I started translating on an occasional basis in the spring of 2005 while studying for the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) and working part-time as a Telesales Representative and Remote Account Manager. In this position I also provided short transcriptions from German to English and interpreted between both languages on a daily basis and occasionally was asked to provide translations from English into German.
I mastered both the English to German and the German to English translation parts of the DPSI with distinction and become a Registered Public Service Interpreter with specialisation in law in June 2006. When more assignments began to arrive I decided to go self-employed in September that year.
I have since interpreted in court, for the police, in job centres, for the council, in a school and at private appointments and I have translated a wide variety of legal, technical and commercial documents both from German to English and English to German and translated/proofread several business plans and questionnaires.
I took the exam for the Diploma in Translation in January 2009 and I successfully passed all three papers. My semi-specialised options were Business and Law.
Originally I am from Innsbruck in Austria - a place familiar to many tourists and skiing aficionados. While Innsbruck is undoubtedly a lovely place, I found growing up there a little claustrophobic and I set my heart on leaving. My desire to travel fostered an interest in foreign culture and especially languages.
At first I moved to Vienna, where I studied English, Italian and Anthropology. As the years passed I felt increasingly unhappy with my studies and university life in general and I quit. Yet my love for the English language stayed with me and so I continued my studies and gained a Certificate of Proficiency in English.
When I then met this lovely lad from the North-East of England I jumped at the opportunity of moving with him. We first settled in South-Shields - an hour from the Scottish border and five minutes from the seaside, but have now defected to the North-West, to lovely Chester. I've now had six years' experience of the English way of life and I can say with confidence that I am as much at home in English as I am in German.
Furthermore I am an Associate of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and I hold the Diploma in Small Business Financial Management.
See my CV here: CV