Job postings for students?
Thread poster: Seana Parker-Dalton
Seana Parker-Dalton
Seana Parker-Dalton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:06
French to English
Aug 2, 2018

I have signed up to get job notifications, but they always seem to say "no students". I am a graduate student in a translation program, and I've completed all my coursework. I just need to pass one exam (which I'll be taking in December). Are jobs for students ever posted? Would it be dishonest to list myself as a freelancer, since one could be both freelancer AND student?
Am I overthinking this?
Thanks!


 
Rita Pang
Rita Pang  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 06:06
Member (2011)
Chinese to English
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
How many of us here studied translation... Aug 2, 2018

Seana Parker-Dalton wrote:

I have signed up to get job notifications, but they always seem to say "no students". I am a graduate student in a translation program, and I've completed all my coursework. I just need to pass one exam (which I'll be taking in December). Are jobs for students ever posted? Would it be dishonest to list myself as a freelancer, since one could be both freelancer AND student?
Am I overthinking this?
Thanks!


... is the question I ask every day. Not having a translation degree certainly did not stop me from getting my first project and it's been 8 years since I've been in this industry (and WITHOUT a translation degree). When you are ready to work and you have some experience to offer (which I'd think you'd have from pursuing a degree in this specific field), I think you are ready to market yourself as ready and available for work. You are a service provider, whether it's part-time or full-time, on contract or as a freelancer. So long as you believe you possess the right credentials for the projects, apply away. I personally would remove the "student" status but mention that you are finishing up your translation degree. A lot of us don't even have a B.A. in Translation, let alone an M.A.


Jorge Payan
Iris Schmerda
Maria Eriksson
Kay Denney
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 11:06
French to English
Whyever not? Aug 3, 2018

If you're allowed to have both statuses where you are, then just go ahead and register as a freelancer and then apply. I too was a freelancer before I ever went to uni for my master in translation. No need to declare yourself as a student. If you feel you can turn in a job to a professional standard, you need to wade right in!

Jorge Payan
Fiona Grace Peterson
 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:06
French to English
Registered activity Aug 3, 2018

As long as you have a registered business status enabling you to produce an invoice, go ahead!

Jorge Payan
 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 11:06
Italian to English
Professional standard Aug 4, 2018

Kay Denney wrote:

If you feel you can turn in a job to a professional standard, you need to wade right in!


This is what it boils down to, and that goes for ALL translators, not just students! I'm pretty sure the vast majority of translators DON'T have a translation qualification of some kind, and it certainly isn't a factor that necessarily determines how good a translator is. Ultimately, translation isn't learned at a university, but by actually hammering away at the coal face, so to speak

Welcome to the wonderful world of translation, and best of luck!


Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Jorge Payan
Dan Lucas
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 11:06
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
In a way, we are eternal students Aug 5, 2018

If you are taking a graduate programme, you have come beyond the first 'student' status. Probably what job posters want to avoid is bids from wannabes starting out at undergraduate level. Or else they do not really know how unregulated the translation business is!

In your position I would bid for jobs I could take on, or expected I could take on.

There comes a time when it is no longer necessary to collect certificates and diplomas, but if translators want to keep up w
... See more
If you are taking a graduate programme, you have come beyond the first 'student' status. Probably what job posters want to avoid is bids from wannabes starting out at undergraduate level. Or else they do not really know how unregulated the translation business is!

In your position I would bid for jobs I could take on, or expected I could take on.

There comes a time when it is no longer necessary to collect certificates and diplomas, but if translators want to keep up with developments in their specialist areas and their languages, they can never really stop studying in one way or another!

A well-arranged seminar or course of study may be helpful, or it may be too expensive and too far away, and self-study is often a better use of one's time. Either way, we are all students more or less!
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Seana Parker-Dalton
Seana Parker-Dalton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:06
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Aug 5, 2018

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the thoughtful responses. I think I will be updating my profile soon.

 


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