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The UK’s official graduate careers website
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Many translators start their career working as in-house translators for a translation agency or company and may then move to freelance work or to more managerial roles in-house. Translation agencies and companies offer varying prospects for promotion. Translation companies that are members of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC) have a good reputation for support in career development.
Translators who are employed by international bodies, such as the institutions of the European Union (EU) stand a good chance of being promoted. Government departments and EU institutions have a clear career grading system and the further you progress, the more managerial work you will take on.
If you work freelance, either from the start of your translating career or after working first with an agency, career development often depends on how many commonly used modern languages you know, the number and type of clients you work for, and the rates of pay you are able to command. On the other hand, if your expertise is in a less commonly used language, you will develop a specialist client base by networking and will be able to charge higher rates than translators working in the more common languages.
Some freelance translators set up their own translation agency after several years’ experience and often include interpreting services as part of their business, drawing on the services of translators and interpreters to meet client needs.
A limited number of translators who complete a postgraduate degree in translation studies work in academia, teaching translation skills and theory.
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