Penet, JC (2024). Working as a Professional Translator

s a researcher in Translation Studies, I often find myself returning to a deceptively simple question: what does it mean (and take) to work as a 'professional' translator today?Is it about developing linguistic competence, cultivating cultural knowledge, and/or building technological adaptability?Translatortraining programmes, now with a history of several decades, aim to equip their students with a broad range of skills, including language, culture, technology, and specific field knowledge.This notwithstanding, when their graduates step into the translation market, they quickly discover that success depends on "the ability to present oneself and act as a professional" (ix), as clearly expressed by Tyulenev in his Introduction to Penet's monographan aspect which has generally been underrepresented in translation programmes at higher education institutions.Against this backdrop, JC Penet's Working as a Professional Translator, published as part of the Routledge Introductions to Translation and Interpreting, offers a comprehensive investigation into how translators build and sustain their careers in the 21 st century.Importantly, the book does not theorise professionalism; rather, it grounds it in the practical realities of the profession.The author sets out to help translation students and, in his own words "budding translators", to join the profession, maintain a professional career in translation, and pursue continuous professional development.The book is structured into three main parts, each corresponding to one of these key stages in a translator's career, and comprises nine chapters in total, making it a particularly practical resource for students and emerging professionals.