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Translation internship in a translation agency.
What does an internship in professional translation and localisation really look like — and does it suit you? From terminology work and CAT tools to quality assurance and the first step into the profession. Explained honestly, plus your route to a speculative application at the FÜD.
Professional translation to DIN EN ISO 17100 · over 70 languages · 100+ locations nationwide · real project work with supervision
In short
What an internship in a translation agency really means.
An internship as a translator is real project work, not making coffee. You work on real commissions — researching technical terms, maintaining terminology, translating under supervision, and learning how a text runs from order to checked delivery through quality assurance to DIN EN ISO 17100. This is exactly where linguistic talent parts from professional translation.
An internship in a translation agency is worthwhile for students of translation studies, for philologists and for language-strong lateral entrants. This page says honestly what awaits you, what you should bring, and what the route from internship into professional translation looks like — including tips for the application and sample translation.
Your day
What you go through in the internship.
No commission goes straight from source text to delivery. An internship shows you every station of this chain — and where you lend a hand.
- 1Order &briefing
- 2Terminology& TM / glossary
- 3Translation& research
- 4QA &four-eyes principle
- 5Delivery& feedback
Terminology & research
Evidence technical terms, maintain glossaries and translation memories, look things up in parallel texts and standards. Precision beats speed.
Translating with CAT tools
Working in CAT environments such as SDL Trados Studio, memoQ or Across — with segmentation, consistency checks and tags, not a plain Word document.
Quality assurance
The four-eyes principle, comparison with the source text, QA checks on numbers, negations and terminology — the layer AI alone does not secure.
Localisation
Adapting date, number and measurement formats, forms of address and cultural conventions, checking software and web strings in context.
Project coordination
Preparing files, keeping language directions and deadlines in view, bundling queries — an insight into project management.
Format & delivery
Layout fidelity, PDF and DTP basics, clean handover. So the translation is not only correct but usable.
Who for
Does a translation internship suit you?
Translation students
Translation & interpreting, translation studies, terminology — for the mandatory internship in the study regulations, or voluntarily between semesters.
Philologists & languages
English, Romance, Slavic studies & co.: anyone strong in language looking for the leap into practice finds the use case here.
Lateral entrants
Bilingual or subject-versed changers with native-level command of the target language and an appetite for clean work.
Pupils (taster)
For a short school or orientation placement to get to know the profession and a translation agency from the inside.
What you should bring
Native-level assurance in your target language and very good skills in at least one further language. Plus accuracy, a taste for research, a feel for register and tone, and basic routine at the computer. Not required: a completed degree or perfect translations — learning is part of the internship.
What you learn
Skills you take away.
CAT tools & TM
The professional handling of translation memories, term bases and QA modules — the toolkit of every professional translation.
Terminology work
Evidencing terms systematically, building glossaries, securing consistency across long texts and projects.
Quality awareness
What a process to DIN EN ISO 17100 looks like: translate, revise, check — and why the four-eyes principle matters.
Specialist language
Insight into domains such as law, medicine or technology — and why context decides the right word choice.
Localisation
Not just translating but adapting: formats, units of measure, cultural expectations and software strings.
Project practice
Deadlines, file handling, communication in the team — realistic preparation for professional life.
You don't learn to translate in a seminar alone — but on the real commission.
An internship brings together what a degree and language talent deliver: specialist text, terminology, a CAT tool and the check that turns a translation into a dependable one.
Framework & forms
Mandatory or voluntary, on site or remote.
How an internship is set up depends above all on whether it is part of your degree. The overview below places the common differences — without warranty; in doubt your study/examination regulations and advice apply.
| Feature | Mandatory internship | Voluntary internship |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | prescribed in the study regulations | additional, on your own initiative |
| Duration | per the university's specification | often a few weeks to a few months |
| Pay | often without a minimum-wage claim | depends on duration and set-up |
| Evidence | internship report / certificate | internship reference usual |
Whether on site in one of our 100+ locations, hybrid or remote — translation work is digital and can be organised flexibly. What suits you, we clarify in conversation.
How you apply
An application that convinces a translation agency.
Cover letter
Short and concrete: your languages and language directions, your preferred period, why professional translation. Error-free — that is half the battle here.
CV
Place language levels honestly (e.g. by the CEFR), make relevant tools, stays abroad and study focuses visible.
Sample translation
Expect a small sample. It shows more than any certificate — show care, research and a feel for tone rather than word-for-word.
The sample translation — what counts
A good sample is not the fastest but the most considered: evidence uncertain terms, stick to the target language rather than the source's sentence structure, and deliver cleanly formatted. A short note on your research decisions works stronger than apparent perfection. This attitude is exactly what separates translation from mere linguistic correctness.
FAQ
Translation internship — frequently asked questions.
Does the FÜD offer internship places?
What do I need for a translation internship?
Do I have to be able to translate perfectly already?
Can I do the translation internship remotely?
How long does a translation internship last?
Is the internship paid?
Do I need a degree in translation studies?
How do I apply for an internship?
After
From internship into the profession.
An internship is often the first building block of a career in the language industry — from junior in professional translation to later court authorisation.
Anyone who shows in the internship that care, terminology and tool assurance are in place gathers exactly the practice that counts later: for entry as a junior translator, for later professional translations or for routes into localisation and project management.
For court-recognised certified translations it later takes more than an internship: authorisation as a translator is granted, depending on the federal state, by the competent Regional or Higher Regional Court and requires a relevant qualification. The internship is the practical starting point — formal authorisation follows the professional career.
Internship abroad
Internship abroad? Get your documents translated right.
The other way round: if you go abroad for an internship — via Erasmus, say — your documents count in the right language and form. The FÜD translates your application, CV and internship reference natively and, on request, certified. A CV is not only translated but adapted to the target country's expectations:
| Feature | Germany | USA (résumé) | United Kingdom (CV) | France |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo | possible, increasingly optional | omit | omit | often usual |
| Date of birth / age | common | omit | omit | common |
| Length | 1–2 pages, tabular | usually 1 page | up to 2 pages | 1 page |
| References | enclose references | “on request” | “on request” | kept brief |
German references are written in a coded “reference language” that is lost if translated literally abroad — we render the meaning faithfully.
Honestly said: what an internship is not
A translation internship is no glamour and no full-time literary translation. It is concentrated detail work: research, check, correct, format — often on unspectacular texts, always under confidentiality. Anyone who likes that learns quickly and a lot. Anyone who just wants to “do something with languages” should look closely first.
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