How much does a translator earn? Experience and Scope

In the era of globalization, the profession of translator becomes relevant as never before. This article will talk about the types, functions and income of translators.

Types of translation work

What is known about the profession of translator? Probably, only that this specialist is engaged in high-quality translation of texts, dialogs or various oral statements. However, the profession in question has a fairly wide range of species and subspecies. So, if a person has good knowledge in a particular language, he is able to work in the following areas:

• Work in the staff of any organization. This may include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, various record companies or film companies. A person who wants to work in this field is required to have a special education and a good reputation.
• Freelance. This is work in a free environment. It is enough to prove oneself from the best side. Education as such is not required.

The translator is able to perform the following types of work:

• oral;
• work with text;
• work with videos.

How much does a translator earn? The answer to this question will be given below.

Key responsibilities of a translator

No matter where the person involved in the translation works, there are certain functions that these specialists must perform.

In many respects, the answer to the question of how much the translator earns depends on duties. So what can be distinguished here?

• Work with documents, regulations, texts of speeches, etc. At the same time, semantic content, style and vocabulary should not be lost.
• Text editing works. Their reduction, modification or correction; again, the translator must fully preserve the original meaning of the text.
• Conducting business correspondence, dialogues, negotiations.
• Escort of officials at various meetings, conferences, negotiations, etc. Implementation of simultaneous interpretation.

The most relevant language

Which language is the most important and relevant today?

Most will say that it is English. Of course it is. Surely many would like to know how much English translators earn. And it is here that one important problem arises: translation from English is one of the lowest paid. There are many reasons for this. But the main thing is the fact that more and more people learn this language, and the need for translators simply disappears. Nevertheless, 67% of the vacancies are in the English language - this is an interesting paradox!

What other languages ​​on the labor market are considered important? According to statistics, 14% of vacancies are in German. Thus, it is the German language that comes second after English. The rest is in French (5%), Chinese (4%) and Spanish (2%).

The question of how much the translator earns is very difficult. Revealing this topic is difficult, because income depends on many factors. And yet, you can reveal the most basic points. About it further.

Freelance Translator

Every day there are more and more “free translators”. This is, of course, connected with the development of Internet technologies and the emergence of new content exchanges. It is worth noting that a freelance translator has much greater capabilities than an employee in an official organization. Indeed, on the Internet there is a lot of information, content, videos and texts that could be translated and posted for review.

How much does a freelance translator make? The answer to this question cannot be monosyllabic. Everything will depend on the following factors:

• degree of workload of the translator;
• degree of relevance of content for translation;
• the number of Internet users in need of content and much more.

However, it is worth noting that a relatively professional translator is able to earn up to $ 1,000 per month (when it comes to content exchanges).

Income level by language

How much does a Chinese translator earn? What about Italian? These are the questions that people ask, who believe that income depends on the translated language. But is it really so? The answer to this question will be given below.

There are special statistics that allow you to estimate the cost of translator work depending on the language. Given the fact that the average salary of the specialist in question is approximately 40 thousand rubles, the following data should be taken into account:

• Greek language - 85 thousand rubles;
• Arabic language - 61 thousand rubles;
• Japanese language - up to 60 thousand rubles;
• Chinese language - 47 thousand rubles;
• Kazakh language - 42 thousand rubles;
• Italian language - 36 thousand rubles.

As you can see, the leading position is held by the Greek language. It is people who speak this language who earn the most money. However, one may wonder where is the English language here. How much do English translators earn? Oddly enough, but experts in this language earn quite a bit - a little less than translators from Italian.

Education for translator

Do I need to study at various educational institutions in order to master the profession of translator? In this case everything will depend on where exactly the person wants to carry out his labor activity. So, it is unlikely that a person who does not have a proper education will be taken to the Foreign Ministry or to a prestigious record company. To get into this kind of organization and work there officially, you need to really try.

It is about getting a diploma in a university in a language specialty, earning at least a little work experience, participating in various kinds of language contests, etc.

If a person wants to work as a freelance translator, then he will not have to strain so much. Everything is much simpler here: you just need to send a couple of test works to the customer and establish yourself as a quality specialist. But sometimes the path of a freelance translator can be difficult and winding. After all, in order to establish oneself with the best positions, one must try very well.

Income level depending on the place of work

There are really many official organizations where competent translators with higher education are needed. The level of income also depends on the region where the specialist in question works.

How much do translators earn in Russia? This will be discussed later.

Here are the statistics, according to which the average salary varies depending on the region (we are talking about the work of a simultaneous interpreter):

• Moscow region - from 60 to 100 thousand rubles;
• Leningrad Region - from 40 to 80 thousand rubles;
• Volgograd, Yekaterinburg and Kazan - from 30 to 45 thousand rubles;
• other large cities - from 27 to 45 thousand rubles.

How to earn more?

There are some tips for people who want to do translations. If you follow the recommendations below, then all questions like “how much does a Chinese, Italian or Spanish translator earn” will disappear by themselves. After all, everything depends not so much on the source of the work as on the applied efforts.

• It is necessary to constantly improve. So, if it seems that the language has been studied up and down and nowhere else to go, do not stop. It is necessary to discover new, sometimes even highly specialized facets of the language. The comfort zone is harmful, and you can not stay in it in any case.
• The choice of a prestigious company or organization.
• The choice of place of residence and, accordingly, work.