How to Become a Translator at ITC

The success of a company like ITC Translations is built on many factors and the translation team is one essential element that is part of the very foundation. Every day, many translators work to translate our clients’ projects into more than 80 language from their locations in multiple countries in several time zones. So how exactly does someone become a translator at ITC?

Many Career Paths Lead to Translation

We believe that a diversified team is more effective and the various career paths translators have taken before joining ITC are the proof. While all linguists have a recognized professional degree in translation and meet our high standards, each translator’s career trajectory is unique. There are two types of translators working at ITC: freelance translators and internal translators. After successfully going through our selection process, freelance translators notify us of their availability and are assigned translation projects that fit their specialization, skills and interests. Since they typically do not work full-time for ITC, freelancers can gain experience in multiple industries by translating for different clients. Translators often take this route early in their careers.

ITC also employs full-time internal translators and many of them began their careers and worked for years in different industries, although these were often connected with languages. But once they discovered translation while working in a different industry, studying or simply falling in love with the profession, they each took the path that led to a career as professional translators. The years spent working in other roles enabled our translators to develop a translation specialization. Fun fact: ITC sometimes recruits freelance translators from our network for internal positions.

The international ISO 17100 standard lays out the core processes, resources and other aspects needed to deliver high-quality translations and all our translators meet the standard’s requirements by fulfilling at least one of the following criteria: translation qualification recognized by a diploma from a higher education institution, qualification in another field recognized by a diploma from a higher education institution plus two years of full-time professional translation experience, or more than five years of professional translation experience.

Are you a freelance translator who would like to join our network? Then apply through our online system.

How We Choose the Right Translator for Each Project

With such a diverse network of professional translators, you may wonder how our project managers choose the best candidate for your project. First, you should know that our translators only translate into their native language. They always have the required skills in the project’s specific industry and they have a duty to obtain sufficient information to fully understand the documents to be translated. And they must also maintain and expand their professional skills through continuing education. While the translators in our network have impeccable ethics, top-notch skills and the desire to provide high quality, we still carefully choose the right professional for your project. All our professional translators share the following characteristics:

• Several years of experience and expertise in translation
• Linguistic and writing skills in the source and target languages
• Information research, collection and processing skills
• Cultural, technical and industry-specific skills (specializing in specific sectors)
• Successful completion of all ITC Translations tests
• Well-developed professional skills
• An eye for detail and a commitment to high quality work
• Excellent ability to adapt
• Proven professional ethics
• A desire to satisfy the needs of clients

Learn more about how we choose translators.

Translators Do Much More Than Translate

One surprising fact about this career is that translators don’t just spend their entire day translating—far from it! Their days are filled with multiple tasks. These can include creating or updating translation memories and glossaries or conducting terminology research. Translators may also be trained to do localization and adaptation, dubbing, interpretation, transcreation, proofreading and revision, content creation, post-editing and much more. Plus, translators are always upgrading their skills through training and continuing education offered by the company while also acquiring a wealth of new knowledge through the infinite variety of documents, industries and topics to be translated. All in all, the role of translator is far from mundane!