Translators Wanted
Translators are needed, especially in Afganistan, though not only there. U.S. citizens who can pass a security clearance can become what’s know as Category II translators who can earn a starting salary of $210,000 a year. Speakers of Pashto, the language of Southern Afganistan, are especially needed. The safety of military personnel often depends upon a qualified translator.
Unfortunately, some translators who thought they were getting a desk job found themselves in 115 F. heat with 40 pounds of food and gear on their backs. According to a recent Associated Press story, translators over 50 and overweight are being sent to the war zone with no idea of what they were getting into. Incredibly, the recruiters didn’t tell them.
Translation is also one of the few real work-at-home opportunities. (An organization called the Rat Race Rebellion, which screens 4,500 to 5,000 ads for home-based jobs weekly, finds that only one out of 57 is legit.)
Translators in general are in a rapidly growing job category, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-2009,
The mean hourly wage for translators and interpreters in the U.S. was $20.74 or $43,130 annually as of May 2008, according to the BSL estimates. Some industries offer more, jobs management, scientific and technical consulting services have a mean hourly wage of $56.50 or $117,530 annually.
The website www.Homewiththekids.com lists 15 companies seeking translators working from home. Home, of course, could be anywhere, even abroad.