My chosen field of study, Norwegian Scandinavian Studies, opens up various career opportunities. One of the most obvious is to work as a sworn translator in state institutions or freelance in the translation industry. As a person who values individuality and freedom of action, I am much more inclined towards the second possibility of a professional path. Therefore, I would like to present how you can combine your passion for translation with a way of life.
The desire to perform professional translations, work from different places in the world, high earnings depending on the speed of action, personal qualities, aptitude and language skills are the obvious arguments why students of linguistics choose to work as translators. There may be other reasons for pursuing this profession, somewhat less popular but equally important, such as the desire to enable more people to enjoy literary works, an area of art, poetry or cinema. When it comes to these cultural elements, a professional and accurate translation performed by a translation agency or a freelancer is essential to be able to understand it and get the best from it. As a contrasting example, sculptures or paintings are universal art forms so they do not require translation into different languages; their form stands above linguistic constraints.
Working as a translator does not necessarily mean having a full-time job and specific working hours. Translations can also be carried out on a casual basis on the basis of individual orders. With the right resources such as language skills and enough free time, you can spend your spare time doing translations. These translations can cover different areas of work, whether literary, fiction or journalism, i.e. articles or columns. In accordance with the times, you can also do casual translations of computer games and movies, especially considering the growth in the entertainment sector in 2020. Personally, I would most like to take up the second possibility. My decision is caused by a combined love of games and movies and foreign languages.
Earning money from a hobby that provides us with a sense of fulfilment is possible and every person should strive for it. Thanks to its specific character, the translation industry allows you to easily combine the pleasant part of life with the practical one, i.e. the one necessary to lead a life on a decent level.
(translation M.J.K.)
