ATA - American Translator's Association: what are the benefits of membership? (Translators Associations)

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ATA - American Translator's Association: what are the benefits of membership?

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Initiator des Themas: Sophia Hundt

ATA - American Translator's Association: what are the benefits of membership?

Vladimir Dubisskiy

Kanada

Mitglied (2001)
Englisch > Russisch
+ ...

Agree with Henry

Sep 2, 2006

... and i talked to some clients about their attitude towards ProZ, ProZ.com membership, ProZ.com BlueBoard and i may say that sometimes being a ProZ.com member with complete profile, multiple positive clients feedback at Project History and positive WWA, (even high KudoZ ranking) help a lot to get the same results as being "ATA-ed"

)

Henry wrote:
...you might get better results with a complete profile and a professional attitude. Even becoming a member won't help you meet clients if you don't have these two things.

[Edited at 2006-09-02 20:49]

Brandis

Deutschland

Mitglied (2003)
Englisch > Deutsch
+ ...

I have heard of ATA

Sep 2, 2006

I am a BDUE since 1990 and I did not feel the necessity to report my credential to any authority. But ATA would be certainly interesting. I shall be in the US starting next Nov and shall get the right adv. about ATA or may be experienced ProZ.com members would also help find the right path. I concentrate fully on technical subjects and so far I did not feel the necessity to inform myself about ATA. In Germany if you are an engg. you are a master and it doesn´t require much to be anything else and one could coin one´s own term. But may be ATA certification is better than being an engineer and translator. Appreciate much all stimulus. Best Brandis

JaneTranslates

Puerto Rico

Mitglied (2005)
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Highly technical ATA exam?

Sep 2, 2006

I don't know about the 1970s, femme, but when I took two ATA "accreditation" (now "certification") exams in the 90s, we were given 5 texts from which we could choose either 2 or 3 to translate. We had to pass 2 to pass the exam, and it was our choice whether doing 3 in the limited time would help or harm our chances. The 5 texts were from 5 different fields, one of which was literary.

I passed both of my exams, English>Spanish and Spanish>English. Believe me, I couldn't have done it with some of the texts I was given! But since we had a choice, I'm glad to say I made it.

This forum has inspired me to get busy and renew my lapsed ATA membership. The monthly magazine and the directory listing are enough to pay for the membership fee.

And you might want to think about taking that exam again, femme! It's a great credential to put on your profile or CV.

femme
Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Times Do Change, Don't They?

Sep 2, 2006

And it looks like the ATA has, too! I assumed they probably had. But I would still say that not being a member of ATA is not necessarily a negative reflection on a translator's skills. Thanks for taking the time to update me, Jane, about how the exam is structured nowadays.

Does anybody know if I can take the exam from a remote location?

Thanks for your response.

Luisa Ramos

Vereinigte Staaten

Mitglied (2004)
Englisch > Spanisch
+ ...

I agree

Sep 2, 2006

JaneTranslates wrote:

I passed both of my exams, English>Spanish and Spanish>English. Believe me, I couldn't have done it with some of the texts I was given! But since we had a choice, I'm glad to say I made it.
......
And you might want to think about taking that exam again, femme! It's a great credential to put on your profile or CV.

I agree. I took the English-Spanish test twice, the second time earlier this year, and passed. There was one compulsory text, and two other texts to choose from. Things have changed a lot; my advice to femme is to take the test again, and my advice to Sophia is to join both ATA and ALTA.

Sophia Hundt

Vereinigte Staaten
Russisch > Englisch
+ ...

I agree

Sep 3, 2006

I don't know how about being ATA-d, but boy, I assure you that I am able to add significantly to our income with what I find at ProZ.com and the like. I put up a complete profile, client testimonials, samples and even my photo, and it's an excellent first step in establishing some of the longer-term connections. Proz.com really made it possible to instantly find work without leaving home, which as mother of a small baby I just don't want to do. What a revelation!

Vladimir Dubisskiy wrote:

... and i talked to some clients about their attitude towards ProZ, ProZ.com membership, ProZ.com BlueBoard and i may say that sometimes being a ProZ.com member with complete profile, multiple positive clients feedback at Project History and positive WWA, (even high KudoZ ranking) help a lot to get the same results as being "ATA-ed"

)

Henry wrote:
...you might get better results with a complete profile and a professional attitude. Even becoming a member won't help you meet clients if you don't have these two things.

[Edited at 2006-09-02 20:49]

Sophia Hundt

Vereinigte Staaten
Russisch > Englisch
+ ...

Directory listing

Sep 3, 2006

Hi Jane - if you could elaborate a bit on your answer here:

Do you need to be ATA certified to be listed in the ATA directory or do you simply need to pay your fee?
Also, what are the benefits of being listed in the directory and what are the benefits of the monthly magazine exactly?

Thank you.

