Is The IoLET Diploma In Translation (DipTrans) Realistic and Useful For A Non-career Linguist

[LiMo]

The title may seem a bit contradictory but I'll outline my background and career prospects. Hopefully someone with experience in this area can get back to me.

 

I've just finished my masters in Advanced Chinese Studies and I'm unsure where to go career-wise. I've got that annoyingly mid-level Chinese that is good enough to do academic stuff (just about) but still nowhere near good enough to take most of the jobs that require a Chinese speaker/reader. I have odd bits of experience here and there, and a big field change from natural science to " the humanities" (I spent most of my time reading social science, but it will say Master of Arts on my degree certificate). Not sure how that plays but my girlfriend is convinced that "Chinese studies" will drive people away like the plague. 

 

While translation doesn't appeal as a full-time career, I thought it might be useful to have it as a backup, and obviously having a proper qualification is good for reassuring clients. I couldn't stand doing another masters, and it simply wouldn't be worth the money, which is why the DipTrans looks promising. However, it's not cheap either, at around £650 pounds for the three papers + registration fees. On top of that, I hear it's pretty darn hard even for people who've got some real world experience. People seem to recommend doing preparation courses, but that adds another few hundred quid, if not more. So maybe a £1000 all told. 

 

Initially I was a little overconfident (alright, downright cocky) and paid £25 up front for access to the past-papers with the full intention of doing a bit of cramming and then passing the exam. However, upon further research it sounds pretty daunting: no electronic dictionaries, you need to bring hard copies and that means shelling out again for stuff I've already bought on pleco (almost gave up there, I hate unnecessary expenditures); the examiners are old school, I see people recommending style guides to brush up on your English; the pass rate is pretty darn low, in the 30% range I heard. Overall it seems like it will be no mean feat to pass this and it's not even my main goal.

 

Now my reservations hinge mostly on money. Although I'm really against taking a course, if I get a job in the meantime then, because I live at home, I think the expense wouldn't be anywhere near as painful as it is right now. However, I'd still rather not spend the money if the return on investment is too low for a casual translator with low work volume. The way things are nowadays experience is everything and I don't really trust that having the qualification would be all that helpful to fall back on if I don't have serious experience to back it up. It would be nice to hear from translators, especially anyone who's taken the exam. Just how hard was it? Did you need to take a course to prepare? How was your career before and after gaining the qualification?

[Milkybar_Kid]

I haven't taken this exam myself but I've heard from others that it's something you take after completing a master's degree in translation. It's also renowned for being incredibly difficult in any language and not just Chinese. However if you look at the profiles of translators on Proz.com who have got this qualification, they tend to be full-time translators who translate day in and day out. If translation is not your main goal and profession then I don't know if the return on investment would be worth your while. How about posting this question over on Proz.com to collect views from other translators?

[Apollys]

It sounds to me like your Chinese is at a pretty good level. The next step should be to start putting yourself in challenging situations, broadening your experience and strengthening your confidence.

 

Maybe you can do something in the meantime to gain more experience and raise your skill level so that later you will be in a more promising position to take the exam.  In my opinion, it's best not to force yourself to take an exam that you may not pass just for the sake of having the certificate (though I have no specific knowledge about the test in question).

 

Now for the issue of money.  I would suggest that if you're financially tight at the moment, find some other source of income to fund your exam fees and regular life in the meantime.  Of course I don't know the significance of this test, but in general I wouldn't rely on a single test like this to be a magic key that will suddenly unlock the floodgates of Chinese translation jobs for you.  However, I also think that if the test is challenging (as long as it's not challenging for the completely wrong reasons), preparation for this test will improve your Chinese skills in a useful way, and therefore you will get something valuable out of it regardless of whether or not the certificate itself directly lands you a job.

 

Of course, the question of whether or not taking this exam would be the best use of your time and money will have to be answered by someone who has more specific knowledge and experience on this topic.

