will show up in internet searches.
Personal experience can often make for a messy CV. I specialise in law, EU institutions and finance, but in the past I edited a film magazine, worked as a publisher's reader and was involved in organising major art exhibitions in Barcelona.
But 'law, EU institutions and finance, film, fiction and art' look... See more As others suggest, try something like law and finance and then in your profile add further details of your experience. The keywords will show up in internet searches.
Personal experience can often make for a messy CV. I specialise in law, EU institutions and finance, but in the past I edited a film magazine, worked as a publisher's reader and was involved in organising major art exhibitions in Barcelona.
But 'law, EU institutions and finance, film, fiction and art' looks like a no-goer! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Reed James
Chile
Local time: 05:55
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
| Follow the money | Jul 16, 2023 |
At least in my language pair, medicine has far outpaced any other area including law. Medical documents, especially clinical trials, are almost exclusively the ones that land on my desk. With the upsurge of large translation agencies, i.e., "BigTranslate" and the higher entry barriers for novice translators, you really just have to follow the money and become an expert however you can.
[Edited at 2023-07-16 15:16 GMT]
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