I'm looking to become a translator, help?

I've always wanted to go into Linguistics or something along those lines, and now I think it would be a cool job to become a translator.



If I wanted to become a translator between French and English, what types of classes should I take at college (other than obviously a French class)?



What types of Jobs could I possibly start out with trying to become a translator?I'm looking to become a translator, help?
If your main interest is in translation, linguistics is not the field you want. It is entirely something else. Unfortunately, some good BA programs that I can think of for you bears the title "French and Linguistics" @ UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). It is a hybrid of French langauge, culture, and language theory classes. That should prepare you well.



It sounds like you are already in college. Check out the applied linguistics department; but be advised that translation courses are likely to be graduate-level, which will require some administrative arrangements and this takes a while. Find out these classes far ahead of time. In terms of a preference hierarchy: Translation %26gt; Applied Linguistics %26gt; Linguistics (Don't forget to keep up your French) Don't hesitate to look at French literature classes, either.



Not knowing where you are from, I cannot comment too specifically on which programs to check out. Within North America, there are translator certificates available in research-university affiliated institutes, such as UCLA Extension and UCSD Extension. But the best place to go is certainly Canada; McGill university, York university and Universit茅 de Montreal, among many others, all offer graduate and bachelor's degrees in (French) translation, not to mention the immersion experience.



After having some schooling, apply for fellowships to spend some time in France. This should really boost your resume. After returning, look for freelancing positions first. Get used to the working environment, and establish some connections among the French diaspora in your home country. Ultimately, try to secure contracts with publishers. Your income will be much more stable that way.I'm looking to become a translator, help?
Go to a university that has a strong French Language degree. Graduate. Expect difficulty and extreme competition for jobs once you graduate.I'm looking to become a translator, help?
when i first started college i wanted to be a translator as well, and I majored in french. if youre really serious about it, you should major in french. if you're already fluent, then maybe take some grammar classes. see your counslor to help you figure it out. good luck
Translators -- or foreign language interpreters -- are best when they are bilingual or have at least been raised speaking the second language from a relatively early age. It also helps if they have lived for some time in a country in which the second language is spoken. Merely studying it in high school or college won't get you to the necessary level of proficiency for professional translating.



A translator or interpreter needs an excellent command of his first or main language as well as the foreign language. You will need to be as comfortable with English idioms as with French, you will need to be a highly articulate and comfortable public speaker in general, you'll need to think fast and well on your feet. (Speech, drama, and debate training can help with this, by the way.) In addition, interpreters often undergo special training in interpretation, and for that, you'll have to enroll in a program. See the third site.



The first two sites below explain some of the difficulties. The first offers a lot of material on literary translation, but some of the problems and issues are relevant to oral interpretation, too. The second discusses some of the places that interpreters can work.