Exploring language careers at DG Translation virtual visit

On 5 March 2026, DG Translation hosted a virtual visit for students, recent graduates, newcomers to the language industry and language professionals exploring career opportunities. Over 2 200 people from across Europe and beyond registered to the event "Languages at work: Discover career opportunities.

Discovering diverse language careers

The event showcased the variety of roles available within DG Translation, where language skills combine with expertise in technology, communication, terminology and artificial intelligence.

Participants heard from DG Translation staff about their career paths and received practical advice from industry experts on starting out in the profession and building professional impact. The programme also covered traineeships and career opportunities at the European Commission, with former trainees sharing their experiences.

What people wanted to know

Artificial intelligence dominated the questions, with many participants asking about AI's impact on translation, the tools being used and the future of the profession.

DG Translation reassured them that while AI is here to stay and the organisation uses state-of-the-art tools, technology won't replace human translators. Instead, AI is expected to change working methods while leaving the more interesting and creative aspects of the job to humans. Alongside translation roles, career opportunities at DG Translation now include more AI-focused positions such as prompt engineer.

To quote Chris Durban, one of the industry experts who gave advice to newcomers: "The core of serious, professional translation - human judgment, curiosity and responsibility - remains."

Opportunities to work for DG Translation generated strong interest, whether as a freelancer, in-house translator or trainee - see our page on jobs and traineeships at DG Translation for details. Freelancers can work for us from anywhere, while in-house colleagues have to be based in Brussels or Luxembourg.

Questions also came up about the languages we work with. Beyond the EU's 24 official languages, we also deal with Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese and Arabic, to name just a few. To work for us as translator, you must be able to translate into your 1st language from at least 2 other EU official languages. Non-EU citizens can apply for a limited number of traineeships.