Sign language interpreter to translator
A sign language interpreter already meets 24% of what the translator role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
80/ 100
1 How much of what a translator is expected to do is already part of a sign language interpreter’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 translator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A translator role treats 5 of its required skills as things a sign language interpreter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- grammar
- preserve original text
- speak different languages
- translate texts
What stands in the way is 19 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 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 sign language interpreter background worth leading with.
- already held translate spoken language communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held translate texts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse text before translation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held court interpreting arts and humanities
- already held preserve original text communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held semantics arts and humanities
All 16 carried skills, including the 5 the translator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 44 missing skills fall into 9 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 comprehend the material to be translated required
- still to learn follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities required
- still to learn review translation works required
- still to learn revise translation works required
- still to learn translate different types of texts required
- still to learn translate tags required
- still to learn apply grammar and spelling rules required
- still to learn master language rules required
- still to learn proofread text required
- still to learn provide written content required
- still to learn 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 improve translated texts optional
- optional, not held make surtitles optional
- optional, not held perform sworn translations optional
- optional, not held adapt text culturally optional
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- optional, not held type texts from audio sources optional
- optional, not held use consulting techniques optional
- still to learn develop a translation strategy required
- still to learn maintain updated professional knowledge required
- still to learn 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 decode handwritten texts optional
- optional, not held develop technical glossaries optional
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- still to learn office software required
- still to learn spelling required
- optional, not held unseen translation optional
- optional, not held literature optional
- optional, not held technical terminology optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
- still to learn follow translation quality standards required
- optional, not held follow work schedule optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
3 further areas in the appendix
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.
- 01 comprehend the material to be translated practise this
- 02 develop a translation strategy practise this
- 03 follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held preserve original text skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held translate texts skill
- already held analyse text before translation skill
- already held conduct scholarly research skill
- already held court interpreting knowledge
- already held linguistics knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held semantics knowledge
- already held translate language concepts skill
- already held translate spoken language skill
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held write research proposals skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held use computer-aided translation optional
- optional, not held use translation memory software optional
- optional, not held transcreation optional
- optional, not held postediting optional
25 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- 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 improve translated texts 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 coach employees 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 technical terminology optional
- optional, not held type texts from audio sources optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
- optional, not held use computer-aided translation optional
- optional, not held use consulting techniques optional
- optional, not held use translation memory software optional
15 held skills the translator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role body language knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate using non-verbal language skill
- not needed by the target role communication related to hearing impairment knowledge
- not needed by the target role fingerspelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role hearing disability knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret languages in conferences skill
- not needed by the target role interpret spoken language between two parties skill
- not needed by the target role lipspeaking knowledge
- not needed by the target role screen reader knowledge
- not needed by the target role show intercultural awareness skill
- not needed by the target role sign language knowledge
- not needed by the target role support people with hearing impairment skill
- not needed by the target role translate spoken language consecutively skill
- not needed by the target role translate spoken language simultaneously skill
- not needed by the target role voice interpreting knowledge
9 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 information confidentiality required
- still to learn office software required
- still to learn 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 technical terminology optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
Other moves recorded from sign language interpreter
Common questions about this move
Can a sign language interpreter become a translator?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A sign language interpreter already covers 24% of what a translator is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 5 of which the translator role treats as required.
What skills does a sign language interpreter need to become a translator?
19 required skills are missing, plus 25 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is comprehend the material to be translated.
How hard is the move from sign language interpreter to translator?
Its learning distance is 80 out of 100, which is the career change 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.