Survivorship bias in my job
I've been thinking about survivorship bias in the translator career for quite a while now — it's been on my mind for a few years, to be honest — and I hope I'm not the only one. It's a somewhat hard subject to tackle, and I don't want to write a full-fledged manifesto, so I'll try to talk about it in a few paragraphs.
So, here's the thing: being good at my job took me far, but there was also a lot of luck involved. I got into gameloc at the right moment — just when the Brazilian market was heating up again — through a friend with whom I played Ultima Online 10 years before that — and hadn't met in person at that point yet — and, when the first agency I worked with was bought out and our contracts were cancelled, I was able to get in touch with another one that quickly put things in motion, so I had no downtime and didn't have to live off savings.
I understand that many people may look at my portfolio and think it's impressive — and I agree it is, when seen from the outside — but I was very lucky to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right people. It's important, for me at least, to never forget this, because no matter how competent or good someone is, not everyone has, had, or will have the same chances to dazzle people with their words.
Now, why am I saying all of this? Because I think that for veterans like me, we have to be careful when advising newcomers on this career so as not to be blinded by our own history of success, and to remember that a lot more people have failed to keep up their careers through no fault of their own. And please, do not take it wrongly, I'm not calling anyone out, and I think it's perfectly fine to celebrate our own success — we just have to be mindful that the path we followed might not exist anymore, and that stories of success aren't always the norm or repeatable.
Many times I think about when I almost got out of localization altogether, and I've met many people — good and skilled translators in their own fields — who decided to jump ship because their life events weren't just lining up the right way or at the right time. As freelancers, we are always at the whim of the winds guiding us.
So, I don't know, I don't have any conclusion for this. Be proud of where you are right now, but also be humble, I guess.