Why are most graduates unwilling to be translators?

I am a freelance translator. My name is Cha Hongyu. Allow me to talk about my views on this issue:

1. Professional translation is very hard-the work pressure is no less than that of programmers. Interpreters often travel all over the country, and they don't even have time to eat during working hours; Translators often work overtime, and many people sit at their desks all day, suffering from chronic diseases such as scapulohumeral periarthritis, cervical spondylosis, disc herniation and obesity. They have made a lot of efforts to work, to break down language barriers, to build bridges of communication and to promote negotiations, exchanges, trade and peace talks.

2. At present, there is no unified and highly recognized qualification certificate in China-the level of practitioners is difficult to measure. More often, we rely on the test of the employer, the recommendation of peers, and even the diploma of the school to understand the professional level of a translator and whether he is qualified for the translation work; There is still much room for improvement in the work of unification and standardization in this respect; Internationally, Australia's NAATI advanced translation certificate and AIIC members have quite good credibility, especially AIIC members, who are elites in the interpretation industry and represent the top level and professional ability of the industry pyramid; There is no uniform and highly reliable qualification certificate in China. Unlike nurses, doctors and lawyers, the level of practitioners varies greatly. Some experts estimate that at least 80% of the current translation practitioners are unqualified.

3 The treatment in the industry is relatively low-compared with IT, finance and engineering. , is a low-income industry, without five years of training and practice, it is difficult to become a qualified translator; Even if you have a postgraduate translation background, it usually takes two years or more to become a qualified translator or interpreter. If the translation level passes, the monthly income will generally not be less than 12000 yuan (20 16 treatment); However, translators with a monthly salary of more than 20,000 yuan are not too many, at least much less than IT and finance. At present, some translators with a monthly salary of less than 8,000 yuan even call themselves "advanced translators", which is shameful; I am currently engaged in translation, and my monthly salary is13,000-15,000 yuan in Ji 'an County, Jiangxi Province. I can only say that I am still a junior translator. On the road of translation, there are too many things to learn and not much to know. I will always be a pupil.

4. The translation industry has a low threshold, which leads many people with strength and level to disdain to do translation; They feel that someone has lowered the grade and level; Translation industry, especially translation, can be said to have no threshold. Basically, people who order ABC often do guest translation, and their awareness and understanding of this work are relatively weak, and their professional concepts are relatively weak. In fact, professional translation needs a very solid language foundation and a certain understanding of language background, industry knowledge and terminology. You will have a very intuitive understanding by comparing the quality of translation. At present, translation teaching in many colleges and universities is also very backward, which is seriously out of touch with social needs, which is also a reason. I hope that colleges and universities can also do a good job in ideological education for students in this area. Some teachers should not take the lead in discrediting the translation industry and translation work, which is not good. I suggest that colleges and universities should start from the actual needs of society and teach students more practical translation skills so that they can solve practical translation problems.

5. Many customers have a weak understanding of translation and don't know why they want to translate. What kind of effect and level should translation achieve? Different requirements and prices have different requirements and choices for translation. The unit price of translation in the market is generally in 300 yuan -400 yuan/thousand words, and the high-end translation reaches 2000 yuan/thousand words. Some foreign top multinational companies have a much better understanding of translation in this respect, and their practices are worth learning from; Both international IBM and domestic Huawei attach great importance to translation and publicity. Huawei has its own translation department, and the starting salary of graduates is not less than 9000 yuan/month; A multinational financial enterprise in Shanghai is looking for a full-time translator with salary of 14- 16k/ month. Low-paid recruits can't find qualified translators, and high-paid recruits are often hard to find. After all, there are too few qualified translators.

6. Not paying enough attention to translation, resulting in many translators recruited in the past actually becoming handymen, with less translation work and more handymen. This situation is worthy of reflection by employers; If you really don't need full-time translators, you can also hire part-time translators who meet the level requirements, which is a better choice for enterprises and translators themselves, avoiding wasting talents and ignoring other people's professional skills, and saving the cost of employing people in enterprises. Translation is a professional job, not a handyman; Have you ever seen a hospital recruit doctors to turn on the tap, lawyers to mop the floor, and financial analysts to arrange couriers? This is a ridiculous thing!

Don't think that translation is not important. A mistake in translation may mean that the two countries are at war and their lives are ruined in diplomacy. In the medical field, a drug translation mistake may be that the patient died in Jiuquan, with yin and yang separated; Without translation, the top leaders between countries cannot communicate by telephone; There is no way to hold all kinds of large-scale multinational conferences, and the speeches at the conferences are equivalent to chickens telling ducks!

With the independence of translation major, the establishment of doctor's degree in translation, the popularization of master of translation (MTI), and the increasing recognition of translation qualification certificate, the present situation of translation will gradually change. It is hoped that all translation practitioners, teachers who teach translation, employers with translation qualification certificates and examiners will strive to standardize and change this industry, so that all qualified and capable professional translators can grow up in a healthy working environment, create more value for everyone and provide better services.

I'm Cha Hongyu, a translator. Let's defend the sacred profession of translation together!