 

Edit: from Milkybar's response it sounds like it would definitely be worth it if you can pass it, but it also sounds like you may not be in a position to pass it yet.

[艾墨本]

I can only speak of the situation in the US.

Most jobs (Gov, private, etc.) that require proficiency in Chinese have their own tests to ensure you're not just "faking" it. Putting a high level of proficiency on your Resume is obviously not as good as official certifications, but might have a better return on investment.

 

As far as translation goes, I say don't do it. My logic is this: there is a common assumption that being proficient in two languages=ability to translate successfully. That'd be a misrepresentation of the challenges of translating. A certificate that aims verify skilled translators will most certainly work to sift out those that are merely bilingual. I relate it to teaching where there is a common assumption that good doing something (math, Chinese, etc.) is the major prerequisite for being a good teacher on the subject. I'm sure all here have had teachers that embody this misconception.

 

I think the question you are asking is perhaps too narrow. The common opinion on these forums, that I also stand behind, is that Chinese on it's own is not a skill that will land you a job but is a skill that will enhance your application when paired with other skills.

 

I'd go a step farther and say that many corporations are looking for those who understand, deeply, Chinese culture (even minus language ability) to help them communicate with their Chinese counterparts.

 

As for a degree in "Chinese Studies," that might move you in the above mentioned career path as acting as interlocutor between two parties, one of which would be Chinese. Alternatively, there are a lot of government positions that require said knowledge. I don't know if your home country has an equivalent of USAjobs with government listings. Try checking that and search for Chinese and Mandarin and see what pops up. Glassdoor and Linkedin are other alternatives.

 

There are such a variety of jobs out there, it's quite hard to say I only want this one when there might be a better fitting one you simply don't know exists.

 

Some other possible paths: Helping Chinese students study abroad, focus on intercultural-communication trainings for those going to China or Chinese going abroad, going the thinktank route, supporting international programs that take students/employees on trips to China, tourism industry (tour guide, hotel management, etc), and even things like the Census Bureau that need people that can ask questions in Chinese.

[Apollys]

3 hours ago, 艾墨本 said:

As far as translation goes, I say don't do it.

 

Why do you say don't do it? Is it because you think it wouldn't be enjoyable compared to alternatives, or because the OP doesn't have the proper skill set and it would be too much work to acquire that skill set?

[Milkybar_Kid]

On 11/8/2018 at 6:01 PM, Apollys said:

On 11/8/2018 at 2:51 PM, 艾墨本 said:

As far as translation goes, I say don't do it.

 

Why do you say don't do it? Is it because you think it wouldn't be enjoyable compared to alternatives, or because the OP doesn't have the proper skill set and it would be too much work to acquire that skill set?

 

Also interested to hear why not.

[roddy]

@LiMo or anyone, did you end up taking this route? I happened across the topic and spent a bit of time looking at it. Delightfully old-school - paper dictionaries, filling in a Word doc order form and making a bank transfer to get past papers. I'd love to see what the actual Chinese papers (and answers) look like.

[HedgePig]

Only nine months later in response to Roddy’s question and only second-hand information but here it is for what it is worth...

 

My daughter wrote the DipTrans exam yesterday for Chinese to English translation. Yes, it’s still paper dictionaries only but, due to COVID, the exam itself was online and at home - so she didn’t have to travel to London. She was required to have a camera on her all the time but could “raise a hand” if she needed a bathroom break.
 

For preparation, she took a third-party course which she found helpful, especially as she hasn’t done much translation work herself. This consisted of translating a variety of articles, both general and in her specialist areas. From the marking perspective, it sounds like one serious error can mean an automatic fail e.g. in one of the prep course pieces, she for some reason translated Qingdao as Chengdu.

Her tutor felt she was well prepared and should be aiming for a “Merit”, although after the exam my daughter was a bit concerned that she’d made a bad mistake which might cost her a pass. Despite that, think she felt that the preparation course was worth it and gave her realistic expectations of what the exam would be like. She’d also read a couple of translation theory books which were recommended and which she found very interesting.

