Those who have their own agencies earn considerably more because they can charge clients higher rates - especially if they're translating Asian languages, which are in high demand. But agency owners must deal with the challenges of marketing and building a client list. The most successful translators didn't just study their languages in a classroom - they were immersed in another culture for an extended period of time. Successful translators also tend to specialize. The ATA reports that the most common areas of specialization are business, law, industry and technology, arts and humanities, medicine, and computers.
Translators often work in isolation.
They're under pressure to produce high-quality work, often on tight deadlines. It can be exhausting, especially if you have to work on weekends and holidays so your clients can have their documents ready when they come in Monday morning. The amount of translation work available in a particular language is often driven by the economy. Translators face a sudden loss of work and a plummeting income if their language suddenly is no longer in demand. Turkish and Russian translators are struggling, for instance, because of the economies in those countries.