My experiences as an intern with B&A

After three months of working for Bromberg & Associates, I am at the midpoint of my internship. Now I would like to use this time to think back and reflect on my experiences as an intern. When I first arrived in the U.S., I had many expectations regarding this internship. Even though I was already familiar with some of the tasks that I would have to tackle at a translation agency, working in the field differed from my experiences, so far, in many ways.

After getting familiarized with the company’s structure, I was soon assigned various editing and proofreading jobs, which I conducted under the watchful eye of one of the project managers. Editing has taught me a lot about a client’s expectations regarding the format of a translated document. Until now, I had been unaware of the importance and difficulties of an editor’s job because we were not required to do things like format translations in college. I have also become more familiar with the different tools and functions in MS Word as well as other programs. Proofreading various documents made me more aware of common translation mistakes and has increased my vocabulary, especially in the technical and legal fields. Both tasks can be very “tricky” and time-consuming, thus, experience in both will aid me in my future career.

I have also been given the opportunity to manage an “in-house” translation project. This has taught me how to handle project management hurdles, such as finding available, affordable, and qualified translators. I have learned how to assess a project in the course of creating a client’s proposal and I communicated rates and deadlines with prospective translators. On-time delivery by the translator/proofreader is very crucial in managing a translation project. Apart from ensuring on-time delivery of a quality translation, there are many challenges regarding the preparation of the original document for translation and adapting the format according to the client’s needs. This experience has taught me not to underestimate a project manager’s job, especially regarding the time constraints under which many translations are produced.

I am currently also in charge of creating TMs and glossaries for future projects in Wordfast. While working with this translation tool, I have gained insight into the benefits and complications that arise from it.

Working on various projects has made me realize how broad this field really is and that the phrase “flexibility is a must in today’s workplace” applies to translation and interpretation especially. However, this is exactly what makes this profession so interesting to me.

Facing different challenges throughout my internship has made me more confident and experienced not only as a future translator but also as an individual. I have experienced what it means to work under time constraints and to be flexible and open to new things. So far the team of Bromberg & Associates has been very supportive in many ways and has given me the responsibility I had craved. And to balance it out, there is always time for a good laugh in the office.