In most fields, the start of a new decade has relatively little significance. Even though a new decade isn’t a significant event for most people, it provides a good opportunity for each one of us in the translation field to analyze where new discoveries have been made that will drive demand in our profession for years to come. Outside of our typical assignments, two promising areas that linguistic specialists should analyze are job opportunities that will result from discoveries and investments made in the Medical Translation and scientific translation fields of research. The remaineder of this article discusses new developments in the science and medical fields that have already generated attractive work for translators and that will continue to produce exciting opportunities and attractive wages while providing exposure to cutting edge technology.
Some of the greatest minds in science have stated that the most important findings have already been discovered. But despite their opinions, in recent decades we have witnessed breakthroughs being made in space technology for the Mars missions, effective vaccines for the various viruses, advances in genomic science and life saving medical procedures that have all provided significant work for the translation industry. In fact, I have managed several translation projects that were directly linked to such discoveries as the human genome project, global warming and super collider research. When the concept of The Human Genome Project (HGP) was first introduced, the scientific community and public had high hopes that the investment would produce ground-breaking reports that would explain our world, reveal how our bodies function and provide cures to conditions that range from autism to stroke. The same was true for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that promised to study the smallest known particles and shed light on everything from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe.
But regardless of all of the great minds and billions of dollars that are invested in scientific discovery, the results often fall short of reality. As an example, I believe we have all heard news that while the genetic mapping process is complete it has revealed far less useful information than scientists had anticipated and it will take decades for the information to provide utility. It’s also become abundantly clear from the scientific community that today we are no closer to breakthrough genetic cures than we were when the research was initially launched. Even though the project hasn’t produced any earth shattering results, the substantial investment has given researchers a tremendous amount of information about humans.
As a scientific translation professional, you might know some French and German to English Translation workers who provide services to the LHC project and are aware of its lack of success in finding out what the universe is made of, how it started and why it’s like it is. Since its opening, the project has been plagued by delays, bordering on the absurd when it had to be shut down for repairs just days after finally firing up. However, anyone who expected a machine this large, complex, and powerful to come up to full power on time would have to be an optimist. Further, the scientific community still expects to make amazing contributions over the next decade with this instrument.
Of the many discoveries, technological leaps, and ground breaking contributions made in the science and medical communities, the one that created the most work for science translators centered on global warming.. Throughout the world, research is being conducted and results are being published in virtually every language through the contributions of skilled science translation workers. The bulk of the findings have led to greater understanding about the behavior of the Earth’s climate in unprecedented detail. Now you can see why Japanese Translator workers find the field of scientific translation as a very honorable and respected way to make a living.