# NAATI and Translation Accreditation (Spanish)



## queliwantstogo (Apr 29, 2013)

Hey all,

I am from the US and just moved to Australia on a provisional partner visa (309), and I am currently looking for work. I have no study or working restrictions.

As a bit of background, I have a lot of experience in the childcare field (I have been working with school-aged children in various capacities on and off for the past 7 years), but I have no formal childcare certifications valid in Australia. I am actually looking to take a break from childcare, though, to pursue other options.

I graduated from college in the US with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and during my college career, I spent two semesters studying abroad in Spain. I am potentially interested in becoming a translator, but I am not a native speaker and I have no formal training or experience in translation or interpretation. I have been looking into ways to pursue this interest, but I'm unsure of the best path. I discovered that there is a formal organization for certifying translators in Australia, the NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters), but from the little information I have found, it seems the test that I would need to sit to become accredited is very difficult (there's a fairly high chance of failing) and very expensive ($464 for permanent residents, and $718 or somewhere around there for visitors).

Has anyone on this forum sat a NAATI exam for Professional Translation for Spanish? Has anyone sat a NAATI Translation Exam for any LOTE (Language other than English) that was not native to them? How difficult are the exams? Do you have any suggestions for preparing for the exam?

Does anyone have any other suggestions on obtaining translation certifications or pursuing translation as a career (freelance or otherwise)?

Thank-you so much in advance for any responses I might receive!!


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## queliwantstogo (Apr 29, 2013)

Anyone know?


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## robboat (Jun 12, 2012)

Translations are a world wide business.....but I am not so sure that just Spanish interpretation would be a lucrative career.
Plenty of computer programs and fluent native speakers all over the place....

Languages in demand are Chinese dialects, Japanese and Korean.....where the business world is going.

I suppose you could make some money teaching Spanish - tutoring?

Otherwise - I am not sure you could earn a decent living in Australia......

My opinion - but I may be wrong....


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