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dezembro 4, 2020 |

5 Reasons Translators Should Invest in Their Education in 2021

Professional development is crucial for translators who want to deliver top-quality services and stay competitive in the market. Just because you’ve earned your certifications or have a master’s degree doesn’t mean you should stop learning. Translators should invest in education in 2021, whether they’re freelancers or work with a language service provider. 

As the business environment changes and the demand for quality translation services rises, you need to level up your game, too. This way, you can secure the best clients in your niche and land profitable retainer contracts. Continued education comes with several other benefits that can help you and your clients to adapt to new challenges and embrace change at the right moment.  

Here are five reasons translators should keep learning in 2021. 

1. You Increase Translation Productivity

It’s no secret. The better you become at what you do, the more you like your job. And, when you translate in your niche, you work faster and better and increase productivity. By mastering your skills in a specific field, you deliver better translations in that niche. Your translation quality improves, you reduce turnarounds, and overall you’re more satisfied with the results. 

Try to join at least two courses, webinars, or masterclasses for translators in your niche each year. You can also learn from magazines, blogs, and even social media to complete your “formal” education. Many universities now have online programs you can attend from your office at a low cost. It can become an opportunity for you to complete your education in your area of interest and become a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in your niche. 

Sure, you can try to achieve full knowledge and master skills in multiple niches to expand your services. But that depends on how many resources you can dedicate to learning and how much free time you can block out every week for educational purposes. 

2. You Can Earn More in Less Time

A direct consequence of being more productive is that you can make room for more translation projects in a month. However, there’s more to it than meets the eye. The highest benefit when you invest in education is that you gain the knowledge that enables you to charge more for your services. 

So, not only will you work faster, but you will do it at higher rates than when you were just starting as a translator. Subject matter experts earn more than general translators. That’s because they have the expertise and deliver accurate translations in their respective fields, generating higher ROI for their clients. 

Besides translation classes, you should study to better understand your clients’ needs, pain points, and requirements. Try to learn as much as you can about your clients’ clients to deliver better translation and localization services and charge more for your work. 

3. You Make New Connections

Another reason translators should invest in education in 2021 is networking. With most industry events canceled or turned virtual, making new connections in the language industry has become challenging. 

By joining courses or webinars with a limited audience, you have the chance to connect with like-minded people in a different environment. Interactions are more genuine in a small group than in an international Zoom conference where over 1,000 online participants try to make their voices heard. 

When you sign up for a course, make sure you get the most out of it. Participate in Q&A sessions, socialize inside the course’s Facebook group if the organizers have created one, and help other participants when they ask for support. This way, you can consolidate your network and learn new skills simultaneously and get more value for the same money. 

4. You Reach Full Potential and Improve Morale

If you never learn new things, you continue to do your work following the same workflows you’ve always implemented in your projects. The downside is that the routine can only bring the exact results you’ve always had. After a while, you get bored, and your clients will notice. 

Investing in your education means gaining access to new ideas, more effective working techniques, and innovative tools. You become a better version of yourself, not just as a professional translator but also as a person. You feel empowered and ready to handle better projects for the best clients in your industry.

When you have full knowledge of a topic, you feel more confident about initiating conversations with potential clients, negotiating with better contracts, and delivering top translations. Education is vital to growth in the language industry.    

The secret is to invest in more than just tech skills and translation skills and try to achieve personal development. Look for courses that can help you improve social skills by educating yourself in self-awareness, money mindset, emotional intelligence, and changing habits. 

5. You Become an Authority in Your Niche

The more translators invest in education, the easier it becomes for them to share their knowledge with others – both clients and fellow translators. As you become an expert in your field, you can start a blog or become a contributor to magazines and blogs in your niche. You feel ready to start building an audience and promote your services to reach more people.  

Find a translation niche or sub-niche that you like and try to become the best in your area for that niche. Your long-term goal can be to become the go-to linguist for people or companies that operate in a specific industry in your area. 

The more certifications you have, the easier it will be to take those complex translation projects that put you on the radar of the big companies in your niche. Before you know it, you’ll become the expert that anyone looks up to.  

Translators Should Invest in Education in 2021

Uncertainty will continue in 2021 due to the pandemic’s effect on the global economy, mobility, and social habits. By investing in your education and self-development, you can learn to adapt to the post-pandemic world and get yourself ready to deal with change.