The article discusses recent developments in technical translation and the ways they will affect future training of technical translators. Technical translation already looms large, in that it comprises more than 90% of the translation of the professional world output. Technical translators will still have to master a foreign language as they already have contingent liability and are legally responsible for translation errors. The functions of technical translation are gradually fusing or becoming difficult to distinguish from those of technical writing as both professions have an interest in producing unambiguous messages. The technical translator also has to take into account the audience to a more marked extent. In addition, localization, especially software localization, and the extensive use of translation memories mean that technical translators will come to rely less on traditional source texts.