(Ask a native speaker if you are not sure of the meaning of something): consult ... someone whose mother tongue is the language you're translating from.

(Don't translate technical texts unless you are familiar with the subject): You should refuse to do something if you don't know anything about the topic.

So today I'm going to talk about the key things you need to remember when you go out into the world as translators. The first thing is to be choosy about what commissions you accept. It's not advisable to agree to do every job you’re offered even if you're in need of work. You should refuse to do something if you don’t know anything about the topic as it would be impossible for you to produce a good piece of writing. And it could be serious - a mistranslation that's going to be used for medical or legal purposes could have disastrous consequences. Having decided you can reasonably take on a commission, if you have the slightest doubt about what something means, then consult a dictionary or someone whose mother tongue is the language you're translating from. It's much better to devote a bit of time and effort to checking something than to risk making a potentially serious error.