Getting Certified as a Translator: CTP or ATA?
Thread poster: lholden803
lholden803
lholden803
Spanish to English
+ ...
Oct 26, 2016

Hello, I am considering registering for the Certified Translation Professional (CTP) Spanish-English exam and wanted to ask for feedback from other translators who took it. Also, is CTP known as a reliable source? For example, American Translation Association (ATA) is well known and NCATA is the local division in the DC area. The advantage with CTP's exam is that you take it once, where ATA requires you to retake it every couple of years. Any advice and feedback will be greatly appreciated. Than... See more
Hello, I am considering registering for the Certified Translation Professional (CTP) Spanish-English exam and wanted to ask for feedback from other translators who took it. Also, is CTP known as a reliable source? For example, American Translation Association (ATA) is well known and NCATA is the local division in the DC area. The advantage with CTP's exam is that you take it once, where ATA requires you to retake it every couple of years. Any advice and feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lilach ([email protected])Collapse


 
LEXpert
LEXpert  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:53
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
ATA Oct 26, 2016

lholden803 wrote:

ATA requires you to retake it every couple of years.


I haven't taken the CTP exam, but I do have two ATA certifications.
I don't where you're getting the infomation that you need to retake the ATA exam periodically, but that's not true at all. You just need to keep your membership currrent and submit proof of a certain number of continuing education hours every three years, though there are many different and relatively easy and inexpensive options to get these.

CTP appears to exist primarily for the purpose of promoting its own certification and selling you their own learning materials. Plus, their website states that their test requires you translate in both directions in a specified combination.

I'd focus on the ATA exam.


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:53
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Full discussion available Oct 26, 2016

You will find a full discussion on the matter here: http://www.proz.com/forum/professional_development/151340-has_anyone_heard_of_ctpcertified_translation_professional_program_by_global_translation_institute.html

As you can see, the CTP is simply a corporation selli
... See more
You will find a full discussion on the matter here: http://www.proz.com/forum/professional_development/151340-has_anyone_heard_of_ctpcertified_translation_professional_program_by_global_translation_institute.html

As you can see, the CTP is simply a corporation selling "certificates" that are not recognised and can be easily obtained as long as you pay the fees. You basically obtain some course materials and do a test in your home. Although the CTP people try to give the impression that they are an association, they are not: they are a corporation (as they admit in the forum above) and you cannot choose its officials or bylaws.

On the other hand, the American Translators Association is a true association with over 50 years of history, and which you can join as a member and where you can actually vote its bylaws and officials. You can even run for presidency or other positions in the ATA board if you wish. The ATA certification is an invigilated exam made up of several papers which test your abilities as a translator and, actually, are rather difficult to master. The ATA does not need you to pass, and therefore the exam is tremendously exacting. Historically, the pass rate has been at around 15% of candidates (AND to be a candidate you need to have a degree in translation or five years of proven experience with reference letters). Customers and translation agencies alike recognise the value of the ATA certification worldwide.

To me, if you want to obtain a proper certification, your bet is the ATA certification.

[Edited at 2016-10-26 14:36 GMT]
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Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:53
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
The CTP/GTI according to the European Commission in 2012 Oct 26, 2016

The Global Translation Institute is managed by Adriana Tassini from an office in Portland, Oregon (although it seems not to be registered with the Portland Revenue Bureau, which does not list it at the address given). It sponsors a Certified Translation Professional (CTP) Designation Program, managed by Adriana Tassini with a telephone number in Massachusetts. It links to free information on the translation industry and how to become a translator, all of which comprises some 40 short online articles by Adriana Tassini. Adriana Tassini describes herself as a “Harvard University Alumni Member with a background in international relations and translation work in São Paulo, Brazil and Boston, Massachusetts (USA)”. She names no completed degrees. Her declared training team comprises 12 people, none of them with any formal training in translation. To become a Certified Translation Professional, you pay US$227 per language pair, study the learning materials (none of which is language-specific) and sit the online exam. It is not clear to what extent the exam tests language skills, but the programme offers certification in 22 language pairs, of which the training faculty are presented as being experts in five.


From Studies on translation and multilingualism - The Status of the Translation Profession in the European Union, July 2012. Available at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/publications/studies/translation_profession_en.pdf


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:53
German to English
+ ...
depends where you live. CTTIC / ATIO for me Oct 26, 2016

Given that I live in Canada, and how thigns work here.

 
lholden803
lholden803
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank You Oct 27, 2016

Thanks Rudolf and Tomas for sharing your input, this is very helpful!

 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:53
English to Spanish
+ ...
There's a scammer born every 15 minutes Oct 28, 2016

The ATA certification is widely recognized as a valid credential in and out of the translation profession. I wouldn't bother with a scammer like the CTP. In fact, I would encourage local OR translators to contact the Better Business Bureau and the appropriate authorities to put Ms. Tassini and her group out of business. What they're doing is unethical.

 
Siegfried Armbruster
Siegfried Armbruster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:53
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Thank you for your clear words Oct 28, 2016

Mario Chavez wrote:

The ATA certification is widely recognized as a valid credential in and out of the translation profession. I wouldn't bother with a scammer like the CTP. In fact, I would encourage local OR translators to contact the Better Business Bureau and the appropriate authorities to put Ms. Tassini and her group out of business. What they're doing is unethical.


Yes, certification should be in the hands of proper bodies uch as the assopciations, universities and state regulated bodies. Companies such as CPT are damaging our industry and others selling red pee badges coupled to a payed membership are not far away from it.

[Edited at 2016-10-28 04:29 GMT]


 


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Getting Certified as a Translator: CTP or ATA?






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