Education · 1 of 5

The path

Real fluency in two languages first. The degree teaches you what to do with it.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Take French or another second language as far as your school offers, and take English seriously. You are selling your writing.

2. 2

   Get genuinely fluent

   Ongoing

   Immersion, exchange, or growing up with the language at home. Classroom French alone is usually not enough.

3. 3

   Translation degree or certificate

   1 to 4 years

   A 4-year bachelor's degree in translation, or a certificate or graduate diploma if you already hold a degree in another subject.

4. 4

   First jobs and volunteer work

   1 to 2 years

   Agency junior roles, community interpreting, subtitling. You need mileage before anyone trusts you with a contract.

5. 5

   Certification (optional but useful)

   After about 2 years of work

   Pass the certification exam run through the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council, offered in May and November.