When thinking of love, we often think of romantic love and familial love, but at Dr. Localize, love goes beyond that. It’s the love for work, the close relationship among colleagues, and most importantly, self-love. Let’s read the following article by Anh Nguyen – an intriguing, sincere, and passionate lady.
In 2016, on a cold day much like today, I embarked on a journey to find a new job.
Back then, I was in my thirties, >with over 7 years of experience translating movies and shows, hardly knew anything about CAT tools (I remember looking it up when I saw it mentioned in job postings), and my knowledge of document translation was patchy at best. I was also struggling with the looming crisis of turning 30. I sat at the company for a test that was as challenging as a university entrance exam, together with another candidate. There were so many sections to complete, time constraints, invigilators all around, and the other candidate finished way ahead.
Translating movies and shows is an art of its own. The context is always available to look at, with character tones to distinguish nuances, and subtext to understand the subtle layers in the films. The key to excelling in this field is mastering slang and idioms. The most skillful translators should master in shortening sentences because there’s always a character limit for subtiles to match the audience’s average reading speed. However, this tendency sometimes leads to wordings being clipped, words omitted, and meanings lost. Not to mention the desire to put spoken language into written text. Document translation might not be as vivid, but it offers a wide range of diversity and topic.
My workdays in the first week as a newbie were relaxed since I onboarded in the year-end holiday season when clients were on vacation. The senior colleagues held training sessions to introduce some basics. But by the second week, it became overwhelming. At times, I found myself studying approximately 10 CAT tools simultaneously. Working at the company office until 8 PM became a norm. I don’t even recall how I managed that period.
What I’m most grateful for is that everyone was always willing to help whenever I had a question. No matter how trivial or complex my questions were, my colleagues were always cheerful and ready to assist, even taking the time to provide hands-on assistance when needed. When I faced technical challenges, the CEO himself (OMG, I was shocked) would step in to resolve them. I later found out that our boss also played a role of an IT expert in the company. While our company’s elder staff are far beyond perfect, they excel not only in their expertise but also in their elegance and grace, caring for everyone’s well-being.
The team at the company is incredibly endearing. My former teacher said that translation is a very demanding profession, and those who pursue it would subtract 10 years from their lifespan. But our company are different, they always seem younger than their ages (even though they have to combat reviewers and tight deadlines daily), I wonder how they’ve managed to maintain their youthfulness.
I always felt lucky to be a part of the company, but during the years of Covid, I realized I was even luckier. While many people were struggling to earn for a living, my job remained stable and continued to grow. Despite the recent upheavals in the translation industry, with doubts arising about the future of the translation profession (like the emergence of Machine Translation and AI), I hope that in the years to come, I’ll still be part of the company, doing the work I love, and contributing my small brick to the bridge connecting different cultures. Happy translating!
