Undertaking a language course can be immensely fulfilling on a personal level. It can also open up a whole range of new career options. We\u2019ll explore three of these below \u2013 translation (we\u2019ll focus on Italian, for the sake of this example), online teaching and transcription \u2013 along with some tips to get your career off the ground the easy way.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s up to you how you provide your Italian translation services. You can translate Italian documents to English by setting up your own freelance service or by working with a translation agency to translate Italian documents<\/a> for their clients. Your career, your choice.<\/p>\n There are pros to working on your own \u2013 you can be selective about your clients, you get to keep the whole fee (less the tax man\u2019s share) and you can decide your own rates. There are also pros to working with an agency \u2013 the agency does all the legwork in terms of finding clients, they have systems for dealing with obscure file formats, you\u2019ll have a project manager and other team members to support you and so on.<\/p>\n You can apply to multiple agencies, join freelancing platforms and market your translation services directly to businesses \u2013 whatever feels right to you. By approaching the provision of your Italian translation services in this way, you\u2019ll be able to generate multiple income streams. Just be careful not to take on too many different jobs from different sources and find yourself unable to deliver.<\/p>\n How can I turn my language course into an online teaching career?<\/strong><\/p>\n The online language learning market is growing rapidly. With a compound annual growth rate of 18.7% expected from 2020 to 2027<\/a>, the market should be worth $21.2 billion by 2027.<\/p>\n If you want to be part of the online teaching industry, you\u2019ll need to ensure you have an online presence that details your skills, experience, rates and availability. Make everything as clear as possible so that it\u2019s easy for potential students to discover what they need.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to have some lesson plans ready too and put thought into how you\u2019re going to deliver your teaching. You can either go it alone or join an agency that will provide you with materials and support you to build up your student base.<\/p>\n In equipment terms, you\u2019ll need to ensure you have a decent internet connection and a reliable video conferencing app.<\/p>\n For transcription, too, you\u2019ll need the right tools. A foot pedal that stops and starts your audio is essential, along with decent speakers or headphones so that you can listen to the recording clearly.<\/p>\n To establish a transcription career, you can choose to freelance or work with a transcription company, much as you can for translation \u2013 the tips provided above apply equally to both.<\/p>\n Fast typing speed is particularly important for transcription, as it will impact how quickly you can deliver your work. So if you don\u2019t touch-type already, it\u2019s time to learn.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for inspiration about other work that you can do with your newly acquired language skills, why not hop onto freelancing platform Upwork and type in what you want to do? Whether it\u2019s providing English to Italian translation services, picking up German interpretation jobs, recording French voiceovers or anything else, the search results will bring up matches and similar suggestions, which can help to broaden your ideas about the kind of work you could do.<\/p>\n By taking these tips on board as you launch your fledgling language career, you can maximise your chances of engaging clients and retaining them.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking to land a fulltime role, your CV will need to be in top shape. That means showing off not just your qualifications but also relevant skills and experience. If you don\u2019t have anything to put yet, don\u2019t worry. Why not take on some voluntary work or complete a couple of freelance jobs to begin building up your experience? Think about transferrable skills and soft skills<\/a> too \u2013 there are likely to be non-language skills that will still help you to fulfil a role successfully, so be sure to list those.<\/p>\n Networking is a key part of establishing your freelance career, so if you plan to work for yourself it\u2019s time to reach out and make new contacts. Let your existing professional contacts know that you\u2019re available to provide your chosen language-related service, reach out online to businesses that use language services and consider attending events, from relevant conferences to local business networking breakfasts. The more you reach out, the greater your chances of building up a solid, long-term client base.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re freelancing, think carefully about what your clients need. Translating Italian documents to English, for example, means making it simple for the client to send you their document, in whatever format is easiest for them. It also means providing a fast and competitive quotation for the work. Once you\u2019ve won the job, you\u2019ll need to deliver the Italian to English translation \u2013 or the English to Italian translation, if they want it the other way around \u2013 in line with the client\u2019s timescale. And you will, of course, need to ensure that the translation is of extremely high quality.<\/p>\nHow do I move from completing a course to establishing a transcription career?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How to find other language-related jobs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Actionable tips for building up your career<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#1 Build up your experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n
#2 Find your first clients<\/h3>\n
#3 Make life easy for your clients<\/h3>\n