Translator to copy editor
A translator already meets 35% of what the copy editor role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.2/ 100
1 How much of what a copy editor is expected to do is already part of a translator’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 copy editor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A copy editor role treats 5 of its required skills as things a translator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- follow work schedule
- grammar
- spelling
- use dictionaries
What stands in the way is 8 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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A copy editor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a translator background worth leading with.
- already held use dictionaries information skills
- already held literature arts and humanities
- already held office software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held spelling arts and humanities
- already held proofread text communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult information sources information skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the copy editor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 8 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 suggest revision of manuscripts required
- still to learn consult with editor required
- still to learn follow a brief required
- still to learn track changes in text editing required
- optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- still to learn typography required
- still to learn writing techniques required
- still to learn digital journalism required
- optional, not held editorial standards optional
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- optional, not held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
- optional, not held read manuscripts optional
- optional, not held review unpublished articles optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a copy editor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 digital journalism study this
- 02 suggest revision of manuscripts practise this
- 03 consult with editor 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held follow work schedule skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held use dictionaries skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held literature knowledge
- already held office software knowledge
- already held proofread text skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adapt to artists' creative demands optional
- optional, not held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists optional
- optional, not held follow newspaper house style optional
- optional, not held read manuscripts optional
- optional, not held review unpublished articles optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held editorial standards optional
51 held skills the copy editor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt text culturally skill
- not needed by the target role analyse text before translation skill
- not needed by the target role coach employees skill
- not needed by the target role comprehend the material to be translated skill
- not needed by the target role conduct scholarly research skill
- not needed by the target role court interpreting knowledge
- not needed by the target role create subtitles skill
- not needed by the target role decode handwritten texts skill
- not needed by the target role develop a translation strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop technical glossaries skill
- not needed by the target role develop terminology databases skill
- not needed by the target role follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities skill
- not needed by the target role follow translation quality standards skill
- not needed by the target role identify new words skill
- not needed by the target role improve translated texts skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with language evolution skill
- not needed by the target role linguistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain updated professional knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role make abstracts skill
- not needed by the target role make surtitles skill
- not needed by the target role master language rules skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform sworn translations skill
- not needed by the target role postediting knowledge
- not needed by the target role preserve original text skill
- not needed by the target role provide written content skill
- not needed by the target role review translation works skill
- not needed by the target role revise translation works skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role semantics knowledge
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role transcreation knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate different types of texts skill
- not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
- not needed by the target role translate spoken language skill
- not needed by the target role translate tags skill
- not needed by the target role translate texts skill
11 further entries not listed here
6 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 digital journalism required
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- still to learn typography required
- still to learn writing techniques required
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held editorial standards optional
Other moves recorded from translator
- localiser 78% covered · adjacent
- translation agency manager 68% covered · moderate
- lawyer linguist 56% covered · moderate
- sign language interpreter 54% covered · moderate
- lexicographer 52% covered · moderate
- interpreter 49% covered · substantial
- proofreader 46% covered · moderate
- foreign language correspondence clerk 43% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a translator become a copy editor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A translator already covers 35% of what a copy editor is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the copy editor role treats as required.
What skills does a translator need to become a copy editor?
8 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital journalism.
How hard is the move from translator to copy editor?
Its learning distance is 61.2 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.