Table 1Transition record

lawyer linguisttotranslator

A lawyer linguist already meets 31% of what the translator role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

From lawyer linguist

31%

Overlap1

To translator

16 Skills carried over

15 Required, not held

74.3 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 74.3

This move: 74.3 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the translator role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the lawyer linguist profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A translator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lawyer linguist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held revise translation works communication, collaboration and creativity
already held review translation works communication, collaboration and creativity
already held follow translation quality standards management skills
already held translate texts communication, collaboration and creativity
already held court interpreting arts and humanities
already held improve translated texts communication, collaboration and creativity

All 16 carried skills, including the 9 the translator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 44 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 8 required, 12 supplementary

required, not held comprehend the material to be translated required
required, not held follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities required
required, not held translate different types of texts required
required, not held translate tags required
required, not held master language rules required
required, not held preserve original text required
required, not held provide written content required
required, not held update language skills required

optional, not held make abstracts optional
optional, not held work with authors optional
optional, not held create subtitles optional
optional, not held make surtitles optional
optional, not held perform sworn translations optional
optional, not held adapt text culturally optional
optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
optional, not held coach employees optional
optional, not held translate spoken language optional
optional, not held type texts from audio sources optional
optional, not held write research proposals optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

02 information skills 4 required, 6 supplementary

required, not held develop a translation strategy required
required, not held consult information sources required
required, not held maintain updated professional knowledge required
required, not held use dictionaries required

optional, not held keep up with language evolution optional
optional, not held develop terminology databases optional
optional, not held identify new words optional
optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held decode handwritten texts optional
optional, not held develop technical glossaries optional

03 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required

required, not held information confidentiality required
required, not held office software required

04 arts and humanities 1 required, 4 supplementary

required, not held spelling required

optional, not held unseen translation optional
optional, not held literature optional
optional, not held semantics optional
optional, not held types of literature genres optional

05 management skills 2 supplementary

optional, not held follow work schedule optional
optional, not held perform project management optional

06 working with computers 2 supplementary

optional, not held use translation memory software optional
optional, not held use word processing software optional

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a translator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 16 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
already held follow translation quality standards skill
already held grammar knowledge
already held observe confidentiality skill
already held proofread text skill
already held review translation works skill
already held revise translation works skill
already held speak different languages skill
already held translate texts skill
already held court interpreting knowledge
already held improve translated texts skill
already held linguistics knowledge
already held technical terminology knowledge
already held translate language concepts skill
already held use computer-aided translation skill
already held use consulting techniques skill

The 3 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary

optional, not held transcreation optional

08 education 1 supplementary

optional, not held scientific research methodology optional

09 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary

optional, not held postediting optional

29 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held keep up with language evolution optional
optional, not held make abstracts optional
optional, not held work with authors optional
optional, not held create subtitles optional
optional, not held develop terminology databases optional
optional, not held identify new words optional
optional, not held make surtitles optional
optional, not held perform sworn translations optional
optional, not held postediting optional
optional, not held transcreation optional
optional, not held unseen translation optional
optional, not held adapt text culturally optional
optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
optional, not held coach employees optional
optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held decode handwritten texts optional
optional, not held develop technical glossaries optional
optional, not held follow work schedule optional
optional, not held literature optional
optional, not held perform project management optional
optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
optional, not held semantics optional
optional, not held translate spoken language optional
optional, not held type texts from audio sources optional
optional, not held types of literature genres optional
optional, not held use translation memory software optional
optional, not held use word processing software optional
optional, not held write research proposals optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

16 held skills the translator role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role EU law knowledge
not needed by the target role advise on legal decisions skill
not needed by the target role analyse legal evidence skill
not needed by the target role compile legal documents skill
not needed by the target role cooperate in linguistic process steps skill
not needed by the target role court procedures knowledge
not needed by the target role draft legislation skill
not needed by the target role ensure consistency of translation works in multiple target languages skill
not needed by the target role ensure quality of legislation skill
not needed by the target role interpret law skill
not needed by the target role legal research knowledge
not needed by the target role legal terminology knowledge
not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
not needed by the target role read pre-drafted texts skill
not needed by the target role study court hearings skill
not needed by the target role terminology knowledge

10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held information confidentiality required
required, not held office software required
required, not held spelling required
optional, not held postediting optional
optional, not held transcreation optional
optional, not held unseen translation optional
optional, not held literature optional
optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
optional, not held semantics optional
optional, not held types of literature genres optional

Index

Other moves recorded from lawyer linguist

Full index of moves from lawyer linguist

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.