Top 10 Online Translation Courses on Udemy – 2019

---

Udemy is one of the top online course platforms, and, as such, is a good place to take online translation courses. There are lots and lots of courses to choose from and it can be overwhelming if you’re thinking about taking a course. You might not know where to begin or which classes would benefit you the most in order to help you become a more successful translator. Don’t worry any longer. Here I’m going to outline for you the top ten online translation courses from 2019 that you can find on Udemy. While all of these courses are good, one thing you need to remember is that you might not need all of them. They are some courses that are specific to the the business of translation while other courses focus on things outside of translation but still within your business as a freelancer that will still help you grow and become more successful. So, take a look at the courses. If you find one that interests you, check it out. Most of the courses are pretty cheap and can really make a difference in how you run your translation business.

Top Ten Online Translation Courses for 2019 – Udemy

And without further ado, here are the top online translation courses (if you’re interested in founding out more about the courses, click on the titles of the report to take you to the course’s page on Udemy):

1. How to be a Successful Freelance Translator

This is the top rated freelance translation course on Udemy right now, and for good reason. The instructor provides a clear path for anyone starting out as a freelance translator and looking to be successful. Here are the basic facts up front:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 1,848
• Rating: 4.6/5.0
• Last Updated: October 2018
• Course Length: 5 hours of downloadable video (plus additional resources)

This class offers a great introduction to beginning translators (those that have no freelance translation background) and includes the following modules:

2. Website Localization For Translators

While the translator course mentioned above is more general in nature and goes into an overview of how to be a successful translator, Website Localization for Translators is obviously a more specialized course. But first, the basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 967
• Rating: 4.4/5.0
• Last Updated: February 2018
• Course Length: 2.5 hours of downloadable video (plus additional resources)

OK, so if you’re someone that doesn’t know much about translation or how to become a translator, this course is probably not for you. However, if you’re a translator that is interested in specializing in website localization and want to know how to get started, this is the perfect class for you. You’ll learn things like the difference between the various terminology used in localization, as well as the best tools to use to do the job. Here are the course modules:

3. Launching Your Freelance Translation Business

OK, now we’re back to a general course on becoming a successful freelance translator running a successful freelance translation business. Again, if you’ve been translating for a while and have had some success, this might not be the course that you need. However, if you’re a complete newbie to the translation industry, this course can help point you in the right direction. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 41
• Rating: 3.7/5.0
• Last Updated: February 2018
• Course Length: 4 hours of downloadable video

While not rated quite as high as the first course in this top ten list, it can nevertheless offer the beginning translator some different perspectives on how to achieve success. Because if there’s one thing I’ve preached before it’s that no two freelance translators will take the same route to becoming successful.

4. The Business Side to Becoming a Successful Translator

Obviously, part of becoming a successful translator is actually learning how to translate. That means understanding all the language aspects of translation. What a good translation is…. what it means to offer the best product to your client. But equally important for a translator looking to become a successful freelancer is understanding the business side of translation. And that’s where this course is aimed. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 39
• Rating: 4.2/5.0
• Last Updated: August 2017
• Course Length: 38 minutes of video (plus additional resources)

The course itself is pretty short. It’s only 38 minutes of video (when compared to +4 hours for some of the other courses). But this course is meant to appeal to those that have no foundation in translation as a business. It does that, but it might leave you feeling like there should be more that you need to know.

5. Start a Freelance Business: Take Back Your Freedom Now!

OK, so I’ve shown you some of the top classes that are geared specifically towards translators. Believe it or not, though, part of becoming a successful freelance translator is to really nail down the “freelancer” part of the equation. And in order to do that, there are a number of courses on Udemy that will help you become a better freelancer, no matter what skill you bring to the table. This course is one of the best on Udemy right now that teaches you how to become a successful freelancer. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 503
• Rating: 4.7/5.0
• Last Updated: January 2018
• Course Length: 3 hours of video (plus additional resources)

This course is good for those of you that don’t know where to start in your freelance career. Maybe you know that you want to work for yourself or that you want to be your own boss but you don’t know how to even start. This course on starting your freelance career will help you get there. The course modules aren’t listed but here’s what you can expect:

6. The Business of Freelancing 101

This is another course that deals with the business side of freelancing. The specific tag line for this course is: “Learn how to manage and run a profitable freelance business” and that is what it aims to do. The course advertises that it should work for all types of freelancers, but specifically it is aimed at those that are charging low rates and want to work up to higher rates with better-paying clients. The course does warn, however, that you will not learn how to become a freelancer. That is something you will have to learn on your own before you take the course. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 596
• Rating: 4.9/5.0
• Last Updated: October 2017
• Course Length: 1.5 hours of video (plus additional resources)

There’s not a lot of video content (when compared to some of the other courses on this list; however, longer video does not always mean better content. Here’s what you can expect: [caption id="attachment_6451" align="alignnone" width="720"] The Business of Freelancing 101[/caption]

7. Freelance Business Kickstart: Start Your Freelance Business

Phil Ebener, the creator of this course, has created over a hundred different courses with others in a wide variety of areas. One of those areas is in starting your own freelance business. What’s unique about this course is that it’s been around for quite a while in Internet time. I’m not sure when it was first created, but the class itself was last updated in May 2016. But don’t let the length of time since the last update deter you. This kind of content can be evergreen, meaning that it’s good no matter when it’s written and then consumed. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 23,622
• Rating: 4.7/5.0
• Last Updated: May 2016
• Course Length: 3 hours of video (plus additional resources)

Here’s a snapshot of the course content:

8. Build Your Freelance Career the Right Way – Freelance Guide

This course was designed by a guy named Muhammad Ahsan Pervaiz, a freelance UI UX designer and web developer who has done the freelance thing for the past 10 years. He’s got a lot of knowledge on how to get started, how to deal with clients, and how to increase your hourly rate, among other things. While none of it is related directly to translation, many of the principles (if not most of them) can be directly used by freelance translators. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 7,243
• Rating: 4.4/5.0
• Last Updated: December 2018
• Course Length: 5 hours of video (plus additional resources)

This course has a whole five hours of video and is continually being udpated (as evidenced by its latest update that occurred in December last year). Here are the 53 modules that you’ll be watching:

9. Introduction to Game Localization

For the final course, I’m going back to the translation industry, and in this instance specifically localization. This course is obviously specifically about game localization. The course is not only directed at translators. In fact, game testers and game localization project managers could also benefit from taking the course to better understand the nuts and bolts of game localization from a translator’s perspective. The basics:

• Course language: English
• Number of students: 1,277
• Rating: 4.3/5.0
• Last Updated: September 2015
• Course Length: 2.5 hours of video (plus additional resources)

While a lot of these courses geared towards freelancing in general are mostly evergreen in content, this is a course that is more specialized and should probably be updated more frequently. The fact that it hasn’t been updated since September 2015 makes me question it a bit but there is still some valuable content in the course that would make it a worthwhile course to take, especially if you’re interested in understanding more about game localization and how to become a game translator.

Conclusion

As a professional freelance translator, and a professional freelancer in general, you should always be learning. However, it can be difficult (and expensive) to take courses at local colleges or universities. And even then, it can be hard to find classes that are relevant for what you want to learn. However, Udemy is a great online platform where you can learn almost anything and you won’t have to pay more than $10 to $20 for most of the courses. That’s a great investment. Take advantage of those courses now.