Translation is currently a booming sector thanks to the growing needs in communication around the globe. And when you think about professional translation, those who might come to mind first are the freelance translators and the well-known translation agencies as they are at the forefront of the language service providing industry. An often-forgotten alternative for many fledgling translators out there, or veterans looking to expand their horizons, is to get hired as an in-house translator and be at the exclusive disposal of one employer. But what’s the difference between the freelancer and in-house exactly? Let’s take a closer look.
Who hires in-house translators?
If translation agencies and self-employment are the dominion of the freelancers, in-house translators are most commonly found working for companies and international organizations. Now we will talk about working for an international organization in a dedicated article and simply focus on the case of companies here. So, can any company hire translators? Well, in theory yes, but you’ll find that few companies actually devote resources to create a translation department as it’s rather expensive. Most will prefer to contact an agency to take care of their translation needs because they lack the funds to hire specialists, purchase translation tools, or simply don’t have the office space required.
Thus, translation departments will usually be found in the largest companies, especially multinational corporations, as they possess the means necessary and since they operate in multiple countries, they have a direct and important amount of material that requires human translation. As such, if you want to become an in-house translator, you might want to focus your search on this kind of employer. However, it is important to note that even for the companies with the most resources, having a dedicated translation department remains rather rare as outsourcing work to a dedicated language service provider is more or less the norm. This means getting hired by a company will be a rare opportunity. Nonetheless such positions exist and provide certain advantages in comparison with working as a freelancer.
The pros
An in-house translator can benefit from many perks, the most important of which is fixed income. As a translator working for a company, you are provided with a salary which can seem appealing compared to a freelancer’s fluctuating income. Still on the matter of finances, you won’t have to worry about acquiring licenses for translation tools such as CAT tools if you’re working for a company, they will be provided to you to, which means one less financial burden. Also important to note is that you won’t have to take care of accounting, marketing… The company will be the one to take care of it for you. Regarding your work environment, as an in-house translator, you will most likely work in a team with people you are directly in contact with, and it can be of tremendous help to have your reviewer seated across the room if you have to discuss a few finer points of your translations. As for what you will be translating, in-house translation usually focuses on texts related to the field your company specializes in, which means that in little time you will become an expert on the subject. Last but not least, working for one specific company means that you don’t have to take time zone differences into account, as you’d have to be if you took jobs from clients on the other side of the planet.
The cons
Of course, no job is perfect (usually), and this is also true for in-house translation. For example, even though your translation tools are provided to you as per your work contract, they will certainly not be state-of-the-art, since the translation department is likely only one of the many departments of the company, which in turn limits the budget for purchases. Regarding salary, if your income is stable, it is also capped to a certain amount a year and freelancers can potentially make more than you. Also noteworthy is that you may need to have to adopt the work style of your department, which you may not completely agree with, and that you can have duties other than translation, depending on the amount of work the company has for you. As an office worker you also have little flexibility over the length and organization of your workday, and certain contracts can include the possibility of having you perform emergency translations overtime. Compared to a freelancer, your mobility will be restricted and the texts that you will have to translate may all look the same after some time, which can become boring for some people.
In conclusion
In short, the job of in-house translator enjoys many benefits such as a stable salary, or a dedicated team to work with, even if the lack of freedom in both translation and work style can be perceived as a problem by some. Nonetheless, if you are uncertain about trying to fend for yourself in the wild world of professional translation, then this is most certainly a worthy option. And not having to market your services is just so comfortable and once you’ve tried it you won’t want to go back!
Romain Revet
M1 TSM 2021/2022
La Traduction de A à Z 