Christopher Di Pasquale
What were your tasks and responsibilities?
I got to translate documents, such as birth certificates and academic transcripts, under supervision from an accredited translator. I got a taste of what project managers do at a translation company: liaising with freelancers, ensuring projects were running smoothly, quality checking source files, and final deliverables.
What skills did you develop throughout the internship?
I got hands-on experience in one of the main roles that exists for translation and interpreting graduates: project management. Liaising with clients, developing budgets and timelines, communicating with freelancers and other in-house staff, all in a multilingual and multicultural context.
How has this internship contributed to your understanding of your future aspirations?
My internship helped clarify what opportunities exist for translation studies graduates and I successfully moved straight into a full-time translation project manager position just before completing my master's degree. The experience I gained in my internship meant my transition into a similar full-time role was smooth and fairly comfortable.
Why should students consider completing an internship?
Taking the internship unit meant killing two birds with one stone: I successfully knocked off a unit while gaining workplace experience that put me in good stead to land a job straight out of my master's.