Translator to localiser
A translator already meets 78% of what the localiser role asks for. The move turns on 1 required skill not yet in the profile.
29.8/ 100
1 How much of what a localiser 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 localiser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A localiser role treats 19 of its required skills as things a translator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt text culturally
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- comprehend the material to be translated
- consult information sources
- develop a translation strategy
- grammar
What stands in the way is 1 required skill 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 33 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A localiser 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 translate tags communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt text culturally communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held comprehend the material to be translated communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held revise translation works communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop terminology databases information skills
- already held use translation memory software working with computers
All 33 carried skills, including the 19 the localiser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 5 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 use localisation tools required
- optional, not held employ translation techniques optional
- optional, not held attend gaming tests optional
- optional, not held develop the product catalogue optional
- optional, not held evaluate translation technologies optional
- optional, not held read pre-drafted texts optional
- optional, not held communicate with local residents optional
- optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
- optional, not held employ assessment techniques to anticipate translation efforts optional
- optional, not held adapt developed game to the market optional
- optional, not held contextualise artistic work optional
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- optional, not held perform product testing optional
- optional, not held study cultures optional
- optional, not held terminology optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 1 entries a localiser 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 · The rest of the record
All 33 skills that carry over
- already held adapt text culturally skill
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held comprehend the material to be translated skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held develop a translation strategy skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held improve translated texts skill
- already held master language rules skill
- already held postediting knowledge
- already held preserve original text skill
- already held proofread text skill
- already held provide written content skill
- already held review translation works skill
- already held revise translation works skill
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held translate language concepts skill
- already held translate tags skill
- already held translate texts skill
- already held update language skills skill
- already held analyse text before translation skill
- already held develop terminology databases skill
- already held follow translation quality standards skill
- already held linguistics knowledge
- already held literature knowledge
- already held observe confidentiality skill
- already held semantics knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held transcreation knowledge
- already held types of literature genres knowledge
- already held unseen translation knowledge
- already held use computer-aided translation skill
- already held use dictionaries skill
- already held use translation memory software skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held employ assessment techniques to anticipate translation efforts optional
- optional, not held employ translation techniques optional
- optional, not held adapt developed game to the market optional
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held attend gaming tests optional
- optional, not held contextualise artistic work optional
- optional, not held develop the product catalogue optional
- optional, not held evaluate translation technologies optional
- optional, not held read pre-drafted texts optional
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- optional, not held communicate with local residents optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held liaise with advertising agencies optional
- optional, not held perform product testing optional
- optional, not held study cultures optional
- optional, not held terminology optional
27 held skills the localiser role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role coach employees 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 technical glossaries skill
- not needed by the target role follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities 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 information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with language evolution skill
- 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 office software knowledge
- 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 scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate different types of texts skill
- not needed by the target role translate spoken language skill
- not needed by the target role type texts from audio sources skill
- not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
- not needed by the target role work with authors skill
- not needed by the target role write research proposals skill
- not needed by the target role write scientific publications skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held anthropology optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held terminology optional
Other moves recorded from translator
- 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
- scopist 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a translator become a localiser?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A translator already covers 78% of what a localiser is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 19 of which the localiser role treats as required.
What skills does a translator need to become a localiser?
1 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is use localisation tools.
How hard is the move from translator to localiser?
Its learning distance is 29.8 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.