Better to specialise in one field or in several?
Thread poster: Adam, MA Trans
Adam, MA Trans
Adam, MA Trans
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:16
French to English
+ ...
Oct 30, 2018

Hi everybody,

I came across a profile the other day or somebody translating from Italian to English specialising in art and art history, I believe they work in a museum in Italy and have an education background in art too. For me this came across as very streamlined. I also thought that Italian as a source language and art were a perfect language/speciality match - thought I'm not sure how relevant this is.

Do you think this streamlined approach is better than specialis
... See more
Hi everybody,

I came across a profile the other day or somebody translating from Italian to English specialising in art and art history, I believe they work in a museum in Italy and have an education background in art too. For me this came across as very streamlined. I also thought that Italian as a source language and art were a perfect language/speciality match - thought I'm not sure how relevant this is.

Do you think this streamlined approach is better than specialising in several fields? I feel very comfortable with my speciality fields which either come from a working or educational background, but at the same time I always get the feeling it would be better to just choose one subject. I can see positives and negatives for doing this, but I'm just wondering what the general consensus is on here.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
diversification Oct 30, 2018

specialization = specialized vocabulary (some 250 terms) + background

While working in a narrow or rare field may boost need for you, if it's profitable enough, then very many specialist will flood this field very soon. Furthermore, working and looking at different places in different fields and jobs increases one's chances greatly--yet it's no guarantee.

Anyway, I still find that a decent specialist-nonlinguist with some foreign language profic
... See more
specialization = specialized vocabulary (some 250 terms) + background

While working in a narrow or rare field may boost need for you, if it's profitable enough, then very many specialist will flood this field very soon. Furthermore, working and looking at different places in different fields and jobs increases one's chances greatly--yet it's no guarantee.

Anyway, I still find that a decent specialist-nonlinguist with some foreign language proficiency earns more than a top-notch "mere" translator with some theory background in certain fields.

If I were you I would consider interpreting, mentoring, tutoring, transcreating, and other [not always related] activities. Why, I know a couple of colleagues who successfully diversified their foreign languages too

[Edited at 2018-10-30 14:19 GMT]
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:16
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Hi, Adam! Oct 30, 2018

It depends... As I started out some 40 years ago as a generalist translator the subjects I am familiar with include a wide variety (variety is the spice of life) but slowly and surely I have been specializing over the years. There are a few unfamiliar areas I will never venture in as I know my limits. But every now and then I can get a job that is outside my familiar areas and most texts I work with will have something new, even in the fields I master. It’s healthy to learn new things, isn’t... See more
It depends... As I started out some 40 years ago as a generalist translator the subjects I am familiar with include a wide variety (variety is the spice of life) but slowly and surely I have been specializing over the years. There are a few unfamiliar areas I will never venture in as I know my limits. But every now and then I can get a job that is outside my familiar areas and most texts I work with will have something new, even in the fields I master. It’s healthy to learn new things, isn’t it?

My advice? Translate what you like!
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Valérie Ourset
Kay Denney
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:16
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
From whose point of view? Oct 30, 2018

From the client's PoV I'm sure one strict specialisation must be best. But only if that's what that particular client wants, of course . Assuming you've got some great facts to back up your claim to be an "expert", you can start really carving yourself a niche market as the goto person. And that leads to better quality clients and higher rates.

But there can be loads of reasons for having a few specialisations. As yo
... See more
From the client's PoV I'm sure one strict specialisation must be best. But only if that's what that particular client wants, of course . Assuming you've got some great facts to back up your claim to be an "expert", you can start really carving yourself a niche market as the goto person. And that leads to better quality clients and higher rates.

But there can be loads of reasons for having a few specialisations. As you say, they can come from interests, education, or simply what agencies land on you. And some can have lots of logical connections, e.g. a tourism translator may develop useful specialisations in history, architecture, cuisine...

What I'd advise anyone to avoid is marketing themselves as a specialist in widely varying subjects, e.g. contracts, genetics, and marketing. I think that's a difficult one for potential clients to believe. Of course, there's nothing stopping you actually doing translations in all three if you feel competent.
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Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 18:16
English to German
In memoriam
Specialisations are a door opener, not a restriction Oct 30, 2018

I think it makes sense to focus on certain fields, but not to restrict yourself to these fields. If you work mostly with direct clients, it might be that all work you get from them is from the same field. But if you work with agencies, these will normally offer work from a wide range of fields, and as long as you are comfortable with the content and have the capacity, why not accept these as well? It might even turn out that there are more fields that might interest you and that you can develop ... See more
I think it makes sense to focus on certain fields, but not to restrict yourself to these fields. If you work mostly with direct clients, it might be that all work you get from them is from the same field. But if you work with agencies, these will normally offer work from a wide range of fields, and as long as you are comfortable with the content and have the capacity, why not accept these as well? It might even turn out that there are more fields that might interest you and that you can develop further.

I see a specialisation more as a door opener and not a restriction. My core fields are IT and gaming, and these are often the first fields of interest when getting in touch with a new prospective client or agency. But once a client relation is established, and I am asked to do work in other fields like automotive or tourism, I accept this work as well, if I have the time. (In most of my work it boils down to the fact that the end client wishes to sell something, be it a cloud computing service or a vehicle accessory...) Having said that, I do shy away from certain fields where I could do real damage, particularly fashion
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Carole Jouron
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Hedwig Spitzer (X)
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Susan Murphy Lamprecht
Dan Lucas
Marcella Marino
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 18:16
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
I am one such translator Oct 30, 2018

Adam-MSCR wrote:

Hi everybody,

I came across a profile the other day or somebody translating from Italian to English specialising in art and art history, I believe they work in a museum in Italy and have an education background in art too. For me this came across as very streamlined. I also thought that Italian as a source language and art were a perfect language/speciality match - thought I'm not sure how relevant this is.

