Undeclared

Jasmyne Harper

French/languages Theatre/acting & screenwriting WRITING :)

Interests

Theatre- Fail Creative Writing- Wouldn’t Work English- No way Anthropology- Disappointment

Majors I Considered

International Studies Religious Studies

• I know I want to be a novelist but other than that I am uncertain which is why whatever I choose to major in it will be interdisciplinary. I wanted to interview someone who’s job involved one of my biggest interests.

Good Majors

Owns ContextGlobal Inc. which is a company that works to

form a team that will helps its clients with their translation or interpretation needs

He is from Sweden and fluent in Swedish, German, Spanish, and English while several people who work for him are fluent in other languages

Interpreters- oral work, conversations or presentations Translations- written work, some are self-employed They also have a quality control process where after

something is translated it is passed on to editors/proofreaders

Fredrik Starmark

Abbocc- works with chemical devices,

translates instructions on products into different languages

Public School systems- may need publications translated or working with individual parents from different places

Examples of clients

Did not want to work the average 9-5 job More freedom, able to make profit if successful Chooses vacation time Knew a lot of people who spoke different

languages so he had the network

“Oh, this is going to sound really bad but…”

Knows many people who speak different

languages & has people who often work with him that are from a different culture, for example he has people who with him from an Ethiopian culture

However, it depends on what your definition of “culture” is and what you consider it entails

The average American experience is a different culture for him since he’s Swedish

How often do you come into contact with different

cultures?

Understand other cultures since people think

differently Makes you more humble in your own ways

How does your knowledge of other cultures help you in your job?

If you’re interested in being a translator you should note

that usually they only let people translate works into their native language

There are, however, extremely gifted linguists such as an Argentinian linguist he knows who can translate flawlessly into Chinese, Spanish and English

You should immerse yourself into a community where that language is being spoken

If you’re trying to become a manager of a similar company it is good to know about international organizations and work with other language companies before starting out on your own

What advice would you give to someone interested in doing what you do?

Many, especially for interpreters that can be

hired from many companies. Usually, interpreters will travel very often and could be on “every continent, every year”

Chances to work abroad?

Hard to define since it’s not a very concrete

field to be in (not as simple as majoring in medicine to become a particular doctor).

Has a masters in biochemistry so there’s no real “one size fits all” method.

Economics/math class and writing courses are great to have

Studying abroad and knowledge of languages is necessary as well as just exposure

Background in international relations is helpful

Any preparation you did for your job?

I love learning about different people and their

stories. I also find languages a fascinating part of culture so I would love to do a job which combines both of those. I’ve considered possibly working with a publication company and helping with translating fiction books and Frederic informed me that it’s a difficult field to get into. But usually people get presented opportunities because of who they are or their circumstances/who they know so anything is possible.

My Experience