Lexicographer to subtitler
A lexicographer already meets 35% of what the subtitler role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.3/ 100
1 How much of what a subtitler is expected to do is already part of a lexicographer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the subtitler role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A subtitler role treats 5 of its required skills as things a lexicographer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- consult information sources
- grammar
- spelling
- translate foreign language
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A subtitler role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lexicographer background worth leading with.
- already held translate foreign language communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held linguistics arts and humanities
- already held spelling arts and humanities
- already held use word processing software working with computers
- already held consult information sources information skills
- already held grammar arts and humanities
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the subtitler role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn captioning software required
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn computer equipment required
- still to learn condense information required
- still to learn describe scenes required
- optional, not held translate soundtrack optional
- optional, not held adapt to type of media optional
- optional, not held create subtitles optional
- optional, not held make surtitles optional
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held audiovisual products optional
- optional, not held speech recognition optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
- still to learn transcribe dialogues required
- optional, not held type at speed optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a subtitler role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 captioning software study this
- 02 condense information practise this
- 03 describe scenes practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held translate foreign language skill
- already held linguistics knowledge
- already held use word processing software skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held translate soundtrack optional
- optional, not held adapt to type of media optional
- optional, not held audiovisual products optional
- optional, not held create subtitles optional
- optional, not held make surtitles optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held speech recognition optional
- optional, not held type at speed optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
21 held skills the subtitler role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role consult with editor skill
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role create definitions skill
- not needed by the target role create semantic trees skill
- not needed by the target role develop technical glossaries skill
- not needed by the target role do historical research skill
- not needed by the target role edit dictionary entries skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role identify new words skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role practical lexicography knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role search databases skill
- not needed by the target role search engines knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
- not needed by the target role supervise work skill
- not needed by the target role theoretical lexicography knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
- not needed by the target role typology knowledge
- not needed by the target role use dictionaries skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn captioning software required
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn computer equipment required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held audiovisual products optional
- optional, not held speech recognition optional
- optional, not held hearing disability optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a lexicographer become a subtitler?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A lexicographer already covers 35% of what a subtitler is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the subtitler role treats as required.
What skills does a lexicographer need to become a subtitler?
7 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is captioning software.
How hard is the move from lexicographer to subtitler?
Its learning distance is 63.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.