JaneTranslates wrote:

I don't know about the 1970s, femme, but when I took two ATA "accreditation" (now "certification") exams in the 90s, we were given 5 texts from which we could choose either 2 or 3 to translate. We had to pass 2 to pass the exam, and it was our choice whether doing 3 in the limited time would help or harm our chances. The 5 texts were from 5 different fields, one of which was literary.

I passed both of my exams, English>Spanish and Spanish>English. Believe me, I couldn't have done it with some of the texts I was given! But since we had a choice, I'm glad to say I made it.

This forum has inspired me to get busy and renew my lapsed ATA membership. The monthly magazine and the directory listing are enough to pay for the membership fee.

And you might want to think about taking that exam again, femme! It's a great credential to put on your profile or CV.

JaneTranslates

Puerto Rico

Mitglied (2005)
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Have you checked out the ATA website?

Sep 3, 2006

Sophia Hundt wrote:

Hi Jane - if you could elaborate a bit on your answer here:

Do you need to be ATA certified to be listed in the ATA directory or do you simply need to pay your fee?
Also, what are the benefits of being listed in the directory and what are the benefits of the monthly magazine exactly?

Thank you.

I suggest you go to:
http://www.atanet.org/onlinedirectories/individuals.php
for the answer to your first question. It's not that I don't want to answer it; it's that I haven't been an active member since 2000 so my info may not be current. When I was a member, you did not need certification to be listed, but certifications were shown in your directory listing. I presume it's still the same--I didn't take the time to read on the ATA site, just sent you the link.

As to the second: The directory, online or paper, does the same thing as ProZ.com membership: It gets your name and info out there where potential clients can find it. If your directory listing also includes that you are ATA certified for a particular language pair (and direction), you are more likely to be chosen. It's credentials. And you can put your ATA membership (and certification) on your CV, your ProZ.com profile, your business card, your job application, etc.

I imagine you posted here because you want rank-and-file feedback from ATA members, not just "official" info. I wish I had kept my membership current; if I had, I could be more helpful. But I got enough jobs when I was a member to pay for the membership fee. (Not, however, for the exam, which is expensive!)

Good luck!

Jane

Marian Greenfield

Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

ATA Exams are offered throught the U.S. and in many other countries

Sep 3, 2006

Just visit http://www.atanet.org/certification/upcoming.php

for a continually updated list (exam year ends in November)

If by remote you mean over the Internet, that is not a possiblity.

However, sittings can be arranged wherever, as long as there is a suitable site, enough people to make it worthwhile to pay for the site and the proctor and there is an ATA-certified member willing to proctor.

femme wrote:

And it looks like the ATA has, too! I assumed they probably had. But I would still say that not being a member of ATA is not necessarily a negative reflection on a translator's skills. Thanks for taking the time to update me, Jane, about how the exam is structured nowadays.

Does anybody know if I can take the exam from a remote location?

Thanks for your response.

Marian Greenfield

Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Jane is right...

Sep 3, 2006

You just need to pay your dues to be listed in the on-line directory, but your listing will indicate ATA-certified xx to xx (Spanish to English in my case) if you pass the certification test.

The on-line directory is indeed a great source of work. The hit statistics are published periodically, but even more impressive are the personal testimonials, as you've seen here. Even in the most common language pairs, people get calls. I, for instance, do Spanish, Portuguese, and French to English (quite common here in the U.S.) and have made some very interesting contacts based on callers who found me in the directory (admittedly, my financial specialization and years of experience are the distinguising factor).

The magazine (The Chronicle) has interesting, useful articles and lists upcoming translation and interpreting-related events.

You will probably find the Slavic Languages Division newsletter (and probably the Literary Division Newsletter, although I'm not familiar with that one) even more useful.

Best,
Marian

femme
Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Sites For ATA Exams/Number of Tests Taken At One Sitting

Sep 3, 2006

Thanks for your response, Marian.

I'll check out the site to see if there will be an exam around here any time soon.

Since I translate from both Spanish and French, is it possible to take 2 exams at one sitting?

Thank You.

Marian Greenfield

Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

taking 2 exams in one sitting

Sep 3, 2006

At the annual conference, I think there are both morning and afternoon sittings. I don't think that occurs very often elsewhere. The exam is a 3-hour exam, so it's pretty exhausting, so it's not the best idea to take 2 in one day, but if there are two sittings, it is possible.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I highly recommend you take the practice test as soon as possible so that you have plenty of time to get it back before the exam. It will give you a good idea of whether you're ready for the exam and it will also help you with exam strategy, because you'll see how the graders think.

Best of luck.
msg

femme wrote:

Thanks for your response, Marian.

I'll check out the site to see if there will be an exam around here any time soon.

Since I translate from both Spanish and French, is it possible to take 2 exams at one sitting?

Thank You.

femme
Vereinigte Staaten
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...

Practice Exam/Two Exams In One Day

Sep 3, 2006

Thanks again for your responses, Marian.

