27 August 202013 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Conclusions of the Results of the Translation Qualifications Survey (Part 4)

After an overview of the initial results in part 1, in parts 2 and 3 we focused on comments made about the main survey questions.

Specifically in part 2 we examined whether the respondents were thinking of doing any of the four surveyed qualifications (MA/MSc, Diploma in Translation, ATA certification and ITI exam) and which of these four they thought was better.

In part 3 we looked at responses to three questions: Which of the four qualifications are more highly regarded by translators (1), by agencies (2) and by direct clients (3).

This fourth and final part of the results includes some general comments made at the end of the survey and also some insights given under the specific questions that I didn’t manage to fit into the previous three parts of the results as they are more wide-ranging.

13 August 202027 August 2020 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Results of the Translation Qualifications Survey (Part 3)

This is the third and penultimate part of the results of the translation qualifications survey, which focused on the DipTrans, MA/MSc, MITI exam and ATA certification.

In Part 1, we looked at the graphs and pie charts resulting from the survey. However, as I decided to reopen the survey to gain more responses, you’ll find all the definitive graphs and pie charts in Part 2 and in this post.

In Part 2, we examined the results of the first survey questions in more detail as well as some of the comments made to explain respondents’ choices.

In this Part 3, we’ll look at the comments for the last three questions: Which of the four qualifications surveyed are more highly regarded by translators (1), by agencies (2) and by direct clients (3).

10 August 202027 August 2020 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Results of the Translation Qualifications Survey (Part 2)

Introduction

As many of you will know, a large part of my blog is dedicated to posts by guest writers reviewing their MA or MSc in translation or translation and interpreting. Budding translators often need help deciding which MA course to take and so they come here to read about previous students’ experiences and ask for advice.

Colleagues who haven’t followed the MA route but want to get qualified often wonder (in my circle at least) whether they should take the DipTrans, ITI or ATA exams. And some who have studied an MA feel they need to go a step further and take one of these exams as well. Consequently, knowing which of these four qualifications is more likely to get them translation work would be helpful. Hence the reason for this survey.

4 April 202027 August 2020 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Initial Results of the Translation Qualifications Survey (Part 1)

Back in February last year, I asked you all to answer some questions about translation qualifications in a survey. I kept extending the deadline because I was hoping for more responses. And then when I should have being doing a write-up of the results, Brexit and the UK general election, family issues and the ever-present threat of the climate emergency filled my head and my spare time leaving me with no energy or enthusiasm for the blog.

Now that we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, my work has all but come to a halt so at least I can finally get around to thanking everyone who took part in the survey and giving you the results.

As there were only 59 respondents and I imagine this post might make some colleagues want to give their views, I have reopened the survey and will continue accepting responses until the end of July 2020.

15 February 201912 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Translation Qualifications Survey

It’s survey time again on My Words for a Change. Back in 2015 I ran my first survey on adverts on translation blogs (TLDR: don’t have any adverts on your blogs!). The following year I ran one on revisions (thus combining two of my favourite subjects). I spared you all my intrusive questions in 2017 and last year I ran a survey on whether blogging is dead (TLDR: no, it isn’t yet, but it really depends on the blog).

This year I want to quizz you about qualifications. As you probably know if you’re a regular reader, lots of guest posters have written about their experiences of MAs and MScs in translation for this blog, and the vast majority of them have been positive. But taking out a year or two to study a degree at university, even if it’s a distance-learning course, isn’t an option for all of us.

11 April 201812 February 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

What Readers Want – Translation & Interpreting Blog Survey Results (Part 3)

In Part 2 of these results we looked at the many reasons why people do and don’t blog. Unless you’re running a blog to improve your writing skills and keep a record of your ideas, you need readers. And to attract readers, you have to write about topics that interest them. Nearly 85% of the survey respondents read translation and interpreting blogs. Let’s find out why they read them and what puts the other 15% off.

As expected, the top response in favour of reading blogs was professional interest:

25 March 201826 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

To Blog or Not to Blog – Translation & Interpreting Blog Survey Results (Part 2)

Back in 2013, when I first started My Words for a Change on Blogger (before moving to WordPress in 2015), the pressure on freelance translators and interpreters to blog was quite intense. We were constantly being told that blogging was a must for marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes and to attract clients (as we learned in Part 1 of these results). I felt positively guilty for months because I had nothing to say (hard to believe now, I know, because once I started, I couldn’t stop) and felt that launching myself into the blogosphere was quite scary.

Judging by the responses to the translation & interpreting blog survey, I’m not alone in feeling compelled to blog:

3 March 20189 January 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Blogging is Not Dead – Translation & Interpreting Blog Survey Results (Part 1)

Back in early January 2018, I decided to create the translation and interpreting blog survey because I wanted to find out whether blogging was a worthwhile activity for colleagues and myself. I’d noticed that many blogs listed in my blogroll had disappeared completely (so I had to remove them) and others hadn’t been updated with new posts for months and in some cases years.

It had also been suggested that Facebook, with its immediate exchanges and discussions taking place in a large number of groups ranging from general (Watercooler, The League of Extraordinary Translators, Things Translators Never Say) to specific (Tourism Translators, Translators who use Speech Recognition, memoQ Users), was the new preferred hangout for translators and interpreters.