Will My Translator Job Last?
TranslatorOverall Assessment
Translation is one of the most AI-impacted professions. Neural machine translation handles most routine translation adequately. Human translators are still needed for literary work, legal precision, marketing localization, and sensitive content.
Task Automation Timeline
3 Years
50%
tasks automated
5 Years
65%
tasks automated
7 Years
75%
tasks automated
Routine Task Automation
75%
Standard document translation is highly automatable.
Complex Task Automation
45%
Literary, legal, and nuanced translation still need humans.
Job Market Outlook
-35%
AI translation dramatically reduces need for human translators.
Wage Pressure
55%
Rates for standard translation have fallen significantly.
Reskill Urgency
70%
Translators must specialize immediately.
Steps to strengthen your position
- 1Specialize in legal, medical, or literary translation
- 2Develop expertise in transcreation and marketing localization
- 3Focus on interpretation which requires human presence
- 4Build post-editing and MT quality assurance skills
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