What I do and how I feel about it

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

So, here are some thoughts on my chosen profession, in no particular order.

•I try not to forget that I’m extremely lucky to earn a very good living doing something I really enjoy in the comfort of my own home, but I do take it for granted sometimes.

•I don’t really recall being very nervous when I took the plunge and went self-employed, but I think that was because Nik was in a fairly well-paid job at the time.

•I have worked for 47 different clients since I started, many of whom come back to me regularly for work, which suggests that I must be doing something right...

•... so why then do I still sometimes feel a bit of a fraud at translators’ meetings, conferences etc? I know I’m good at what I do, but is it because I don’t have a degree in translation? Perhaps I’ll disabuse myself of this nagging doubt if my upcoming ITI assessment is successful.

•I have been extremely fortunate in terms of the people I have encountered since becoming a translator. I have never yet done any work for a bad payer or non-payer, and a few people have helped me enormously, particularly a certain company in NYC, another in Yokohama and a certain Englishman in Tokyo. You know who you are, and thanks.

•I know I’m a much better translator than interpreter, but I just don’t get much spoken Japanese practice.

•The West Midlands Group of the ITI are a fantastic bunch of people, and I’m very glad that I live in this area.

•I often (unintentionally) don’t leave the house between Monday morning and Friday evening. This is not good. Any tips on how to resolve this?

•Young Tom is now 343 days old, and has affected my work capacity far less than I thought he would. This is entirely down to Nik, who has taken him out of the house to do something every single day of his life, without exception. Huge thanks for that.

•I sometimes wonder why I’m not sick of translating patents. I’ve translated about 2 million words of them in the past 4 years, but I never find myself thinking “Oh God, not another patent”. I guess it may happen though.

•I hope never to be a company employee again.

The world’s longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi (明石海峡大橋), as seen from Kobe Airport