Making Money by Translating

Making money by translating is one of the most popular side jobs of recent times. Students, academics, housewives, employees in a private company. In short, anyone who has at least one foreign language and needs additional income can do this job.

You can learn how to get started in this business by reading this article.

Everyone in the world has a dream.

Would you like to know the equivalent of a word in different languages ​​or to hear that pleasant tone emanating from words in different languages?

If your answer is yes, then the probability of your dream job being a translator is quite high.

Despite all the translation applications circulating in the markets today, there is still a need for people who provide a short, clear and accurate translation service. So much so that the latest research shows that the growth in the sector will be well above the average in the coming years, that is, new positions will continue to be opened.

Regardless of the foreign language you choose, if you have the right skills and qualifications for the language in question, and if you manage to reflect the same skill in your mother tongue, you can earn income by translating.

So what do you have in mind?

Getting a freelance job opportunity where you can do your translations at one of the coffee shops near your home? Or working in a regular job where you'll be translating full-time?

If your dream of career is translation, be sure to read this article, which is a guide we have prepared for you, to the end. We will start our article by describing the translation job, then talk about what you need to do to become a translator, and finally, we will talk about different ways you can make money using your translation skills.

What Do Translators Do?

Translation and translation are two different professions. Although any type of transferring from one language to another – whether written or oral – is called translation or translation in Urdu, these two words actually mean different job descriptions. Yes, both jobs require at least one additional language. However, translation is instantaneous and verbal. Translation work is done in writing, so a translator's job is to translate a written text between different languages. Translators mostly translate a text in the source language into the target language. No matter how proficient a translator may be in understanding and writing the source language, he can never do this job as perfectly as his mother tongue.

For this reason, texts in the target language always tend to be much more readable, fluent and natural.

Translators can work for many industries, from official correspondence to medicine, business, education, law or technical fields. Almost any industry that has made language a part of its operation may need a translator.

Translators are often self-employed or open a translation office to run their own business. In addition, some may choose to work for large companies or directly for a single employer. In other words, translation is a profession that gives people a choice between a regular and consistent working life and determining their own work schedule.

How to make money by translating?

NO.1- You must Learn at least Two, preferably three or more foreign languages. If you can't speak fluently, learn now. Practice is very important when learning a language. Read books, watch movies and TV shows, listen to music and talk in foreign languages ​​you know.

NO.2- Sharpen your mother tongue. In order to make good translations, you need to use your native language very well. Because most people express themselves best in their mother tongue. Read, write and speak constantly to improve your mother tongue.

NO.3- Get an education. If you want to do this job professionally, you can study in fields such as translation science, linguistics, foreign language, comparative literature or intercultural.

NO.4- Practice and gain experience. You can improve yourself by doing an internship at an organization or a translation agency.

NO.5- Determine your goals. Decide what you want to do. Do you want to do literary book translations? Do you want to work as an interpreter for a large organisation? Or do you want to work as a side job in your spare time and be your own boss?

NO.6- Chase opportunities. Actually this will vary depending on what kind of work you want to do. If you want to translate a book, apply to publishers. If you want to work for an organization find one and apply. If you want to be your own boss, you can find many translation jobs online.

NO.7- Be effective and professional. Be fast, provide good service and provide quality translations. At the same time, do not accept jobs for which you are not qualified. Don't take too many jobs at once. The delay in the delivery date of the works you have received will negatively affect your reliability.

Sites That Make Money By Translation

In this section, we will examine in detail the sites that offer the opportunity to earn money by translation and give you some important advice.

1. Your Own Website

Let's start like this: If you want to create your own personal brand, you must have a website of your own. You can have a professional website using WordPress-based low-cost and very cheap themes.

By opening a blog on this site, you can attract traffic to your site and earn advertising income from this traffic by writing long and informative articles that satisfy people on frequently searched topics on the internet. In addition to the topics people frequently search for, you can also offer things like consultancy by writing articles about your area of ​​expertise.

2. Upwork

Upwork is the first site that comes to mind when it comes to freelancing. Upwork, a site that offers many services from graphic design to voiceover, from article writing to video editing, is a very good resource, especially in terms of translation.

Upwork is visited by 27 million people monthly. Let's also mention that the competition is quite fierce. After the approval of the project, the payments are made directly to the bank account.

3. Fiverr

It's basically the same as Upwork. In general, the employer side consists of individuals. Unfortunately, this can lead to very cheap numbers of jobs. However, unlike Upwork, you do not apply for jobs. Those who want to give a job find you. This, in turn, can improve your grade after doing a few good low-paying jobs so you can stay ahead of the curve.

36 million people visit Fiverr monthly. Payments are made by methods such as Paypal and EFT.

4. Freelancer

Another must-visit site for any freelance job is Freelancer.

Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer and our local initiative BiOnluk. You must be a member of these sites if you want to earn money by doing freelance translation. Freelancer is a more stable medium compared to others.

9 million people visit the site monthly. You can receive your payments in different ways.

5. Lionbridge – Telus

Formerly Lionbridge, now known as Telus, is one of the world's oldest localization and translation sites. It is a site that is traded on the US stock market. Telus, which provides localization, optimization and translation services to companies in many different sectors, has many projects closely related to translation, especially translation. If you examine the advertisements on the Telus website, you will see that there is always a need for someone who speaks Turkish.