The exam itself is  in three parts: a three hour general section which everyone must write and then two two-hour sections in two specialist areas. Her planned specialist subjects were Literature and Social Science but you don’t have to commit beforehand and she ended up choosing a Science translation in the actual exam as she said the Social Science one was very technical. It was the Literature one she found tough as it contained a lot of slang.

I think she took the exam as much out of interest as any serious intent, although if she passes I think she will probably try some freelance translation work. She actually seemed to enjoy the whole experience very much.

[roddy]

Thanks! I do find the paper dictionary requirement very anachronistic. The kind of software being used for online exams nowadays would easily allow them to monitor internet use for the duration of the exam, so they could check you're only making legitimate searches, not just pasting stuff into Google Translate.

[Lu]

16 minutes ago, roddy said:

not just pasting stuff into Google Translate.

That's not something I would worry about if I administered a test like that. For one, it's a legitimate dictionary (not the best one, but it can still be useful). For another, if you do nothing but copy what Google Translate gives you, either you fail or the test is useless. What I would worry about is someone emailing the test to a different translator to do the test for them, or asking people on forums like this one for help.

 

Obviously I don't know anything about the specific test OP asks about, but I do know a little about translation as a career. It's not really suitable as a side gig to support yourself if your main attention is elsewhere. It takes time and effort to find good clients. Especially for Chinese to English translation, there is a lot of competition, and many of these translators are Chinese people who believe their English is good enough to translate into (and sometimes it is), and have cheaper rates than you. So you need to compete on quality and that takes time. Getting certified helps, but you still face stiff competition on price. However, it can be a nice source of occasional extra income if you can afford to only take assignments that pay enough (because you have a steady source of income elsewhere, or don't need much to live on, or other reasons). But in that case it's probably not worth it to pay serious money to take an exam, unless taking the exam itself is of value to you.

[roddy]

Mostly agree. I do think though that there's a difference between producing a decent translation, and recognizing what is / isn't decent when it comes out of a machine translator. The latter is more machine-translation post-editing (which I'm seeing a LOT more work for lately). I can imagine a borderline case of someone who could pass with that help, but not without.

 

What I'd be particularly interested is what benefits the qualifications give in terms of networking and finding jobs. 

[HedgePig]

An update, in case it's of interest or use to anyone.

 

Last week, my daughter received her results from the January 2021 Dip Trans exam. Things didn't go too well as she failed both the general section, which she confident of passing, as well as the science specialist section, which she felt reasonably sure she'd passed. The literature specialist section, which she was pretty sure she had failed, she actually did pass - and, much to her surprise,  received a distinction. (She's currently in her final year of a degree in English Literature and perhaps underrated her ability to write "literary" English.) She'll probably try and complete the remaining two modules at some stage although it's unlikely to be in 2022. 

 

As mentioned in my original post, I think she found the whole experience worthwhile and learned quite a bit. She's planning to take a Masters in Comparative Literature and I think she feels that she's gained some useful background, even if she isn't planning to do translation work. 

 

P.S. As a reference, I think her basic Chinese is solid, not that I can judge directly. She scored in the low 270's when she took the HSK 6 exam a couple of year's back.

[roddy]

Thanks for the update, @HedgePig. Do you get a lot of useful feedback on where you actually went wrong, or is it just a score? I'm also curious as to how many, and which, paper dictionaries your daughter armed herself with.

[LiMo]

@roddy I'm quite late to the party but as a quick update,  after dabbling some more I gave it up as not really my thing. While I do feel an itch when someone has made a hash of some English subtitles on my favourite TV show, that doesn't mean I'm cut out for translating personally. In all honesty I'm a bit of a perfectionist so the frequency with which translation presents a "close but not quite right" result drives me up the wall.

 

HedgePig's daughter's experience suggests it was the right choice too as, with my other committments, it would have taken far too long to reach the required level of Chinese fluency anyway.