Poll: What skill sets or trends do you believe future language professionals need most?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Aug 13, 2025

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What skill sets or trends do you believe future language professionals need most?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:34
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Aug 13, 2025

Clairvoyance is not one of my gifts and I don’t have a crystal ball…

Daryo
Tom in London
P.L.F. Persi (X)
Christine Andersen
Claudio Machado Junior
 
Jennifer Levey
Jennifer Levey  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 09:34
Spanish to English
+ ...
A very well thought-out Plan B ... Aug 13, 2025

... as far removed from language processing as possible (not only human languages - programming languages too).

Philip Lees
B&B FinTrans
P.L.F. Persi (X)
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Philippe Etienne
Christine Andersen
Rachel Waddington
 
Gennady Lapardin
Gennady Lapardin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 16:34
Italian to Russian
+ ...
AI+CAT literacy & multimodal/subtitling skills Aug 14, 2025

There is no doubt that a language professional should take the paths above.
A language shopkeeper, develop your adaptability, etc.

[Редактировалось 2025-08-14 04:29 GMT]


 
WolfgangS
WolfgangS
France
Local time: 15:34
English to German
+ ...
Retirement Aug 14, 2025

Getting your pension asap.

writeaway
Daryo
Jennifer Levey
Claudio Machado Junior
IrinaN (X)
Gennady Lapardin
Jorge Payan
 
Zea_Mays
Zea_Mays  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 15:34
English to German
+ ...
main skill is missing Aug 14, 2025

High-level language skills

Chris Spurgin
Luis M. Sosa
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:34
Italian to English
We will be fixers Aug 14, 2025

q. What skill sets or trends do you believe future language professionals need most?
a. fixing existing translations that are not suitable for their intended purpose. £40/hour average

[Edited at 2025-08-14 11:14 GMT]


Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Chris Spurgin
 
Daryo
Daryo
Local time: 14:34
Serbian to English
+ ...
Yes Aug 14, 2025

Zea_Mays wrote:

High-level language skills


That would be the way to stay in the translation business in a way that presents any interest.

As in many other professions, in translating 'good plain average' used to be good enough to plod along making a good enough living, but that's now gone - lost forever dans les oubliettes de l'histoire.

Nowadays 'good plain average' will do you no good - your real friend is 'high-level language skills', agree on that.


Zea_Mays
Luis M. Sosa
Maria Laura Curzi
 
Guofei_LIN
Guofei_LIN  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 23:34
Chinese
The ability of finding potential clients that you can convince Aug 15, 2025

and convincing them that you are still relevant. Because without such belief, there is no clientele and thus you are just an irrelevant professional who still cling to the belief that you have all the irreplaceable skills.

[Edited at 2025-08-15 23:16 GMT]


Jorge Payan
 
Guofei_LIN
Guofei_LIN  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 23:34
Chinese
If only they will let you Aug 15, 2025

Tom in London wrote:

q. What skill sets or trends do you believe future language professionals need most?
a. fixing existing translations that are not suitable for their intended purpose. £40/hour average

[Edited at 2025-08-14 11:14 GMT]


That’ll be like me fixing existing problems of mismanagement by the incumbent US president. I have faith in my ability but £40/hour or not, who will let me?


 


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Poll: What skill sets or trends do you believe future language professionals need most?






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