How to become a French medical translator

With nearly 20 years as a certified French medical translator, I am often contacted by translation students asking how they can get into the profession.

The answer is often a little more complicated than just learning French and knowing the anatomy. It is more nuanced. So, let’s take a short amount of time to delve a little deeper into this question.

Can anybody be a French medical translator?

Not just anyone who speaks French fluently will be able to become a competent French medical translator. In the same way that an English native speaker would not be able to talk fluently about medical issues and fully understand the meaning. It takes more than simple language ability.

I often compare medical translation studies to a first- and second-year medical degree where you spend an intense period of time learning as much of the theory as possible. The difference with medical translation means that you have to not only understand the theory, but then be able to transpose it into another language. There is an added layer of difficulty and time.

Being passionate about medicine and medical translation is a massive bonus to become an expert medical translator as you will need to be constantly reading, listening and adding layers of knowledge to your expertise.

How long does it take to become a certified French medical translator?

This question is impossible to answer. Some translators will naturally grasp the theory and terminology more quickly than others. Some translators are often also working part-time in other professions which reduces the amount of available time to study. Whilst some may have a natural propensity towards the domain or be lucky enough to have medical experience elsewhere to speed things up.

However, what is constant, is that time and effort go hand in hand. If you are able to dedicate an hour or two a day to reading and constantly improving your vocabulary and theoretical knowledge, combined with practice this will help you improve in leaps and bounds.

Can I work as a medical translator whilst practicing?

Certainly. The best way to start is to work towards translation by first offering your services as a reviser or proofreader. This way you will be able to work alongside experienced certified French medical translators. You will be checking their work and have the ideal opportunity to acquire knowledge and vocabulary along the way.

Additionally, working alongside experienced certified medical translators helps you to build a solid professional network which will serve as an asset in future when you move on to translation proper by yourself.

What is the difference between a medical translator and a certified medical translator?

The difference between a certified French medical translator and ordinary medical translator will generally lie in the professional recognition and status. A certified translator will be recognised by a translation authority in their country of origin, typically. Their abilities will have been vetted to ensure that they respect the highest standards of privacy, ethics and are competent to produce high quality French medical translations.

Once you have the status of a certified French medical translator you will also be able to issue certified medical translations for clients who require their medical records, certificates and other sensitive medical documentation translated for official purposes.

How much does a medical translator earn?

The amount a certified French medical translator can earn depends largely on the number of words translated each day, week, month, etc. Demand plays a large part in this since most certified medical translators, in the UK, work as self-employed. This means they also have to spend time on other aspects of their role such as accounting, marketing and completing tax returns to name but a few, alongside their day job and continuous research.

Obviously, your experience will play a key role. Typically, someone who has been working as a certified French medical translator for a lot of years will have gained a bigger network and have gained more trust and recognition which should allow them to charge slightly higher rates and gain more clients.

Overall, being a French medical translator and gaining the status as a certified translator will be a challenging, yet rewarding and enriching experience. In the same way as a medical practitioner, you will be making a different in people’s lives and helping those in need to seek the medical care they need when crossing borders.