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Free-lance translating as college student?

82riceballs

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Hi All!

I'm not sure if I'm posting this under the right forum, but I was wondering if anyone knows anything about freelance translating in college... sort of as a side job like part-timing at a restaurant.

Is it possible to find work as a freelance translator when you are still a college student? (I'm still a high school student in the US, but I'm really interested in Japanese and Chinese and I've learned them to the point that I can translate them into English fluently) Or does freelance translating take up too much time for a full-time student? Any other thoughts about freelance translating/working in college are greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 

Not to question you abilities or anything 82riceballs, but in another thread you said you were aiming to take N4 of the JLPT. Now I know being able to pass a test does not mean everything, but I imagine you will have a truly hard time being able to translate well if your Japanese is only around an N4 level.

To me being able to translate/interpret properly begins with N2 as a minimum and goes light years beyond N1. In fact is it really a whole other skill on its own, but that is also why I say being able to pass a test is not everything.

Anyhow my feeling is that your Japanese is probably not at a level where you can translate quickly and effectively, and you would probably not be able to afford to spend the time on it.

If you really wanna give it a go though and you think you are ready I suggest starting with something small, or offering to do things for free for a bit to help establish a work record for yourself.

What kinds of things do you see yourself translating btw?
 
Hi chidoriashi! Thank you very much for your quick response- it was very helpful =]

I guess I'm drastically underestimating translating... You're right that my Japanese abilities are probably not fluent enough since I'm still aiming for N4. I'm hoping that by maybe junior/senior year of college I'll have sufficient skills.

As of now, I"m not really sure yet what I want to translate... probably "simple publications," but I'd really like to give it a try and I wouldn't mind translating for free at all, as you suggested. (If it helps, in college I want to double major in Biochem and Japanese)

Btw, do you have any experiences involving translating etc that you could share? I'm open to any ideas

THank you so much!!
 

One word, impossible.

You are seriously underestimating what it takes to be a translator. I translate for Japanese Doctors for English medical Journals and although that is my chosen field for translations ,it still takes great understanding of the language as a whole ,plus knowledge of what words are specifically used in that field.

You are going to need a greater understanding to even start thinking of what field you what to start translating in. On top of that you are going to need some qualifications in the field you choose as well.
 

I work at an education center and translating/interpreting only comprises about 25% of my job and I have never translated anything really focused on a specific field (well education I suppose). So I do not have a whole lot of advice to give you other than it is not easy, being able to comprehend something, and being able to rewrite it eloquently, meaningfully, accurately, and in a timely fashion in your own language are two different things. Basically Japanese ability does not necessarily equal translation ability.

FD is right. You are underestimating what it takes to be a translator and you have a long way to go. But I will say that in the mean time that you should just try doing things on your own for free. If you are into Japaneses stuff like manga and video games, you can probably find somewhere online where you could help contribute to fan translations of things. Basically just practice and build yourself up over the next few years. Good luck.
 
Or don't even worry about the groups and just take an episode of some anime or an issue of some manga and see how it goes. Especially with that stuff, you'll find that the colloquialisms are particularly hard to translate.

I think the easiest things to translate are newspaper articles, because there isn't much interpretation there, the language is pretty straightforward (lots of official terms), and newspaper language around the world seems to be fairly consistent. You could try taking a newspaper article from asahi.com or mainichi.com or wherever and try your hand at that as well. You should become acquainted with the issues involved fairly quickly, if you're really trying.

[Edit] If you really want to run yourself through the wringer, try some song translations (or poetry). I have a hard enough time understanding song lyrics (even in English). Translating them is a huge headache.
 
Hello. I'm a freelance translator. I would recommend you go to proz.com and try to help out other translators by answering thier questions on translation in the kudoz section. The more questions you answer correctly that are approved by the community, the more kudoz points you earn on your profile. This will help you learn about the translation industry, and also get you involved in the proz.com community which is a great place to start.

You may not have paying work for a few years, but it's never too early to start.

Oh, you can also sign up for mygengo.com and start translating for cash today! Their rates are low but it's great practice.

Good luck!
 
Translating is not a easy thing to do, i'm currently in college studying Japanese Language, its been 3 years and i only make verbal translations for Japanese tourists.. When it comes to doing written interpretation, it becomes really hard, especially in Japanese, to make accurate translations.. So my opinion is, wait until you get n1 before you try & make official translations =)
 
There is a thread here by a girl who is in trouble,and has requested translation of her problem in Japanese - maybe you could be a good samariton and show the forum how good you are at the same time! Edit: it seems I don't have enough posts to post the URL to the thread - it's called " please help me" by a poster named Pakistan.

I am presently involved in a legal battle, and I have had to get some documents translated myself, and although I could manage to have them trasnlated through people I know, that's not good enough for the courts. They want it translated by a recognized company which has recognized standards acceptable to be used in a legal case. So, as has Been mentioned, there is quite a lot to translating..
 
Exellent advise. The OP could practice her translating on those documents, don't worry if she dosen't get the translation correct or anything. I mean, they would only legal documents and not that important really, nothing that could affect you for the rest of your life...
 
^ are you out of your mind?

1. They are personal documents.

2. I have already said that the courts require them to be translated by a recognized translation company.
 
JonnyAndDeeDee said:
^ are you out of your mind?

1. They are personal documents.

2. I have already said that the courts require them to be translated by a recognized translation company.
Click to expand...
Seems that way,

My bad, I read the part that I quoted from you as her words. Living Japan too long and my English is going down hill very fast.
 
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