Translation Agency Internship and Translator Trainee Opportunities

Translation and Interpreting and Translation Studies Internship

Students studying in Translation and Interpreting and Translation Studies departments of universities are required to do a 1-month compulsory internship. While doing the internship, they are also required to keep an internship file, and in this file, they are required to include sample translations that they have translated at the place of internship. For this compulsory internship, which is usually done in the summer semester at the end of the 3rd year, the place of internship must be arranged in advance.

Internship Insurance and Intern Salary

During the internship period, the intern is insured by the relevant university and there was NO obligation to pay a salary or any remuneration to the intern student. However, if the intern student made a significant translation contribution at the place of internship and made a contribution to the company where he / she was interning, a certain amount of salary (allowance) was paid. However, this situation changed in 2016 and internship students are now obliged to be paid a salary. The salary of the trainee translator is paid by the employer with a state contribution of not less than of the minimum wage.

In 2017, the minimum wage for interns is 421.21 TL, with a state contribution of 280.80 TL for enterprises with less than 20 employees and 140.40 TL for enterprises with more than 20 employees.

Although the minimum internship wage is of the minimum wage, some universities can raise this rate even higher by signing a protocol with the employer.

Places where translators can do internship

There are many places where translators can do an internship. These include public institutions and organizations, private companies and translation agencies. Students usually prefer government agencies for internships as they think that it will help their CVs and will not be too much of a workload. Some government agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for European Union Affairs, announce internship vacancies every year and announce the quotas and application requirements. Some institutions may accept trainee interpreters through individual applications. Some of them also recruit interns with references.

Private companies, on the other hand, accept people as interns who will provide translation support and help with other company tasks. Individual applications are also made to these companies.

Translation agencies expect translation support from the trainee translator, just like companies. However, some translation agencies try to contribute to the translator in accordance with the spirit of the internship. Since the internship process is a kind of practical training, the translator's translations should be checked and the translator should be informed about the deficiencies, which type of translation to translate and how to translate, how to transfer theoretical knowledge to practice, as well as the operation of the translation office.

Translation Agency Internship Application

Internship applications to translation agencies can also be made individually. In addition, some academics refer their students to translation agencies they know. We can offer the following suggestions to interns who will apply individually:

1- Do not just send an e-mail and expect a response with statements such as "I want to do an internship in your company. Do you accept interns...". Since translation agencies receive many such e-mails during the day, they do not respond to these e-mails due to their own workload.

2- If possible, make an appointment in advance and go for a face-to-face interview at the translation office where you want to do your internship. In this meeting, you will not only convey your seriousness to the other party, but also see and examine the environment and the people you will be interning with. Offices that do not accept interns will not even give you an appointment for an interview. If they give you an appointment, you can think that they accept interns and that you have a chance.

3- Again, going to this interview as carefully prepared as if you were going to a job interview will increase your chances of being accepted as an intern. Since internship is a process of preparation for business life from beginning to end, we recommend that you pay attention to such issues.