How A Translation Agency Helped Students Earn While Studying Abroad

Earn While Studying Abroad: It’s not easy being a foreign student.

You’re far from home and you’re in a foreign place. You’re away from loved ones and you’re surrounded by strangers. Then of course there’s the problem of money.

Unless you saved a lot for your studies, you’re probably short of cash most of the time. That’s why the majority of foreign students are looking at options on how to make money while also choosing the foreign schools where they will study. One money-making option that you can explore is translation. In this article, we will see how Tomedes, a company that provides certified translation services with a pool of translators from all over the world, has helped foreign students earn money as translators.

Translation as a Means of Earning Money as a Foreign Student

Most foreign students have limited opportunities for making money. Aside from the usual difficulty of finding money-making opportunities, foreign students also face legal restrictions. In Canada for example, foreign students who are enrolled in certain schools, are allowed to work out of their campus for 20 hours each week. In the United States, those with F1 student visas are limited to working inside the campus during their first year. 

Other countries that serve as the top destination for foreign students also have restrictions in place on how many hours they can work. If you are planning on studying abroad, you need to look at the available options to you for making money.

There are plenty of avenues for making money through the internet. Providing certified translation services is an option that many find suited to student life.

The translation is a good money-making option for foreign students because it can be done online. Translation can also be project-based which demands less from a student’s busy schedule. For example, among the 40,000 translators in the translator pool of Tomedes, there are some who are students.

Translator Options: Freelancing or Working With a Translation Platform

There are three ways to make money as a translator. The first one is to become a full-time translator for a company. But only large companies will hire someone full-time as a translator. Also, this option is not open to foreign students who for the most part cannot work full time, so we will only concern ourselves with the other two options.

#1. Per Project Basis for a Certified Translation Services Platform

There are many companies offering certified translation services and for the most part, these companies do not hire full-time translators. They assign tasks to translators who are paid for each translation task. Tomedes, an agency that has been delivering certified translation services since 2007, has a model that bests illustrates this setup. When the company was first established,  a bidding process was used for projects. The translators bid to have the right to do the translation for the language project. That system worked well for both the company and the translators. The best translator was picked for a project and the translators are paid the rate they want.

#2. Translating as a Freelancer

Another option that is open if you want to do translation while studying is to become a freelancer. You will be the one who will actively look for clients as a freelancer. You’re going to handle all aspects of the translation project.

#3. Two Students Who Translated for Tomedes

John is a foreign student from the Philippines who is studying in Canada. He was an English College Instructor in the Philippines but he’s unable to perform the same job while studying in Canada. He needed an extra job to support his studies since he’s only allowed to work for 20 hours both on and off-campus.

“That’s when I came across the Tomedes website. A friend of mine recommended it to me since he has done a few translation projects which required certifications there. I am fluent in English, Filipino, and Spanish. I have taught English for a few years in the Philippines. When I got my first project translating from English to Filipino, I knew that it was something that I would like to keep on doing,” John said about his experience.

“Tomedes gave me the opportunity to earn while doing something that is in my field. That’s very important for me,” John added. Now, he’s regularly doing projects involving certified translation services. He’s handling those that require certifications and those that do not. He is thankful for the opportunity to practice his field of expertise.

Lee is a linguist and a Graduate student studying at an American University. While he’s very busy with his studies, he still needs to earn a little extra money. He realized that he can do translation since his native language is Mandarin and he’s very fluent in English along with a few other languages. He knows that Chinese to English translations and vice versa are very much in demand. “I did a search on the internet for companies that offered certified translation services and I found the Tomedes website. I learned right away how I can register as a translator. After a tough recruitment process, where I eventually succeeded, I got my first project,” Lee explained.

“I’ve been translating for Tomedes ever since,” he added.

The Perks of Translating for a Translation Agency

So, what are the benefits of translating for a platform like Tomedes?

The main benefit offered by an agency that offers certified translation services to its translators like John and Lee is they gain access to clients. In the case of Tomedes, the translators don’t have to go out and promote their services. The agency is the one that does the task of getting clients so the translators can focus on the actual work.

Another major advantage cited by translators who get their tasks from Tomedes is that they gain access to tools that help them to translate more accurately. The subscription for those tools can be a major financial drain on students but the translation agency will let them gain access to those for free, further guaranteeing the quality of their output.

Those are just a few of the reasons why working for Tomedes can be the best route for foreign students who want to earn while studying abroad. Of course, this is not for all foreign students. John and Lee are language experts. A platform like Tomedes has very high standards for its translators but if you can qualify this option for making money is worth considering.

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