When her role as an in-house translator was threatened by AI, Charlotte followed her passion of becoming a teacher. Here’s what she told us…
Name
Charlotte
Old Position
Inhouse translator
New Career
Teacher
Can you tell us what you are doing now?
I am training to become a modern foreign languages teacher at a school.
What were you doing previously?
I worked as an in-house translator and editor for a global company based out of their Nottingham branch. I was translating and editing German and French into English commercial documents. Financial, environmental, medical, websites, audio-visual, press releases, you name it. I had lots of exposure to lots of different sectors.
What made you decide to change?
I’d not been happy with the state of my industry for a while. Since Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, many of our corporate clients were cutting spend on translation. Translation is a luxury service, and the work has been reduced.
The industry overall is declining. AI translation has come on leaps and bounds. Many organisations believe it can improve productivity and are jumping on board even though isn’t perfect and isn’t of the same quality as a fully translated document.
I felt like I needed to make a change as there wasn’t a role available for human translators anymore. What I did was so niche, and I wanted to learn new skills to broaden my outlook and diversify my skills.
Why did you choose teaching specifically?
My main driver to become a teacher is to get back my sense of purpose. Being a linguist has been a huge part of my identity and I want to use those skills and make them count. I want to give something back and put those skills to good use.
Teaching is a much more stable career and education has so many opportunities. I feel like my world has opened up again having moved from a declining industry. If I can be a great classroom teacher, then it feels like there are so many more avenues.
What support did you get when making the change?
I spoke to my friend who was a modern foreign languages teacher. She’s always encouraged me to teach. I knew what teaching was like through her and she sat me down and talked me through it. I then came across Now Teach when I was researching the options. It was amazing speaking to the experts who could explain the process.
My career change advisor, Wendy was amazing. I went from a position of ‘I think I can do this’, to a position of, ‘I can and must do this’.
How hard was it to make the change?
What has been crucial to my career change is the financial support the government provides. The bursary has been so important to enable me to train. Without the bursary, I wouldn’t be able to change my career. I have a two-year-old and the nursery bill is £1000 a month, so the bursary goes a long way.
Now Teach’s insight and network of teachers who have been in a similar position to you are so helpful. For me, their sessions on work-life balance and ‘Ask A Teacher’ are exactly what I needed.
What transferable skills did you find you had?
As a linguist, I love communication and I’m most excited to bring that to the classroom.
Most of all I’m looking forward to using my subject knowledge. My experience using my foreign languages both socially and professionally will be what I can give to the school. I hope I can impress upon students how they can use languages after school.
What would you say to other people who are thinking of making a change?
Be brave. If you look short term, there is a mountain to climb. If you think long term, take one day as you go and think about the end goal it becomes much easier. I’m optimistic about my future which a year ago I certainly wasn’t. Many of my former colleagues in the translation sector are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone and make a change. We must accept that the industry is changing, and we must too. I want a positive future from my new career. My best advice is to formulate an action plan for your career change.
