ý

Meet James, 28, a freelance translator based in Kent. Find out more about how he uses Portuguese and Spanish in his role. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.

James specialises in audio-visual translation, which involves working on voiceover and subtitle translations. Having studied and lived in both Spain and Portugal, he uses his language skills to translate Portuguese and Spanish content into English. As he has a particular interest in sport, his work often entails transcribing interviews that journalists do with sports professionals before and after a match, which are then published online.

The main positive of being a freelance translator is that it gives me the flexibility to choose my hours, where I work and the types of jobs that I want to do.

  • The main skills James uses in his role include organisational and communication skills
  • He studied Spanish and French at both secondary school and university, but whilst at university, they offered a course where he could use his Spanish skills to learn Portuguese. James loved it and ended up continuing the three languages all the way through university
  • He went to Spain for a year abroad as part of his course and ended up spending some time in Portugal, which really helped to immerse himself in the language. He was able to pick up Portuguese quite easily because he had a good level of Spanish, which is in the same language family
  • His ability to speak and translate both Portuguese and Spanish has opened up opportunities to work on large sporting events that he has an active interest in, such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Women's Championships
  • His first job in the industry was an in-house role at a translation company, who he met during his final year at university. They noticed that James could speak Portuguese and asked if he wanted to apply for a permanent role that was coming up
  • After a few years, James made the decision to work as a freelancer so he could branch more specifically into sports translation and have more control over his workload.
This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

Top tips

  • Be patient with language learning and try to pick one up at school. It makes it a lot easier to pick up other languages later in life because you already have a solid foundation of grammar structures and vocabulary
  • It can be difficult to get into translation but speaking to language course leaders or university career advisors can be helpful. They can often put you in touch with the right people, such as former students who now work at translation agencies
  • Sending your CV to language service providers and asking for internship roles can be a great way to find that initial experience. Social media sites can also be useful for connecting with future employers and setting up job search alerts, using keywords related to your languages. It's just a matter of being pro-active and persistent!
This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

What to expect if you want to be a translator

  • Translator average salary: variable
  • Translator typical working hours: 37 to 39 hours per week

What qualifications do you need to be a translator?

You could get into this role via a university course, applying directly or a qualification with a professional body.

Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service

This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.

For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: , , and .

This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

Maddy: a social brand manager. video

Maddy manages anything to do with social media for L'Oréal.

Maddy: a social brand manager

Will: cabin crew. video

Will is cabin crew for British Airways based at London Heathrow Airport.

Will: cabin crew