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Of the over 1400 alumni in GSTI, about 500 of them (largest group) are freelance contract translators and/or interpreters. They contract directly with product manufacturers, language service companies, government agencies, business service companies, nonprofits, and educational institutions. Starting freelance income after graduation from GSTI runs between $30,000 and $80,000 depending on part-time or full-time status and geographic location. Large metropolitan areas are good because of the density of activity and the ability to be immediately available for freelance interpreting work.
Most US and international language service companies (agencies) use freelance translators for the initial client translation. This work is then farmed out to freelance editors or in-house editors depending on the size of the job or company. After the editing process, it will be sent to proofers to make the final check for continuity and format. In the case of translated software, it will usually be tested by a native target language speaker, who will actually use the software and check for any use problems.
Freelance Translation Example: A recent GSTI alumna received a 10,000 word insurance claim-related contract (Spanish into English) to be done over a three week period. She charged 11 cents per word as the employer was a “preferred” client. After submitting her bill immediately following the work, she was paid $1,100 within 60 days.
Freelance Interpreting Example: An alumnus from the Class of 1998 French program was asked by the US Department of State, Office of Language Services, Interpreting Division to be an escort interpreter for a group of three African doctors on a tour to meet with their medical counterparts in the USA.&The assignment took the group to seven US cities and nine meetings. At the end of the four-week trip, the alumnus had made new friends and earned about $5000 not including paid trip expenses.
Business - In the US, many companies employ full-time in-house translators.
For target languages (non-English languages), as most US products and services are produced in English, US companies want native Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, etc. speakers. They work for software/hardware manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, law firms, banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, etc. Native English speakers are hired more to manage the translation interpretation process rather than do translation or interpretation.
US employers are companies such as Apple, Computer Associates, eBay, Honda Kaihatsu Kogyo USA, LG Infocomm, Lionbridge, Microsoft, National Instruments, Otsuka America, Skidmore Owings & Merril and SUN Microsystems. First-Job-Out annual salaries range from $35,000 to $55,000 in the US business markets. Salaries run along language demand lines and in the last five years Japanese and German T&I positions have paid the most with the highest demand in the US marketplace.
In China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Japan and other locations outside the United States, native English speakers are working or have worked for companies such as Daiwa Institute of Research, Deloitte & Touche, KPMG, Rank Xerox, SAP, Sony and Toyota. Overseas annual salaries are a little lower than the US on both cost of living reductions and dollar comparison value.
In-House US Business Interpretation Example # 1: Honda Kaihatsu Kogyo USA hires 2-5 GSTI Japanese program graduates per year to work in Honda America automobile manufacturing plants in Ohio, West Virginia, and South Carolina. These graduates provide mostly plant interpreting between American and Japanese executives and engineers. They also provide some translation work on site.
They are paid over $50,000 per year, which is average for our Japanese program alumni.
In-House Business Example # 2: A class of 2007 French Program student took an internship with Erikson Translations as a combined Project Manager and Linguist. Her language combination was Swedish, Serbo-Croatian, French and English. She is a citizen of Sweden.
The US government uses many language T&I professionals for document translation, training interpreting, and seminar/conference interpreting. In-house hires usually must be US citizens. In addition to the US Department of State, GSTI alumni work in areas including diplomacy, security, defense and the federal courts.
US Department of State Examples: GSTI alumni work at the Department of State Interpreting and Translating Divisions. One Class of 1992 Chinese program graduate worked as a staff interpreter and a Class of 1999 German program graduate was hired directly from the Institute to become the first dedicated translation project manager in the history of the Department. A class of 2007 Spanish program graduate was recently hired as a project manager.
Other US agencies hiring graduates are the Department of Defense, Department of Justice, FBI, National Security Agency, The Open Source Center, among others. US Government beginning annual salaries for GSTI graduates have ranged from $40,000 to $65,000 in the last five years.
The demand at the United Nations is for translators and interpreters with at least three languages. Usually, English is a key language demand with Russian, French or Spanish as a second language favorite. You are also expected to have a third language in another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, and Russian).
United Nations Example: In the June 2006 Competitive Examination for English–Language Translators/Precis Writers and Editors, the exam was open to qualified external candidates with a perfect command of English and an excellant knowledge of French and one of the other offiicial languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) and at least a three year first level university degree from a university or institution of equivalent status or hold a university degree from a recognized school of translation. Only successful exam candidates are invited for interviews to access personal qualities. Successful interviewees are put on a roster. When a vacancy comes open, those on the roster are reviewed for specific skills required for the job. This is a five-level process that lets few people into the system. Once hired, you are put on a two-year probationary appointment at the UN P2-level ($42,849 to $55,200 USD for employees with dependents and $40,191 to $51,479 USD for single employees).
A partial list of GSTI employers in International Government:
- European Commission – EU – Brussels, Belgium
- European Parliament and Council of Europe – Strasbourg, France
- Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)– Washington, DC
- North American Treaty Organization (NATO)– Brussels, Belgium
- Organization of American States (OAS) – Washington, DC
- UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) – Arusha, Tanzania
- UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) – The Hague
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – Geneva, Switzerland
International Government Example: In the last five years, the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland has been determined to find more G>E and J>E translators. At one time, two German program alumni and three Japanese program alumni/faculty (all 5 native English speakers) work on rotating four-month contracts or as permanent WIPO staff.
- Community services translation and interpretation
- Court and legal translation and interpretation
- Localization and technical translation
- Medical translation and interpretation
- Over-the-phone customer service and emergency interpretation
- Simultaneous and consecutive conference interpretation
- Terminology database management
- Translation and interpretation project management
- Translation and/or interpretation teaching
- Voice-over dubbing / subtitling commercial videos and movies
