The story of how I became
a professional translator
a professional translator
Hello, my name is Kätlin!
When I was a highschooler, my grandfather said that I should become a translator. I thought to myself: “What? That’s so random! What do grandfathers know anyway?” and I went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
By the time I got handed my diploma though, it had become clear that my grandfather is a very wise man. So, I finally heeded his advice, graduated two years later as a Master of Written Translation specializing in English to Estonian translation, and have never looked back. In addition to my daily work on product descriptions, marketing and promotional materials, and website localization, I also like to translate children’s books as a hobby!
Education
Having completed my BA degree in biology, I pivoted to a master’s program in Written Translation and graduated in 2012. I am curious by nature and believe strongly in life-long learning, so of course I didn’t stop there. Here are some courses and additional training courses I have taken to keep improving my abilities as a translator:
| August 2023 | Training course “Inclusivity for Language Professionals” (TranslaStars) |
| February 2023 | SEO Translation Workshop (TranslaStars) |
| September 2022 | The 22 most underexploited tech tools for language professionals in 2022 (ProZ.com) |
| September 2022 | Digital Marketing Trends 2022 (Rud Pedersen Public Affairs Company Estonia OÜ) |
| January–March 2022 | Training course “Marketing Mastery” (ProZ.com) |
| January 2022 | Seminar “Common Errors in Sentence Formulation” (Institute of the Estonian Language) |
| September 2019 | Seminar “Translating in a Digital Age – the Effect of Language Technology on Translation Areas” (EU DTG) |
| May 2017 | Conference “Translation and technology” (European Commission) |
| February 2017 | Seminar “Technical translation for philologists” (ETML) |
| September 2016 | Virtual conference for International Translation Day (ProZ.com) |
| September 2016 | Marketing & Recruitment Day (ProZ.com) |
| September 2015 | CAT Tool & Software Day (ProZ.com) |
| September 2014 | Virtual conference for International Translation Day (ProZ.com) |
| January–May 2013 | Seminar “Estonian-English legal terminology” (Faculty of Law of the University of Tartu) |
Experience
Although I specialize in marketing and product translations now, I spent the first few years of my career as an in-house translator for a translation agency. I gained valuable experience translating all sorts of different topics and formats, including patent applications, operating manuals of everything from home appliances to a giant combine harvester, as well as job descriptions, and various articles for Forbes magazine.
For the past five years however, I’ve found a natural fit with marketing and product texts. I’ve been working long-term with several brands on online storefronts of clothing, haute parfumerie, and sexual wellness products. I’ve also worked on website and app localization for the food industry and product descriptions for kids’ toys.
