More than a dictionary owner. Translators are not interpreters. Interpreters convert spoken texts. There is, of course, a relationship between these two occupations, but they require very different skills not in the least different attitudes toward one s work. Most good translators are not good interpreters, and many good interpreters are at best mediocre translators.
Translators are language professionals.
They are applied linguists and competent writers, linguistic diplomats, and lay experts in specific areas. Like linguists, translators have to be capable of discerning subtleties and nuances in their languages, researching terminology and colloquialisms, and handling new developments in their languages. Like writers, translators have to be accustomed to working long hours alone on a subject which interests few people and with a language that few people around them know. Like diplomats, translators have to be sensitive to the cultural and social differences which exist in their languages and be capable of addressing these issues when translating. And translators have to know the basics and some of the details about the subjects they deal with.