Starting from January 2025, I contributed regularly to many FOSS projects as a localization specialist.
I translated the whole AppFlowy app into Arabic and reported many language issues on GitHub related to its documentation.
Besides, I worked extensively on many WordPress plugins and themes. I enjoyed it and gained more hands-on experience by becoming faster and more precise.
Main tips to build a successful career as a linguist/l10n specialist
I already work with multiple translation companies in life sciences as a master reviewer and language validator consultant, which is considered a respectable position in the language industry. In theory, it is not that complicated to become top-rated and be a master reviewer or an LVC (language validator consultant).
- In your free time, read books and articles about your niche as a language professional.
- Listen to podcasts in the languages you use.
- When expanding your knowledge in your free time, look up technical words you encounter. This is essential if you want to be efficient when you do paid work. As they say, “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”
- Review your work multiple times even if it takes 20–30% more time. This will help you find patterns in your common inaccuracies; as a consequence, you will do a better job in the future and become faster.
- Write comments and take notes when working on a language project. Try to go the extra mile; I even review the English source text for typos and punctuation issues and report them to the project manager or direct client.
- Even if some projects are financially very rewarding, but you do not have time to deliver high-quality work, do not accept the job. You will hurt your client, damage your reputation, and may even be blacklisted. Always remember that clients pay you to help them deliver great work, so you should care about their success.
- Be responsive and answer quickly to email requests—preferably within 20 minutes. If you are out of the office, be sure to have a 4G or 5G connection on your smartphone and check email or Slack notifications.
- Use a timer to measure how much time is needed for each type of project. Assess the complexity of potential projects by scanning the documents and seeing how many complicated words appear per page. These difficult words will require extra time to translate accurately. If you keep doing this, after a couple of years you will know with great precision the time needed for each project.
Other possibilities for growth as a linguist
Take your time to write a detailed LinkedIn profile and create a short video to introduce yourself, as visitors often find it easier to watch a 1–2 minute video.
Have a professional website and email. Avoid using Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail addresses, and take your time to use online tools to build a respectable email signature.
Avoid having a Facebook account that could hurt your reputation as a freelance translator/linguist. In fact, most recruiters do a quick internet search and check your social media profiles to get an idea about who you are.
Finally, it is worth noting that deliberate practice is key if you want to be more efficient, gain experience, and make more money.
I mean, when you do volunteer or paid work, always think:
- How can I make fewer mistakes and be more accurate?
- Are there other software tools I can use?
- How can I grow as a faster freelancer and be more accurate?
- How can I advance my research skills?
- How can I find more clients?
- Can I add another specialism?
- Are there tools that make generating and organizing invoices faster and hassle-free? (I personally use WaveApps.)
- In my free time, is it a good idea to learn the basics of open-source, free CAT tools like OmegaT, for example? A one- to two-hour basic training on OmegaT may land you a USD 1,000 project and help you acquire new clients with recurring projects. Moreover, keep your professional profile on your résumé, LinkedIn, or website updated with the new tools or skills you learn, as some clients will only contact you if they are sure you know OmegaT. In short, if you learned how to use OmegaT but did not update your profile, it is self-sabotage.
Let me know if you found ideas that were helpful in this blog post, you can also share your tips with us on a comment
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