The aim of this paper is to report on the results of the first study on translators of Spanish in Poland. A wide range of data was collected, regarding translators’ education, affective and motivational factors, external and internal standards, translator competence and self-management as well as market conditions. To organise the data, the translator’s self-learning perspective was adopted. Thus, translation is analysed as a self-didactic process that occurs in the translator’s mind and emotions and proceeds in interaction with the environment. The methodology was based on the constructivist assumption that knowledge about the world is constructed by an individual according to his/her experiences. A questionnaire based on intro- and retrospection was administrated to a representative sample of translators of Spanish. The sample was selected from experienced translators, based on the criterion of minimum 5 years of continuous and intense practice. Still, an adjustment was necessary to reflect the complex reality of translation in Poland: only 40% of translators limit their activity to translation. When enquired on the reasons for maintaining other occupations, most of translators pointed at avoiding isolation. The cluster analysis revealed 3 clusters, each of them indicating one of the following reasons: seeking social prestige, intellectual challenge and regular income. Translators evaluated their preparation for the profession on graduation (only 15% felt prepared) and currently (20% felt excellent and 55% satisfactorily prepared). This proves that the competence of currently working translators is a result of self-learning. Self-analysis obtained highest scores in the entire sample, while the university occupied the 5th position. The sources dominating in each of 3 clusters were the university, social and internal sources, and self-analysis. On the other hand, translators were enquired about the causes of their deficient preparation on graduation. Answers with highest scores in the sample were:no translation teaching, no specialisation and only literary translation. The cluster analysis revealed additional causes: no CAT training and no self-management skills training. Most of the results of the study suggest that although specialised translation was not taught at universities, most successful translators struggle to specialise and, on the other hand, plan and monitor their learning. Also, high levels of specialisation correlate with higher levels of self-efficacy.