A decade in translation

This month marks ten years since my career as a full-time translator began. I finished my degree in translation and interpreting in the summer of 2001 and immediately sought an in-house position as a translator in southern Germany where my now-husband lived. By luck and good fortune, I managed to find a job as an in-house translator and journalist at a specialised publishing house in the beautiful Black Forest region of Germany.

I walked in on my first day naively believing that my degree in translation had prepared me adequately for this position. How wrong I was! The next four years proved transformative for my career: The colleague with whom I shared an office took me under her wing and helped me to become the translator I am today. As many of you know from previous posts, this company also produces Germany's leading journal for the waste management and recycling industry, allowing me to gain deep knowledge of the area that is now my primary speciality. One of the benefits of my job was that I could travel to trade fairs and conferences in France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands. I also visited different types of waste treatment plants, from landfills to hazardous waste incinerators and e-scrap recycling facilities. I cannot understate how grateful I am for all of these experiences.

Six years ago a new chapter of my life began with a move to Kansas City. Going from working in a busy office to becoming a freelancer was an adjustment, to say the least. The quiet was deafening so I learned to work with BBC World Service playing in the background. I embraced social media, joined my local translators association, MICATA, and became a devoted attendee of ATA conferences. Over the past six years my customer base has also undergone a significant shift from being reliant on just one or two clients to becoming more diverse. As the next ten years of my career in translation dawn it is perhaps fitting that I am beginning a new role: I will become president of MICATA on 1st October. I am excited for the challenges and opportunities that it will bring, and look forward to repaying some of the kindness shown to me during the first phase of my career. Here's to many more decades to come!