Stepping Stones to Dive into My Career: Interpreters and Translators – a Global Position

As you enter high school you begin to hear words such as ‘career’, ‘occupation’, and ‘professions’. These words lead you up to deciding your career. Then how do you start off with your research? Where do you begin? Well, each and every one of us has different gifts that can assist us when we are selecting our jobs. Usually, your occupation depends what kind of person you are. Your values, talents, interests, and others are what make up your candidates for your job. For me, skills, interests, experiences, values, and priorities are what I feel I should consider before choosing a career. Among the occupations I could have chosen from, my last three nominees were writer (editor), announcer (broadcaster), and interpreter and translator, however, my final decision was interpreter and translator. I felt willing to take on the job of being able to help people who use two different languages to be able to exchange ideas and communicate.

Skills and interests have always taken a considerable amount of significance in the selection of careers. Having various skills and interests, I became aware of some skills that I thought would be suitable for my career. One skill that that I noticed, having going to many different schools, I had not much difficulty in remembering names. This is terribly crucial because interpreters and translators require exceptional memory in order to keep in mind what the person had said (Interpreters and Translators). By having excellent memories, they will not have trouble memorizing substantial amount of critical data. Something that I like to do, and is good for an interpreter or a translator to do, is to meet new people. Socializing is a primary step in which is essential for this seven lettered word, network. The key to a good reputation or how one is viewed in society is by extending their range and their connections. How people think of you will often have an effect in what occurs in your job. For instance, if your first impression was undoubtedly striking, then people will identify you in an optimistic way. This might reach your supervisor, and you might receive promotion if you are described positively. In essence, networking is vital no matter where you go or what career you have. In a quiz that I took in MSN careers it says, “It’s been estimated that between 70 and 80 percent of all jobs are filled by people who learned of them through word of mouth” (Quiz: Test Your Job Hunting Skills), which points out the significance of networking. Therefore, it is necessary to act politely as well as comfortably around new faces because later on, they might affect the flow of your career. Who knows?

According to the tests that I took, it narrowed down to me being an Idealist as well as a Guardian. As an Idealist, my role was a teacher, and as a Guardian, my role was a protector. The following two quotes displayed what the desire of a protector was. “The foremost desire of the Protector is to be service to minister to others (Keirsey 8). “They can have a great deal of satisfaction from caring for others, and they offer their comfort gently and helpfully…” (Keirsey 8). This characteristic fits in well with an interpreter/translator because they are people who are able to assist people who cannot converse without their native language.

Looking back in my life, I have had plenty of experience in using both English and Korean to interact with others. A quote from iseek says, “They must be able to listen and keep track of what they hear, while they speak” (Career: Interpreters and Translators) which illustrates the importance of how familiar you are with two languages. As a bilingual student, I will be able to understand and interpret in two difference kinds of speech

I am a person who regards one of her top priorities as being successful in a career. To me, there are many traits that are part of being successful, and those would be feeling good about myself, gaining respect or having a good reputation, gaining power, and earning a large amount of money.

There were significant points about the career that I had chosen which were an interpreter and translator. One of the most appealing ones contained information about earnings, and the other one held the possibility of irregular schedules. The quote that I found about earnings was, “…individuals classified as language specialists for the Federal Government earned an average of $71,635 annually 2005. Limited information suggests that some high skilled interpreters and translators – for example, high-level conference interpreters – working full time can earn more than $100,000 annually” (Interpreters and Translators). It convinced me to realize the fact I may perhaps earn more money than typical jobs if I work hard. The quote about irregular schedules said, “…interpreters and translators may use their irregular schedules to pursue other interests, such as traveling, dabbling in a hobby, or working a second job.” (Interpreters and Translators). Another here gave me the feeling that it meant I could pursue some of my interests while also traveling to many places; “Many interpreters and translators enjoy what they do and value the ability to control their schedules and workloads” (Interpreters and Translators). I had never enjoyed the thought of occupations with immensely tight restrictions and regular times. Without a tight schedules and instead following some of my interests or holding two jobs will not be bad at all, because you won’t always need to concentrate on one concept.

In conclusion, I think an interpreter or a translator would be suitable occupation for me. According to many tests that I completed, my skills, interests, spiritual gifts/ natural affinities, and the nature of this particular career seems to point me to the direction of an interpreter or a translator. My interests in meeting new people, my ability to be bilingual, and my skill of being able to remember names seem to match up with the characteristics of an interpreter or a translator.



Works cited:
"Career: Interpreters and Translators." iseek. Nov 2005. Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. 5 May 2007 .
Holland, John. Assessment Booklet – A guide to Educational and Career Planning. 4th. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc, 1994.
"Interpreters and Translators." Occupational Outlook Handbook. 4 August 2006. U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics. 13 Mar 2007 .
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company, 1998.
"Quiz: Test Your Job Hunting Skills." MSN careers. careerbuilder.com. 18 Mar 2007 .