January 16, 2012
Best
Careers 2011: Interpreter/Translator
As one of the 50 Best
Careers of 2011, this should have strong growth over the next decade
The rundown:
Pharmaceutical inserts, instruction manuals, and textbooks—these
are just a few of the documents that translators rework in English or other
languages. At courthouses around the country and conferences throughout the
world, interpreters help people of different tongues communicate. While both
interpreters and translators convert one language into another, interpreters
work with the spoken word, and translators the written word. But choosing this
occupation means learning more than a foreign language; you also must
thoroughly understand the subject you're communicating about. You'll relay not
only words, but complicated concepts and ideas, as well as the cultural
subtleties that accompany them.
Interpreters and translators specialize in a variety of fields,
including medical, judiciary, literary, or sign-language. About a quarter are
self-employed, and many translators work from home.