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How and where to do market research?
Thread poster: Richard J W
Richard J W
Richard J W
United Kingdom
Jan 22, 2020

I have wanted to start a career in interpreting for some years now. As an avid language learner, I've already reached a high level of proficiency in my foreign languages (RU & IT). I don't currently have interpreter-level proficiency, but if I put in some serious practice, I can reach it relatively soon.

I'm not in any way qualified to interpret. And since I already have a bachelor's degree, the next step would be to study a master's, which in the UK is an investment of £20,000 alt... See more
I have wanted to start a career in interpreting for some years now. As an avid language learner, I've already reached a high level of proficiency in my foreign languages (RU & IT). I don't currently have interpreter-level proficiency, but if I put in some serious practice, I can reach it relatively soon.

I'm not in any way qualified to interpret. And since I already have a bachelor's degree, the next step would be to study a master's, which in the UK is an investment of £20,000 altogether, including accommodation etc.

As romantic as the idea of following my dreams is, I'm struggling to justify spending the next few years of my life investing this time and money without having evidence of eventual career prospects.

I've called and spoken to various agencies in the UK, but they were reticent to reveal anything and just asked me to sign up in case they had any offers. I've also asked university programme leaders but, without wanting to sound cynical, I suspect they have a vested interest to paint a positive picture.

So, how can I find out if there is a market for my language pair? Where do I look? Who do I ask? On what basis did you make your decision to become an interpreter? Did you know there was a demand or did you just take the plunge and hope for the best? ▲ Collapse
 


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How and where to do market research?







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