重点报道的语言学家——约翰·米兰
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永利登录网址可以从同事那里学到很多东西, but it can be intimidating to strike up a conversation with the “pros.“出于这个原因,永利登录网址在Savvy为您完成了永利登录网址的工作 重点报道的语言学家 访谈系列, where we pick the brains of experienced translators and 翻译s and bring their stories right to your screen. We hope their stories and sound advice will inspire and encourage you as you forge your career in the 翻译 and interpretation (T&我)行业.
在这次采访中, 约翰·米兰, 一个经济学家, 商业顾问, ATA-certified翻译, 文字编辑, 也是经济学专业的讲师, 金融, 银行, 合同, 劳资纠纷, 国际贸易/发展, 和法律, shares the key to choosing specializations that will provide you with financial stability over the long term and what a day at the office looks like for him, 作为一名提供多种服务的翻译人员.
问:你是自由职业者还是在公司内部工作? If you work as a freelancer, why have you chosen this route over working in-house?
A: 我是一个自由职业者. 我成了一名自由职业者, 首先也是最重要的, 控制我的工作日程, 让我管理自己的时间,寻求健康的工作与生活的平衡. Freelancing lets me adapt to projects and clients across time zones and countries. 我发现远程工作效率更高, 我已经做了20多年了. 作为一个自由职业者, 我也能提供一系列的服务, 包括咨询, 翻译, 编辑, 解释, 和讲课, 是什么让我的工作充满活力和吸引力.
问:你的第一个“T”是怎么来的&项目或任务?
A: My very first assignment came well before I considered myself a translator. I was an undergraduate studying abroad in Madrid and teaching English part time at a hospital. One of my ESL students was a 西班牙语 doctor at the hospital who was working on an article to submit to a medical journal in the United States. He asked me to work on the English version with him, to prepare it for publication. 所以,在这种情况下,我实际上是一个助理翻译.
我第一次真正的专业任务, 然而, 几年之后, 当时我在巴西担任经济学兼职教授. 这是一个口口相传的过程,需要一些网络, but eventually I got a call from a company that had a financial document they needed translated into English, 他们在找一个有我背景的翻译. It was a good fit that turned into a decades-long professional relationship.
问:你是如何选择你的专业领域的?
A: 我先专攻,后来进入语言服务行业. 作为一名本科生, I majored in 西班牙语 and was introduced to 翻译/解释 while simultaneously pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in international political economy. 当我在西班牙留学时, I not only focused on language skills but also took courses in 西班牙语 that fostered my economic/business background. 这种模式一直延续到研究生院, where I studied Portuguese and took 翻译 courses while earning a master’s degree in applied microeconomics. 随着时间的推移,我的专业范围扩大了, 因为我在其他领域获得了专业经验, most notably working with numerous law firms and government agencies.
对于新手的专业化建议, the important thing to bear in mind is that it all starts with demand. You need to identify a field or fields that are in demand and growing, 确保你自己的长期财务稳定. 然后, you can narrow down the specialization by thinking about what you are willing and interested in learning about and working in, 在你完成学业很久之后.
问:是吗?&我的工作构成了你全部的收入来源, 还是你教, 写的内容, 提供咨询服务, 或者有其他副业?
A: 从我职业生涯的第一天起,我就身兼数职. 多年来, 除了做翻译之外, 翻译, 和编辑, 我一直是经济学的兼职教授, 讲师(在线和面对面), 也是一名管理顾问. The percentage of my income from these pursuits has varied from year to year, 这取决于我的项目. 在我职业生涯的早期, 翻译 and 解释 provided a relatively small percentage of my earnings. 随着我的语言服务客户基础的增长, I began allocating more time and energy to developing higher-paying direct clients, 允许低收入收入流逐渐消失. I try to focus on projects with the highest return on the time I invest in them. We often spend too much time on things that don’t pay enough to justify our efforts. A skill that people new to the profession should develop is determining whether a project is worth their time. That can be tough, especially when assignments are few and far between. That is why it is so important to diversify your income, to avoid having to accept every job.
在过去20年左右的时间里,我每周工作40-50个小时. Language services have accounted for anywhere from 50% to 95% of that time, 与咨询, 讲课, 并建议弥补剩下的部分. I try to ensure a steady flow of projects by constantly seeking out new clients. 每年,我都努力开发至少一个新客户. I research companies I’d like to work with and spend time trying to find out how I can assist them. 只要我有个提议, I’ll start the (often long) process of reaching out to people to try to find a decision-maker at the organization who can evaluate whether my services make sense for their organization.
问:你每天都做些什么?
A: 当然,简短的回答是:视情况而定. If I’m in the midst of a multi-day 翻译 project (my typical week), 然后是这样的:我在家工作, so I start my day by taking my laptop into the kitchen and checking/responding to emails while waking up and feeding my dogs. I eventually move into my home office and start invoicing jobs I’ve recently completed and taking care of administrative things on my schedule. 在那之后, 我准备好了, and I typically set aside three to four hours for uninterrupted 翻译 and research, 偶尔休息一下伸展一下, 四处走动, 给我的晨饮补充能量.
Around midday/early afternoon, I take a break to exercise and forget about work. 当我坐回笔记本电脑前的时候, 我会再回复邮件的, 然后再花两到三个小时翻译和做研究. 当我的眼睛开始呆滞, 我知道是时候收工了, 所以我以查看电子邮件作为结束, 跟进潜在的新客户, 还有我的网站/在线形象.
当我有咨询任务时, I’m either in Zoom meetings with clients or at their place of business for a few hours a day, 致力于各自的项目, 我经常能够在之前或之后进行一些翻译.
这次采访是由 艾米丽Moorlach of 精明的新人 团队.
约翰·米兰 is 一个经济学家, 商业顾问, ATA certified translator, 文字编辑, and lecturer. 自2005年以来, 他用葡萄牙语提供服务, 西班牙语, and English to hundreds of clients in a dozen countries from his home office in Chapel Hill, NC. 从1996年到2005年, 他担任经济学兼职教授, 顾问, 以及在圣保罗的翻译/口译员, 巴西. He has served on the ATA 董事会 as Treasurer since 2017 and was on the 董事会 of the Carolina Association of Translators and 翻译s from 2009-2016, 包括四年的总统任期. 电子邮件: john@milanlanguageservices.com
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