Career · Writing, media and languages
Translator
Carries the meaning of a text or speech from one language into another.
Career overview
What a day looks like
A translator translates documents, articles, subtitles or speech at meetings. They look for the exact words, check terms and reread many times so the translation sounds natural.
Try it yourself this week
30 minutes
Translate a short text and bring it to life
- Take a short text of 5–7 sentences in another language you're learning: a game description, instructions, a news item.
- Translate it yourself without peeking at an online translator.
- Now compare it with an online translator and mark three places where your version is better or worse.
- Rewrite the translation so it sounds natural, as if it had been written in your language from the start.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you enjoy searching for the exact word and carrying meaning from one language to another — and whether checking small details bores you.
40 minutes
Write a short news piece about something happening near you
- Choose a real event: a school concert, a new playground in your neighbourhood, a competition.
- Gather the facts: what, where, when, who took part. If you like, ask one participant a question — and leave their name out of the text if they don't want it in.
- Write a 150–200 word piece with a headline that makes people want to open it.
- Cut the text by a fifth and check that every fact is true. Write down what was harder: writing or cutting.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you're drawn to finding a story and telling it accurately — and whether you can handle edits to your own text.
What you can do next
Next 3 months
Translate a short text
Do the task about translating a text and comparing it with an online translator.
In six months
Read in the language you're learning
Every week, read one short text in another language and write down five new words.
In a year
Talk to someone who does this job
With your parents or a teacher, find someone who does this job and ask what their working day looks like and what is hardest about it.
What it pays
Pay varies by region, experience and employer. The figures below are approximate ranges from public sources.
Notes on sources are in Russian, as in the original source.
In Kazakhstan
- All levelsfrom job ads
250,000–800,000 ₸ per month
varies in job ads: some take-home, some before tax · data: October 2026 · checked: October 2026
Выборка из 11 вакансий с месячной ставкой (всего в выдаче hh.kz на 01.10.2026 — 106 вакансий «переводчик»), не статистика. Верх — переводчики китайского и деловой перевод (от 650–700 тыс. ₸); у редактора-переводчика казахского языка 250–400 тыс.
Source: astana.hh.kz (opens in a new tab)
Where to study
Notes on sources are in Russian, as in the original source.
Universities
You apply after grade 11, based on your UNT results.
- КазУМОиМЯ имени Абылай хана (opens in a new tab)
Almaty
Переводческое дело (6B02301)
after grade 11UNT: Foreign Language + World HistoryДля ориентира, 2025 год: минимальный балл общего конкурса на грант — 113 (выделено 2 гранта), порог поступления — 100 баллов. Данные агрегатора univision.kz, а не самого вуза.
The UNT, if you apply to university
Required subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy, Mathematical Literacy. Profile subjects for this career: Foreign Language + World History.
Programme group: B036 Переводческое дело. Checked: October 2026.
Source: National Testing Centre list (opens in a new tab)How to get into college
College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.
- Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab) - About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab) - There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university
The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.
- The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
Courses and opportunities
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History of the career
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Well-known people in this field
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