Do you think this streamlined approach is better than specialising in several fields? I feel very comfortable with my speciality fields which either come from a working or educational background, but at the same time I always get the feeling it would be better to just choose one subject. I can see positives and negatives for doing this, but I'm just wondering what the general consensus is on here.


Hello Adam, I am one such translator. I started by listing art as a speciality field and, indeed, I got quite a few texts that dealt with art but then I did not get any more (I had History of Art as subsidiary subject when I did my BA) and then I got my Masters in Baroque too). I have also learnt about art, painting techniques and anything to do with art while painting. And that is why I further developed my knowledge of Italian. I attend talks, more often than not, in Italian, exhibitions, presentations, go to museums etc. But I now no longer get texts related to art so I removed it as a speciality area. I also taught teenagers for a long time but I do not get any texts that deal with pedagogy or education and so, I did not list education/pedagogy as one of my speciality areas. I started to specialise in business as I worked in that field for a time and enjoyed it, had it at university as part of my main subject (EU studies for which I am therefore qualified to list as speciality subject but even if I don't list it, I still get a lot of texts to translate)and then further included economics and finance. But translating business texts often includes other areas such as IT, real estate, whatever the company deals with. Therefore, some speciality areas are definitely not as compartmentalised as we make them out to be. I expect if you translate medical or technical texts, these areas do not overlap into other areas, you only have to deal with those areas but some areas overlap and you just have either to be a good researcher or learn as you go along. I do, however, refuse texts that include highly technical stuff or stuff I do not translate-mechanical, engineering, etc.

[Edited at 2018-10-30 20:32 GMT]


Ka Yee MECK
 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:16
French to English
Translator profiles Oct 30, 2018

I think there as many potential profiles as there are translators. Some backgrounds are fairly linear, others have taken a number of diversions from the main path. Both will have something to offer if they know what they are reading/writing about and they are good linguists. If they are also good at running their business, then they have every chance of having an interesting career ahead!

Jean Dimitriadis
Christine Andersen
Susan Murphy Lamprecht
Marcella Marino
 
Lincoln Hui
Lincoln Hui  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 01:16
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
Follow the money Oct 31, 2018

We really do not have the luxury of that choice, or if you do, making that choice likely makes you worse off.

What your specialty means is that when once in a blue moon somebody has a need for that kind of work, you can raise your hand and say you're absolutely the best person for the job. Otherwise, 90 percent of the time you're working in some other field that you're comfortable with, but which you're just as likely as not to have picked up on the fly. Specializations represent wh
... See more
We really do not have the luxury of that choice, or if you do, making that choice likely makes you worse off.

What your specialty means is that when once in a blue moon somebody has a need for that kind of work, you can raise your hand and say you're absolutely the best person for the job. Otherwise, 90 percent of the time you're working in some other field that you're comfortable with, but which you're just as likely as not to have picked up on the fly. Specializations represent what you are capable of, not what you do.

I get, on average, half a music-related project per year. My choir recently inquired about my services, so maybe now I'll have one project per year.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
school of fish Nov 1, 2018

Have you really ever tried to be faster, more provident, and better than all?
No matter how hard you tried for you still are somewhere in the mid, because you just follow someone else's White Rabbit, with foreign goals and dreams. Unless it's just for fun)

If you like something and understand it alright, or you're even somewhat crazy about it, then coupling it with translation (or interpreting) could enrich your experience, adding more passion to your life. The problem is some
... See more
Have you really ever tried to be faster, more provident, and better than all?
No matter how hard you tried for you still are somewhere in the mid, because you just follow someone else's White Rabbit, with foreign goals and dreams. Unless it's just for fun)

If you like something and understand it alright, or you're even somewhat crazy about it, then coupling it with translation (or interpreting) could enrich your experience, adding more passion to your life. The problem is sometimes people already have several (mostly healthy and manageable!) kinds of lust as a hobby, still meeting other passion pieces while living along.
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Marcella Marino
Marcella Marino  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 18:16
Member (2016)
English to Italian
+ ...
More specialisations are better than just one in most cases Nov 2, 2018

I personally think that if you decide to specialise in one field only, you have to be sure that the curstomers you will work for in that specific field can guarantee they give you regular work. Specialising in more than one field often pays off, as you are able to offer to your end customers and/or agencies a good service in terms of quality. Moreover, this increases the chances to be assigned jobs, as you are seen as a more versatile professional, and helps you diversifying the projects you hav... See more
I personally think that if you decide to specialise in one field only, you have to be sure that the curstomers you will work for in that specific field can guarantee they give you regular work. Specialising in more than one field often pays off, as you are able to offer to your end customers and/or agencies a good service in terms of quality. Moreover, this increases the chances to be assigned jobs, as you are seen as a more versatile professional, and helps you diversifying the projects you have to work on. So, for instance, today you work on a legal text, tomorrow on a technical or scientific one, the day after tomorrow you are assigned a subtitling project and so on. It's stimulating and challenging at the same time.Collapse


 


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Better to specialise in one field or in several?







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