Education · 1 of 5
The path
Real fluency in two languages first. The degree teaches you what to do with it.
- 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
Get genuinely fluent
Ongoing
Immersion, exchange, or growing up with the language at home. Classroom French alone is usually not enough.
- 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
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
Certification (optional but useful)
Within 5 years of the entrance exam
In Ontario: pass the association's prerequisite and entrance exams, then the national certification exam, offered in May and November, or apply on a record of your work.