You're missing a preposition there. If you want to say that someone is doing something for a while that isn't their normal mode of employment, the verbal construct is estar de.
Normalmente, Veer se dedica a la traducción, pero últimamente ha estado de albañil.
I would urge you to exercise great caution in characterizing "Spanish" Spanish as better, and less slang-filled, and even more so in referring to Spanish-speaking people uniformly as Spaniards. Spain's Spanish is full of slang usage particular to peninsular Spanish, and each country has its own twist on the understood meanings of certain words and expressions. The Spanish, in Spain,can be quite frank in their speech. I remember quite well being in Mercadona, a popular Spanish supermarket chain, and hearing a grandmotherly-looking woman, with a slight hunch and a cane, exclaiming ¡ Coño, otra vez no hay jodido cordero !, or, Shit (literally, "pussy"), once again there's no fucking lamb! Conversely, one rarely hears certain words in Mexican conversation, such as huevos, because the word, which means "eggs," is also a euphemism for testicles. instead, one quite often hears blanquillos, or "little white ones." Finally, understand that Spanish is whatever works, wherever you find yourself in the Spanish-speaking world. In Mexico, DF, or as it's now known, CDMX, if you want a beer you ask for a chela. In Spain, going in to a bar, ask for a caña, or a tubo, or a tercio.
