Languages – means to a lucrative career for home makers
Women are always on the hunt for options in their quest for financial independence; nowhere more so than in countries like India. While we spent time blaming societal pressures, traditional roles and workplaces not being equipped to accommodate the women’s needs, there is one profession that inspires us to leave behind barriers and join a workforce that not only is made for women, but also provides the flexibility and pay, which will help women in earning their independence. And that is the profession of language translation.
Is it not amazing that we can read books by authors who originally wrote in languages we do not know? Or how we can spend numerous Sunday afternoons binge watching “Harry Potter” in Hindi, Tamil, German or Japanese? Let us not forget how millions of ecommerce shoppers are now able to shop online by reading product descriptions in a language of their choice. Who do you think makes this happen? It is no one else but our friendly neighborhood translators; those multilingual specialists create magic by converting content from one language to another.
70% of translators across the globe are freelancers and more than 60% of them are women. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects the interpreter and translator jobs to grow much faster than average through 2026—at a rate of 18% for the period.
If you are fluent in more than one language (Indian or foreign) and have a degree in a language, then this is your first step towards becoming a freelancer. You can also hone your skills by taking an online language course or by working on small projects where you can test your language skills. If you are a domain expert like an engineering or arts graduate and are fluent in two or more language, then you can also become a subject matter expert and provide editing and proofreading services.
Both mobile technology and the internet boom have made it easy for housewives to join this elite group of professionals. You can start with something as basic as a phone as your tool to translation. A laptop with internet will help you convert this passion into a profession. Typically, a work from home translator can dedicate 5–6 hours a day to translation related work. A beginner can translate up to 1000 words, whereas an experienced translator can delivery 2500 words of translated content in a day. If you want to deep dive into the written words, then it will be worth the while to invest in some translation tools like CAT tools, Subtitling software, Quality Check solutions etc. If the written word is a challenge, then linguistic services can also be provided in the form of voice through interpretation services, language teaching, speech data collection services etc. In the Indian language context, there is an increasing demand for translations into regional Indian languages.
Translators can easily earn anything upwards from Rs.10000/month. Most experienced translators earn a minimum of Rs.1500 per day and some even earn Rs.500 per hour if they provide interpretation or dubbing and recording services. Housewives who aim to be translators must register themselves on translation job portals such as Proz, TranslatorsCafe and Upwork to name a few. Social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are also sources of job opportunities. Many translation agencies like Summa Linguae Technologies also empanel budding translators to join their freelance teams. You can also contribute to the development of emerging technologies with the power of your voice in different languages!
Housewives in India stand to gain significantly from the translation industry. The option to work from anywhere combined with flexible hours is an advantage. If you combine technology and language competency then you are well on your way to financial independence. This will increase their self-esteem and also give the well deserved confidence to support their ambition.
