Freelance translators in Canada
Thread poster: Manjeet
Manjeet
Manjeet
Local time: 13:48
English to Hindi
+ ...
Dec 28, 2019

Hi
I would like to know how easy it is to work as Freelance translator in Canada. My language is Hindi and I work as English-Hindi-English translator. Would like to know is it easy to find work in my language pair. Freelancers from other language pair working in Canada can also contribute to this forum.


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:18
German to English
+ ...
become certified Dec 28, 2019

The best thing is to first do the preparatory course where you will get feedback on the kinds of standards that the provincial chapters of the CTTIC represents (for me in Ontario it is the ATIO). Many kinds of translation require certified translations, done by a certified translator, or they are highly preferred.

Tina Vonhof (X)
 
Lorraine Dubuc
Lorraine Dubuc  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 04:18
Member
English to French
Yes, of course Dec 28, 2019

Hello, Canada counts a quite big community of people from India, especially in the Toronto area, so I would say the chances to work as a freelance translator are just as good as anywhere on the planet, thanks to the Web. I do not believe that our location matters that much anymore. We get work from all over the world.

I wish you the best of success!


Ninon Dion
Tina Vonhof (X)
Jessica Noyes
Laura Kingdon
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:18
Dutch to English
+ ...
Agree with Lorraine Dec 28, 2019

It can be as easy here as anywhere else. A lot depends on how well you market yourself but it should be possible to get a nice mix of private clients and agencies, the latter from anywhere in the world.

I suggest checking which provinces and cities have the largest numbers of Hindi-speaking people and settle there. Become a member of the translators organization in that province and become certified. That certification is valid for all other provinces as well. Then you may get many
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It can be as easy here as anywhere else. A lot depends on how well you market yourself but it should be possible to get a nice mix of private clients and agencies, the latter from anywhere in the world.

I suggest checking which provinces and cities have the largest numbers of Hindi-speaking people and settle there. Become a member of the translators organization in that province and become certified. That certification is valid for all other provinces as well. Then you may get many recent immigrants who need personal documents translated to apply for permanent residency or citizenship, or need their diplomas translated to apply for professional recognition. That is how I started out and it became a substantial portion of my work.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!
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Basudeb Kumar Paul
Nassima Nejjari
 
Manjeet
Manjeet
Local time: 13:48
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for all the positive responses Dec 30, 2019

I have been working as a freelancer on different sites but never got a chance to work with a Canadian client so was wondering, how easy it would be working in Canada.

If we become a member of an organisation, we would be working with clients or agencies? These agencies are American or Canadian companies?

Are they any interpretation courses offered in Canada?


Basudeb Kumar Paul
 
Adam Dickinson
Adam Dickinson  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 04:18
Member (2016)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Working from Canada or India? Dec 30, 2019

Manjeet, just a question: your profile indicates that you are in India - is that correct? I only ask because much of the certification process in Canada is difficult if you are not physically in the country. To my knowledge, for example, none of the certification exams are offered outside of Canada.

If you're located outside of Canada and want to work with Canadian clients, it may be best to contact agencies here directly. This can be done even without certification. In terms of loc
... See more
Manjeet, just a question: your profile indicates that you are in India - is that correct? I only ask because much of the certification process in Canada is difficult if you are not physically in the country. To my knowledge, for example, none of the certification exams are offered outside of Canada.

If you're located outside of Canada and want to work with Canadian clients, it may be best to contact agencies here directly. This can be done even without certification. In terms of location, the Toronto area has the largest number of Hindi speakers, though even here there are more speakers of Urdu, Punjabi and Tamil than Hindi. It might make sense to contact Toronto-area agencies first. These will be Canadian companies. Toronto also has a large Indian community, meaning that there is a good infrastructure for outsourcing and sending payments to India.

To my knowledge, most interpretation courses offered in Canada cater to English/French/Spanish interpretation, I don't think any institutions offer courses specifically for Hindi interpretation.
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Tina Vonhof (X)
 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:18
German to English
+ ...
answering: "members of an organization Dec 31, 2019

manjeet_kour wrote:
I have been working as a freelancer on different sites but never got a chance to work with a Canadian client so was wondering, how easy it would be working in Canada.

If we become a member of an organisation, we would be working with clients or agencies? These agencies are American or Canadian companies?

That question may have been due to what I wrote about certification. I am certified with the ATIO, which is the professional organization in Ontario. But this is not an organization in the sense of employment or such. It's more like chartered accountants get a special paper attesting to their expertise; physicians practise once they have passed their licensing exams. While people do act as translators without certification, more doors are open to you if you are certified. For example, government bodies usually want translations to be done by certified translators. That means both end clients, and agencies, will choose you if you are certified, if the translation will go to the government.


Tina Vonhof (X)
 
Manjeet
Manjeet
Local time: 13:48
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
What about pricing? Dec 31, 2019

Hi,
Currently, I live in India but in future if I move to Canada I just wanted to know from where can I start my career. Though I work as Hindi translator I can speak Punjabi its mother tongue at a verbal level I'm fluent in this language. But unfortunately I don't have any formal education in Punjabi.

However, my present work in Hindi translation is mainly related to website localization, games translation articles and blog translation. So would like to know how much can yo
... See more
Hi,
Currently, I live in India but in future if I move to Canada I just wanted to know from where can I start my career. Though I work as Hindi translator I can speak Punjabi its mother tongue at a verbal level I'm fluent in this language. But unfortunately I don't have any formal education in Punjabi.

However, my present work in Hindi translation is mainly related to website localization, games translation articles and blog translation. So would like to know how much can you charge for your work. Are there any specific rates. Like hourly rates and per word price? Do the rates differ according to the language pair?
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:18
Dutch to English
+ ...
Rates Jan 3, 2020

You can find average rates here: https://search.proz.com/employers/rates

 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:18
Dutch to English
+ ...
Jan 3, 2020



[Edited at 2020-01-03 16:56 GMT]


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:18
German to English
+ ...
I just looked Jan 5, 2020

Tina Vonhof wrote:

You can find average rates here: https://search.proz.com/employers/rates

Those look rather low for Canada.


 


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