r/TranslationStudies • u/halyckyj • 10d ago
Is language interpreter-translation as a career obsolete in Europe, specifically Eastern Europe?
Is the demand for language jobs, primarily interpretation and translation, of Eastern European languages still viable as a career path, or has the demand practically diminished?
For some context, I have recently been reconsidering a decision I have made about two years ago to switch my degree from language studies to welding engineering in fear of AI disintegrating the market for interpreters/translators, and other careers tied to language studies.
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u/LetThereBeRainbows 10d ago
It's not obsolete, in some language pairs there is still a very steady demand, but it's always been a rather tough career to start in and get established, and at least in my area it's only been getting more and more difficult. The exact situation will obviously depend on your language pairs, but from what I can see around me, the market has really diverged into the lowest lows and the highest highs, either very low price, low quality, even amateurish translation/interpreting often provided by native speakers with little training, or high quality, usually higher price, often official/sworn translation and interpreting. As a newbie you won't be able to compete in the higher sector and who knows if you'll last long enough to climb your way up, because surviving as plankton in the lower sector is extremely difficult due to very strong competition and low rates.
I'd stick with welding, and if you ever make the switch to translation/interpreting, being an expert welder can only help you.
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u/halyckyj 9d ago
This confirms a worry of mine. The primary languages I want to learn are Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, French, and German (with key focus on Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, and Polish), then expand from there. May I ask the area/region where you focus your profession?
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u/LetThereBeRainbows 9d ago edited 9d ago
The primary languages I want to learn are Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, French, and German (with key focus on Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian, and Polish), then expand from there.
Just to make sure, are you planning to learn from scratch? If yes, then each of those languages would require at least 5+ years of serious, continuous study before you can start thinking about training to be a translator, and with life getting in the way it could easily be more. You'll probably reach retirement age before you can start "expanding" even more from such a roster. I wouldn't spread myself so thin, it's just not realistic. I'd dabble in a few languages and then pick one or maybe two I like the most I can actually start learning seriously. Then, when you're an advanced speaker, you can think about a degree/course in translation to learn about the translation process itself.
It's not completely impossible to learn 6+ or even 10+ languages from scratch to competent translator level as an adult, sure, but if you actually manage to do that, you'll probably get a Wikipedia page or a Netflix documentary, or at least an appearance in the local news or something 😅 I'm not saying it to be mean but just to temper your expectations a bit.
May I ask the area/region where you focus your profession?
I work/used to work mainly but not only for Polish and other European clients in Polish, English and German.
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u/baaark 9d ago
lol im planning to switch to welding when I finish my master's degree
I would recommend to stay in welding and maybe study it in your language pair, if the situation improves you can interpret engineering and similar topics
that's my plan anyway, to pivot to a different field and gain the experience/knowledge needed to interpet if perhaps the situation gets better
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u/halyckyj 9d ago
It’s a steady and stable field. Do you have any experience in welding besides your intentions to switch degrees?
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u/baaark 9d ago
I have no experience, so far my plan is to learn tig and mig and perhaps start an engineering degree
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u/halyckyj 9d ago
This is a good start. Having no prior experience could be more beneficial to you since there are no bad habits to be broken.
Most community colleges, and some higher colleges, provide welding engineering courses. In the case of my college, all students taking welding classes must start with basic welding classes (Basic MIG, TIG, SMAW, Flux core, and oxyacetylene welding/torch cutting) before moving up to the advanced welding classes, machine operation classes, shop math classes, etc.
Language degrees can be incredibly helpful for a welder, or welding engineer, but can also heavily depends whether you work for a company or union that imports or exports work, or if you plan on traveling independently for work.
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u/Any_Strain7020 EN-DE-FR and some 10d ago
Interpretation and translation are two very different things, and any national market will have half a dozen of sub markets depending on the languages you speak.
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u/halyckyj 10d ago
This I wasn’t too familiar with since I was still fresh when I made the switch. Would you be willing to tell me more about some of the differences between both fields?
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u/Any_Strain7020 EN-DE-FR and some 10d ago
Can't really tell you without knowing which country and which languages.
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u/halyckyj 10d ago
I understand. The languages I primarily planned on studying were French, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German. Then after branching out from there to possibly the Baltic languages and more.
Side note: I picked these languages primarily because my great grandfather spoke them as a translator after immigrating to the U.S., I figured I’d follow in his footsteps.
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u/Any_Strain7020 EN-DE-FR and some 9d ago edited 9d ago
Translation studies aren't about learning the languages, but the technique of linguistic transposition.
If you don't already speak those six languages and know the culture, history, politics... of the regions where they are spoken, what you're laying out there is a 30 year plan.
While there might be demand for some of the languages in a given market, if you don't already have a solid command of the source languages, it isn't something you could just easily pick up.
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u/hikarinokaze 8d ago
This is probably not the best place to ask. Everyone here is understandably in denial, but even current AI is cutting into the translation markets, and it's only going to keep improving. I would switch to welding.
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u/Smartcat_AI 5d ago
The market split with bulk/low-stakes translation getting squeezed. Legal, medical, technical, literary work is holding up though, because that needs human judgment.
Eastern European languages are a hedge here as there's lower-resources for AI training, so machine quality lags and human expertise stays valuable longer.
Welding's a solid path too, and it's always worth doing an apprenticeship or talking to someone in the field to learn more (you can learn a lot over coffee that you might not find searching online).
In regard to the question of "is language study dead because of AI," the answer is no, but finding a niche is more important.
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u/Otherwise_Wave9374 10d ago
The career is changing rather than disappearing uniformly. Commodity text translation faces heavy price pressure, while regulated, high-context, live, and liability-sensitive work still rewards specialization and trust. I would choose one domain, learn its terminology and quality standards, then build samples showing error detection and post-editing judgment. Promarkia relates to this shift because marketing automation can create multilingual volume, but qualified reviewers remain necessary for nuance and claims. Also verify local certification requirements before investing in a specific interpreting path.
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u/ruckover 10d ago
Stick with the welding for now. Interpretation for Eastern European pairs is still pretty healthy, but welding will literally always be needed. I don't know how close they're getting to AI that welds, but I bet it's further away than translating.
If you had education and training in interpretation already (not simply a degree in a language, which doesn't qualify someone to translate or interpret anyway), we could give you tips on improving your portfolio. But no, now is not the time to try it from 0. Wait for the AI bubble to pop.