6. OneHourTranslation.com

OneHourTranslation is one of the oldest and most successful online translation platforms. However, when you enter the site, you feel like you are entering a 20-year-old website. The interface is a bit dated. On the other hand, there is an established system in terms of employee relations and care. The more jobs you get on this site, the more you earn. So the seniority issue is valid.

270,000 monthly users enter OneHourTranslation. There are payment methods such as EFT, Payoneer, Paypal. There are certain deductions for early withdrawals, but no deductions for on-time payments.

7. TextMaster

TextMaster is a simple and successful site. TextMaster, which is especially loved by freelance translators, is famous for its selectivity. In other words, 25 out of every 100 applications are accepted. This is an element that increases the translation quality on the site. Of course, this can be a good or a negative situation depending on your experience and language skills.

160,000 people visit TextMaster monthly. Payments are made via Payoneer or Paypal on the site, which has a lively and active community.

8. Unbabel

Unbabel is a different site because it is built on the machine learning flow. This makes customers happy and surprises translators because the translations are cheap because the translations are so successful. The task of the translators here is to correct the translations. In Unbabel, which is paid by the hour, not the word, the earnings can be incredibly low or very good. This varies according to the two languages ​​to be translated.

Unbabel has 320,000 monthly visitors. Your job as a translator is to correct artificial intelligence translations, so it's an easy job. Payment is received via Payoneer or Paypal.

9. ProZ

ProZ is a very old and well-established language services site. It's almost like the Google of online translation. At ProZ, translators create profiles for themselves, clients post ads, and a business relationship is established from the interaction between the two parties. ProZ, whose forum section is also very active, is a good place where translators can communicate with each other.

More than 4 million people enter ProZ monthly. There are many job postings, but most of these postings are garbage.

10. TranslatorsCafe98

A site as well-established as ProZ is TranslatorsCafe. Although it is a slightly smaller platform than ProZ, there are more qualified ads.

2 million people visit the site monthly. Although its interface is as complex as Hardware News, it is one of the must-visit sites to get a translation job.

11. TranslationDirectory

In TranslationDirectory, which has a monthly traffic of 130,000 people, you create a profile for yourself and promote the services you offer. However, you cannot apply to job postings, brands or people who need translation can write to you. A little different, but worth a try.

12. TheOpenMic

TheOpenMic is a site founded by Dmitry Kornyukhov, one of the famous names of the translation community. It's actually a site like Facebook for translators. However, over time, it has become a channel that also helps to find clients-translators. It's good to be a member.

13. Gengo

Starting from this article, we will consider platforms that bring translators and brands together.

Gengo, one of the most popular online translation agencies, provides training to its member translators and offers software to be used while translating. Gengo is a very fruitful site, especially in terms of Japanese. In other words, hundreds of Japanese translation advertisements are published on Gengo every day. Translators also apply to these job postings and offer companies.

370,000 people visit Gengo monthly. The site, which has a simple interface, has average to sub-average ads for non-Japanese languages. Payments are made via Paypal, every 2 months. Gengo deducts a minimum of 1.5 dollars and a maximum of 20 dollars per payment.

14. Smartling

Smartling, which is a very useful site for translators, has many different projects such as game translation, mobile application translation, user manual translation, text translation. For questions or problems, you can always contact the site staff on Slack. Competition is quite high in Smartling, but there are projects where you can make good profits.

15. Tomedes

Tomedes, a reliable source for personal, legal, medical and technical translation, matches customer demands with those who can meet these demands. There are many translation jobs, especially related to technical issues. Knowing a language is not enough to get a translation job at Tomedes, you also need to prove where and how you use this language in terms of translation. So it's kind of serious.

16. Others

There are many more sites that will allow you to earn money by translating.

Here are some of the main ones you should take a look at.

Rev (Ideal especially for those who want to translate subtitles)

• Acclaro
• peopleperhour.com
• Globalink Translations
• Language Line Solutions
• Indeed.com
• Linguistic Systems Inc.
• Tethras
• SDI Media Group
• Go transcript
• Glassdoor.com

Advice for those who want to make money by translating online

If you want to make money by working as a translator, we need to touch on some issues that you should definitely know. 

Knowing more than one foreign language is an added advantage. If you can speak fluent Russian alongside your English, you may be a more desirable translator. 

If you want a translator career, try to learn specific languages ​​where demand is high and supply is low. Knowing Japanese, Russian or Danish gives you an extra advantage in the translation market.

Speak and read often

English, French, Spanish, Chinese,Urdu, Japanese, Korean, Italian etc. There are many foreign TV channels. Find these channels and try to translate what you watch.

Remember that each language has its own cultural subtleties, colors and nuances. For example, if you are studying French, do further research on French. At the same time, be sure to research French dialects and culture.

You must have a professional website where you show yourself and your work.

Reach as many customers as possible. As a beginner translator, 98 out of 100 requests will be rejected, but what will move you forward is the courage and determination to try 100 times.

Keep in mind that fast and reliable people are needed in this market.

Would you like to start making money by translating right now?

If you feel competent in English or another language and you are doing quality work, you can start 7⁷7 thanks to this article. In which languages ​​and what kind of translations you can make in our article, you can leave your experiences and a short resume as a comment. Do not forget to add your own e-mail address when commenting. If necessary, you will be contacted and you will be given more detailed information about the translation job.

You can also submit your application by visiting our “ Searching for Freelance Translators ” page.