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Just wondering what do you logomaniacs do for a living? as I'm off to find a job I'm curious to know about your experiences. Do you enjoy your job? Do you find it enriching/interesting/monotonous? do you feel like you would enjoy doing something else more? what stops you from doing it?
In the past week, for every single day that gone by I took half of it to ponder what would it be like to be working in all different sort of jobs. I also thought a lot about vocations & destinations. Has the way we have been living our lives would ultimately lead us to what we were meant to become? Or, once we've matured; can we suddeny develop new interest (we would be completely new to) and follow that for the rest of our lives?
Help to put my mind at ease... it's railing all day and all night! though currently, I did look at my past in my decision... and I have applied for a number of translation companies (for English-Hebrew-English) that I'm waiting to hear back from. However, I'm still uncertain about it. I keep asking myself it that's my vocation. And I think that uncertaity will not go away until I try and try and try. But I guess that's life, right? you can't know until you try.
I would be happy to hear (read) your experiences, or opinion about the issue if you have any.
Last edited by Logwood; 12/13/05 11:48 PM.
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Pooh-Bah
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Quote:
Just wondering what do you logomaniacs do for a living?
***That's a good word, and I am one
*********I was a tech writer (electronics) and inventor; did a little freelance writing, now retired
as I'm off to find a job I'm curious to know about your experiences. Do you enjoy your job?
**I didn't. Didn't know I was supposed to. Did it because I could
Do you find it enriching/interesting/monotonous?
********It was certainly the last. When I would finish one instruction book they would assign me to write another one. Eventually I quit to beomce a tech rep with hands-on job
do you feel like you would enjoy doing something else more? what stops you from doing it?
********Ignorance. In school they don't teach you it's essential to do something you like. Besides the three R's they teach you virtually nothing essential to your well-being. They don't teach you how to live because the conservatives, Neocons, and right-wing evangelists won't let them
In the past week, for every single day that gone by I took half of it to ponder what would it be like to be working in all different sort of jobs. I also thought a lot about vocations & destinations. Has the way we have been living our lives would ultimately lead us to what we were meant to become?
****No, not at all. It's necessary to first realize that's an actual goal.
Or, once we've matured; can we suddeny develop new interest (we would be completely new to) and follow that for the rest of our lives?
****Sure it's possible, and I recommend it
Help to put my mind at ease... it's railing all day and all night! though currently, I did look at my past in my decision... and I have applied for a number of translation companies (for English-Hebrew-English) that I'm waiting to hear back from.
*****Best of luck
However, I'm still uncertain about it. I keep asking myself it that's my vocation. And I think that uncertaity will not go away until I try and try and try. But I guess that's life, right? you can't know until you try.
*****The fact that you're thinking about it shows promise
I would be happy to hear (read) your experiences, or opinion about the issue if you have any.
****I have many opinions and I am glad to share them
dalehileman
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Logwood, I work as a translator (Bahasa Indonesia -> English) and editor. I work for an Indonesian law firm. The work can be repetitive and monotonous sometimes with roughly the same document coming across my desk time and time again but written by a different person so I have to keep my eyes peeled for slightly different wordings. At other times I get completely new documents which are completely engrossing because I feel like I'm learning something.
If you get the chance, find out which of your prospective employers deals with the widest possible range of documents, and be prepared to read widely in both English and Hebrew. You obviously have an enquiring mind so I assume that aspect of being a translator will appeal to you.
If you want to know whether it really is for you before you take things much further, just do it. Try translating newspaper/magazine articles (pick them at random, not just ones on subjects you like and know about), operating manuals, official documents, short stories and any other documents you can get your hands on. Do as much as you can and try and imagine yourself doing it all day.
Some translation bureaux (I assume these are what you're applying to) want you to come to work in their office, others want you to work from home. These both have advantages and disadvantages. If you're working in an office, you have colleagues to consult, but on the other hand if you're working from home, it gives you more of a chance to build up your own client base in case you decide freelancing and self-employment is more for you.
There is a mailing list for Indonesian translators called bahtera (Indonesian for ark and an abbreviation for language (bahasa) and translation (terjemahan)), and I assume there must be one for Hebrew translators. Try lurking on that, to see if the points they discuss have any interest for you.
Bingley
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______________________________________________________________________
"Ignorance. In school they don't teach you it's essential to do something you like. Besides the three R's they teach you virtually nothing essential to your well-being. They dont teach you how to live because the conservatives, Neocons, and right-wing evangelists wont let them.
I have many opinions and I am glad to share them." - dalehileman
_____________________________________________________________________
I'm with you, little buddy, them same conservatives, Neocons, and right-wing evangelists wouldn't let me learn to play the guitar and become a rockstar on MTV.
Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Most peculiar.
Last edited by themilum; 12/14/05 10:37 AM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Please refrain from politics on this board -- it almost always leads to trouble. There are plenty of message boards out there appropriate to political discussions.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Logwood, Bingley's given you some good advice. I, too, work as a (part-time) translator, from Portuguese to English (never the other way around).
Do you have any college, or are you going straight to work? Another good thing about translating for a company that handles a variety of subjects is you learn about those areas and that may help lead you to a profession you will enjoy. I've changed careers many times in my life and you may, too.
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Thanks for the replies, dale, Bing, Ann. Yes, I was able to locate a college; and I have little doubt I could find work in this business. So it's not that I'm overly-concerned about my competence or even what enjoyment I'd derive from it. I just question myself if the choices I make now are the choices I'll live with for the rest of my life. Because you see, for me; choosing a career is choosing a lifestyle. I always give 110% to everything I do. Can't stop until I'm the best, and working with the best.  Quote:
Or, once we've matured; can we suddeny develop new interest (we would be completely new to) and follow that for the rest of our lives?
****Sure it's possible, and I recommend it
Yes, I'm not too sure why I doubted it in the first place.
I'd still like to know what do you people do for a living regardless of my situation. I'm a curious sort.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, Logwood, I spend 24 hours a week bookkeeping for a trendy restaurant in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, that doesn't quite cover my bills as my boss hates for anyone to actually make any money but him  I also make and sell tamales to a restaurant and private customers. In my several incarnations in this life, I have babysat, washed dishes, waited tables, sold Avon, made and sold baked goods from my home, cleaned motel rooms, sold photo packages by phone, answered the phone at an auto glass replacement shop, assisted my ex-husband doctor in our clinic in Mexico (birthing babies, intermuscular injections, taking blood pressure, etc), sold Christmas trees, sold sweet cherries in a roadside stand, packaged and distributed sweet cherries to grocery stores, stuffed instruction sheets in plastic bags at home for a penny a piece, assembled Kwickie Kwivers, worked in an automotive parts factory (yuck!), managed a snack bar in a ski lodge, worked as a translator in a migrant health clinic, tutored migrant children, and held various positions with a nationwide drug store chain over several years. I probably left a few things out, I've listed much more here than in my resume, but aren't you glad you asked?  And in case you are wondering, I am a college graduate.
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Kwikee KwiversI know, it sounds vaguely pornographic, doesn't it?
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