It's good to know that there's a practice exam so that translators can have a pretty fair idea of what to expect and how they'll be graded.

It seems like one exam per sitting would be enough. Just one sounds pretty draining, like some of my larger translation projects that have to get out under a strict deadline! Pressure...

Dyran Altenburg

Vereinigte Staaten
Englisch > Spanisch
+ ...

Context, meaning, and language proficiency

Sep 5, 2006

Eva T wrote:
Thor and Dyran,
Geee!
If you feel that there is absolutely nothing on here that ever interests you among us, (and I feel offended with the rest of your choice of words!!!!!!!!!!!!!), why are you still here?

Leaving aside the fact that "absolutely nothing" in the context you quote referred only to the jobs section, I guess that, speaking in general, "because I can" pretty much sums it up.

And Dyran, nothing you say surprises me anymore. I think I already know you from your writings here on ProZ.com and even know what you will say next.

Aw shucks... A honest-to-goodness mind-reader. Isn't that swell?

--
Dyran
(feeling speshul, so speshul...)

Ann Nosova

Vereinigte Staaten

Mitglied (2004)
Englisch > Russisch
+ ...

Being an ATA member

Sep 10, 2006

[From ATA site :"One is a general passage and is mandatory for everyone. The candidate must also choose one passage from either the domain of science/technology/medicine or the domain of law/business/finance".]

Ann Nosova wrote:

[Back in the late 1970's, when I was a student of translation (and the top student in the class), I had a student membership in ATA and decided to take the certification exam. I was and am artistically inclined and the passage I had to translate at the exam was a highly technical piece on auto mechanics/repair! Knowing nothing more about cars than that you have to change the oil every so often, I, of course, performed dismally on the exam. I thought the exam was extremely unfair. It has left me with a bad taste in my mouth for/a bad attitude about the ATA ever since".

Exactly! I tried it twice ( I mean the exam) and I am not going to do it anymore. I have a medical education which was shown in my diplomas I have sent in order to be considered as a candidate. The 1-st time I got the passage B (it is not general but its title is unknown) with a content about constructing the bridges, and the 2-d time it was about GPS. Why should I care about these issues? I think that any biology text would be fine (say nothing of medical topics - there are plenty of them available). Why femme did not get the text about art/music/drama etc ? We are in highly professional world now and I proofread the proper English- Russian translation (gramma&style) with the life-threatening errors due to the same knowledge in medicine as I have about GPS and femme has about the process of car repair.

However I am a member of ATA and I am going to keep my membership. I believe that if such professional association exists then we have to be its members. There are some other benefits (the good magazines especially from the divisions) but among them I am not able to put the marketing. Only once I have been contacted with ATA reference. Being an ATA and Prozcom member during the same time (about 3 years) I have concluded that the best place for me is Prozcom. I am deleting now all messages from gotranslators, translatorscafe, etc. - because it gives nothing. Indeed I share my own experience and I understand that it is different and depends on plenty of reasons. I just wanted to join the group of the translators that is thankful to Prozcom and proud to participate in this site.

[Редактировалось 2006-09-09 07:05]

P.S. I have looked through the message written by Jane Translates and I am sure that if there are some changes in the exam's policy, they are doing nothing better for candidates. Jane Translates wrote:
"....but when I took two ATA "accreditation" (now "certification") exams in the 90s, we were given 5 texts from which we could choose either 2 or 3 to translate. We had to pass 2 to pass the exam, and it was our choice whether doing 3 in the limited time would help or harm our chances. The 5 texts were from 5 different fields, one of which was literary".

I can see that it was a great system compairing to the present one.
I took both exams in 2000s (04&05). I got 3 passages, one was the must and I could choose from other two the second text for translation. In 2004 year I chose between a/constructing; b/ finance; in 2005 - a/GPS; b/law. Nothing was even close to the mother nature... Considering my living for about half a century in completely different system ( I mean finance and law) you should understand that I have chosen the constructing because at least these terms were not forbidden for use in USSR like the terms broker's board, stocks etc. The same is about the law system. Thus I did pass the general passage and failed the second one. And you know - I am not ashamed of it because I did about GPS much better than I thought after the exam (I asked for the review in 2005 in order to see my errors).
As I have mentioned above, I am a member of ATA and I joined the members of two divisions: Slavic and Medical. Honestly, I can not complain about the lack of the projects. However I just want to understand this policy of the exam or its purpose. Probably I am really naive person but I taught students in medical school during 25 years and I wanted them to express themselves the best possible way. So, when somebody took the general (mandatory) passage, I would make an efforts for giving him/her the possibility to translate the topic which he/she knows/likes best of all. It is my point of view and it seems quite logical to me. I would greatly appreciate if anybody explain why it should not be this way. Do you know which praise I value above all? Professional (any job). I believe that ATA has to support the professionalism and then the translations which are "too sad to be funny" would appear less frequently.

[Редактировалось 2006-09-10 01:07] [/quote]

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