subject: Job Outlook In 2011 For Translators And Interpreters - It Pays To Be Bilingual [print this page] How Is The Job Outlook in 2011 for Translators and Interpreters - It Pays To Be Bilingual
Bilingual jobs such as interpreters and translators play a crucial role in today's society. Bilingual and multilingual people bridges the communication gap between many cultures, as they play an important role in cross-cultural communication. It is worth noting that there is a distinction between an interpreter and a translator, as the two are often loosely interchanged. An interpreter basically refers to someone who translates spoken words whereas translators deal with translating written word. Bilingual people have become such a big asset to a lot of companies in different industries, as the demand for translators and interpreters continue to rise by the year.
It takes more than knowledge of another language to become qualified for bilingual jobs. Being a translator and an interpreter requires skill and knowledge of the specific topic of conversation. Professional interpreters who are employed by large corporations need to have a good grasp of the particular nature of business of his employers. This is why bilingual people are generally paid higher than the average employee.
The demand for translators and interpreters is predicted to rise up to 22 percent in between the years 2008 to 2018. This projection includes the year 2011 and is even estimated to rise, as more and more companies are beginning to specialize in international operations. Greater international cooperation and efforts to improve cross-cultural ties among many countries also contribute to the rise in demand for translators and interpreters. This increase in demand will, of course, lead to an increase in bilingual jobs in different industries.
The demand for people who have a mastery of both written and oral communications in the following languages have the highest demand; German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese. The demand for people with mastery of the language in the middle eastern territories are also projected to rise over the next couple of years. Now that the Internet has made it possible even for medium-scale enterprises to start international operations, the demand for bilingual people in the customer service industry has significantly increased. Bilingual jobs play an important role in building relationships with people from different countries and opens up more opportunities for both companies and their employees, as companies get to branch out to other countries and bilingual employees become more of an asset to the company.
Since these jobs require expertise as well, you really have to gain mastery of these languages. Even those who are not exactly applying for a bilingual position but are interested in working abroad should take the time to learn the language of their country of destination. It is worth noting that bilingual positions for interested applicants greatly vary depending on the language. There is an increased demand for people who speak Spanish languages because of the significant increase of the Hispanic population, especially in the United States. There is also some increase in the demand for people who have a mastery of Asian languages due to migration and due to companies wanting to do business in China.
