Table 1Transition record

sign language interpretertotranslator

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.

From sign language interpreter

24%

Overlap1

To translator

16 Skills carried over

19 Required, not held

80 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

24%

Learning distance A rebuild

80/ 100

Easy adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change Hard

1 Share of the translator role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the sign language interpreter 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.

Why

Why this move works

A translator role treats 5 of its required skills as things a sign language interpreter already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

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

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.

Skill the target role also needs Area

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

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 11 required, 10 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 review translation works required
required, not held revise translation works required
required, not held translate different types of texts required
required, not held translate tags required
required, not held apply grammar and spelling rules required
required, not held master language rules required
required, not held proofread 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 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

02 information skills 3 required, 5 supplementary

required, not held develop a translation strategy 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 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 technical terminology optional
optional, not held types of literature genres optional

05 management skills 1 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held follow translation quality standards required

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

06 assisting and caring 1 required

required, not held observe confidentiality required

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 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

Skill to acquire Tier

07 working with computers 2 supplementary

optional, not held use computer-aided translation optional
optional, not held use translation memory software optional

08 business, administration and law 1 supplementary

optional, not held transcreation optional

09 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary

optional, not held postediting optional

25 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 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

Skill Type

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.

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 technical terminology optional
optional, not held types of literature genres optional

Index

Other moves recorded from sign language interpreter

Full index of moves from sign language interpreter

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.