Today’s world is a figurative melting pot of languages, cultures and people. Immigrants from every nation live and work together in all developed areas. This is certainly true of STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – fields where experts from all over the globe cooperate to advance scientific and medical knowledge and understanding.
How do these professionals collaborate? Obviously, not every mathematician or engineer is multilingual nor do they understand the same notations from one culture to the next. This creates a need for skilled workers who understand both scientific or industrial concepts as well as multiple languages. These professionals are known as technical translators.
What is Technical Translation?
Technical translation is simply a translation that requires specialized knowledge to interpret the text, audio or data from one language to another. This is common in the medical, scientific and industrial fields where translators are required to understand the notation specific to these areas. Typically, the people who provide these translation services have a background not only in linguistics but also in the field for which they are translating documentation.
The Need for the Job
There is a larger need for technical translation than people may realize. With the cultural collaboration common in STEM fields, it is a position with job security in multiple countries.
To become a technical translator, some of the required skills include:
- A comprehensive understanding of both or all the languages being used.
- An education in the field or fields that you are working in.
- Strong writing, speaking, listening and other communication skills.
- The ability to research and gather information quickly, efficiently and on nearly any topic.
People with these qualifications may find a rewarding career helping scientist, mathematicians, industrial workers to cross cultural borders and continue to globalize their professions in an exceedingly international marketplace.