Vicky Sharvill
As a project manager for a language service provider that specialises in medical, pharmaceutical and patents translation, Vicky talks about her work and the increasing role that technology plays in the translation industry. You can find out more about what Vicky’s project management role entails by visiting her company’s recruitment page [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
My typical day consists of assessing and quoting translation projects for our clients, as well as editing and proofreading projects before they are returned to the client. We get a variety of different types of documents to deal with, so while the basic format of my day stays the same, each project usually brings its own unique complications with it.
Technology plays a significant role in my work, both professional and voluntary. Particularly in managing projects, we’re continually looking for ways we can incorporate technology into our work to assist and improve on the quality of our service. In particular, the translator database, where we can quickly select the most appropriate translator for a particular type of project and language combination, is immensely useful and we are aiming to expand this system across the whole of our management process. Personally I think the recent emphasis on learning to use translation technologies, understanding the translation industry as a whole, as opposed to focusing solely on translation skills, is really important.