The translation industry is featured in TIME!

Jeffrey Ressner writes:

Danger is just one way that the linguistics industry--interpreters who relay live chat and translators who process documents--has changed dramatically. More benignly, the Web and the global economy have led to 7.5% annual growth in the market, now pegged as a $9.4 billion business, according to research group Common Sense Advisory. While much of that is due to the military, there has been renewed growth elsewhere. "Firms from Starbucks to McDonald's now have to communicate and market to customers in dozens of different languages," says Common Sense Advisory president Don DePalma.

The boom in translation jobs comes because of--and despite--technology. DePalma says there has been real acceleration in demand tied to software, since Microsoft's new Vista operating system, updated versions of Mac and various other electronic devices have to conform to European standards. That requires local language to be used in everything from instruction manuals to safety standards. Add the growing use of bilingual signage aimed at Hispanics, multilingual U.S. court requirements and hospital needs, and over the next eight years, full-time linguistics employment is expected to jump more than 25%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.