Why do you enjoy reading MultiLingual magazine?

I like looking into all the different sections and getting an overview of where the translation industry is at and where it is headed.

How did you get involved in the translation business?

I got involved in 2008 slightly by coincidence. Ten years earlier, I moved from Denmark to Spain and tried to enter the translation industry in Madrid but did not succeed. I was not fully determined and had not put a big effort into it. I ended up working in exports for many years before I finally gave it another try and applied for a job as a project manager at a translation agency in Fuengirola. This time, I was lucky enough to be offered a job, but it was not the job for which I had applied. Instead of the project manager job, I was offered a position as an in-house translator. I accepted, and it felt as if I finally landed at the right place career-wise. I quickly discovered that localization was indeed my game.

Could you share your experience working with your first client or on your first project?

The first project I remember was for a huge player in the travel industry. It was my first encounter with variables, which is why I remember it so well. I thought it was amazing how strings could be composed of different components, and that I had to think all the different possibilities over to provide a translation that could cater for the possible variables. It takes a lot of creativity and some compromises, but it was like a whole new world opening in front of my eyes. It was fun, and I loved it.

Since you entered the translation industry, how has the business landscape changed?

I have been in the translation industry for 16 years now, so much has of course changed. When I started, machine translation (MT) was not applied at scale for Danish. Danish is a small language and the quality of MT was very poor due to the lack of data. The option of MT was not even something we talked about at the agency or that our clients used. That of course changed! MT became a standard, and MT post-editing is just as common (or more) as translation.

Now, we have set out on a new journey with AI. The hype around ChatGPT and AI in all industries has generated a feeling of urgency to make the most of the potential, and it has become a widespread idea among my friends and family that now translations can be done with a click of a button. However, I am happy to see that the translation industry is being wisely cautious, and not rushing the application of AI, but rather investigating the use cases and how to optimize them. In my opinion, AI is a natural evolution, and yet another step forward in the technologies that will help us become more productive and create even better content in more languages.

Do you believe it’s a good time to enter the translation business?

Currently, a lot is going on in the language industry, especially in figuring out how the recent technologies serve us best, where it makes sense to apply them, and where it does not make sense. The potential for language experts is big, and the careers within localization are many. I think now is a perfect time to join to be part of that journey. 

Where do you see yourself professionally in the next 10 years?

After 10 years as an independent localization specialist and Danish language lead collaborating with major global tech companies such as Meta and Google, I recently started as Localization Manager at Trackunit, a Danish technology and software-as-a-service (SaaS) company serving the construction industry. In the next 10 years, I believe AI will help manage project-related tasks and text production, freeing up time for localization teams to take on more tactical roles within companies and have an increased focus on driving business objectives forward. I see myself contributing to building the most useful localization strategy for the construction world. We are on a mission to eliminate downtime and put construction on the map globally as an efficient and sustainable industry.

What predictions do you have for the future of the translation industry?

I think the translation industry will continue to evolve, transform, and thrive. AI in localization will pave the way for more businesses to go global, as it will be faster and cheaper. These opportunities will require localization specialists to make sure that the entry into new markets is done in a culturally and linguistically adequate way. There is a need to voice the importance of localization for businesses and change the idea of localization as being only a costly production unit, and instead talk about how localization is a core strategy if a business wants to perform well in local markets globally.