Do translators get paid a lot of money ? I speak Russian?
Friday, June 25th, 2010 at
2:19 am
I moved to U.S from Russia ten years ago. What kinda job can I get with knowing Russian ?
I can't write in Russian, I can read some Russian. But I do speak fluently in Russian, with exception of few words. I almost have my associates degree.
What kinda job can I get ? Will I get paid a lot ?
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Tagged with: associates degree • few words • job • russia
Filed under: Russian - Written and Spoken
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If you’re interested in being rich, think of another career. Translators are generally not well paid, except those who work for international organisations, such as the UN. http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/examin/languageexam.htm
There is also the problem of which language you would translate into. The golden rule is that you always translate into your mother tongue (or one which you speak as well as you would if it were your mother tongue through having grown up in the country in question). I don’t think that you can claim that English is your mother tongue and sadly, as you are not literate in Russian, that is not your mother tongue either, although it should be.
Perhaps you should be concentrating on improving your knowledge of Russian and considering a career in commerce, where it would come in useful.
In Soviet Russia, You don’t speak Russian, Russian speaks you.
First, translation is written, interpretation is spoken.
Given your description of your language skills, I don’t know of anyone who would hire you as a translator. Translators are people with excellent writing skills, expert knowledge of the language they translate into, and near-native knowledge (university level) of the source language. You can’t even write Russian!
As for interpretation, you have exactly zero second to think about your words, so "with the exception of a few words" doesn’t quite cut it either. Most interpreters were translators before, and most translators don’t have the skills to be interpreters.
Not everyone who is bilingual is qualified to translate or interpret. There are a lot of other skills involved as well, such as experience in doing computer research, for translating, and the ability to listen and speak at the same time, for interpreting. To develop these skills, you should continue your education, because a full bachelor’s degree is a minimum requirement, plus training in specialized methodology.