29 November 202019 May 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

Review of MA in Translation at the University of Manchester

Let’s be honest, after completing a four-year undergraduate language degree (and spending the previous 15ish years in education), the last thing you probably want to do is go back into education.

That’s how I felt at least. I had just graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in German with Dutch and decided I wanted to be a translator. I started to look for jobs in translation, but it seemed as though they all required an MA, so I did some research into Translation MA courses.

There were two universities I was interested in: Surrey and Manchester. I had no preference, so applied and was accepted to both. Shortly after, my partner received an offer for a job based near Manchester and we decided to relocate together.

6 October 20183 February 2023 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

October 2018 Update of ‘Useful Links & Resources for Translators & Interpreters’ Page

Welcome to the latest update of the Useful Links & Resources for Translators & Interpreters page. This major update has been underway for a few months and I apologise that the “Back to top” has not been working during that time (fixed now).

Besides adding lots of new links to help you with your translations and running your business, I’ve divided the page into four main sections and added nine new categories.

The first section contains the general monolingual resources (now divided into three different categories to make links easier to find) and general multilingual resources.

New additions include British, Scottish, Canadian and American English dictionaries. With around 100 links in total in this section, there’s lots to explore.

2 November 201715 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

M.A. in Translation from Kent State University

I received my M.A. in Translation (Spanish concentration) from Kent State University’s Institute for Applied Linguistics in 2013, and I have been working as a freelance translator and editor since graduation. I entered the master’s program directly from my undergraduate studies with significant interest in translation but very little knowledge of the industry, and right away I recognized that the program was exactly what I was looking for. I was selected for a graduate assistantship, which involves teaching undergraduate language or translation-related courses. I taught two undergraduate Spanish courses per semester my first year, and I taught a hybrid Spanish course and worked in the language lab my second year. Since I did not have another job while being enrolled in the program, this allowed me to pay for my degree, and it also created opportunities for teaching after graduation.

4 July 201726 April 2021 Nikki Graham - Tranix Translation & Proof-Editing Services

When the unthinkable happens and giving up work isn’t an option

Sometimes life throws you a curveball and the unthinkable happens: a family member is struck with a long-term illness and you suddenly have to take on the role of carer. Caring for a loved one can be physically and emotionally draining and as time-consuming as looking after a baby, but often with none of the happy milestones marking a transition from one phase to another. Not only does caring take huge bites out of your available work time, it often does not put you in the frame of mind to focus when you finally do manage to sit down at your desk.

Giving up work entirely is not always a financially viable option for the family. In my case, I’ve had no choice but to cut down on my hours and learn to work smarter. Although my earnings have dropped by about 20% in the past two years I’ve been a carer, I reckon the time I spend translating, on admin and other work-related matters is 50% less. I now very rarely work in the evenings or at weekends and I certainly don’t always work a full day either during the week. My aim is to get back to the same level of earnings without increasing the number of my working hours. In this post I’d like to share a few of the ways I’ve managed to ensure that the unthinkable didn’t turn into a financial disaster for my family.