(2016-05-25, 6:38 am)Seikou Wrote: Thanks for your input, jimeux.
I actually have an academic background in coding, but recently became more interested in translation/interpretation. Now, I can't say for certain but freelancing would only be a stepping stone towards a full-blown position.
May I ask how you went about finding clients and what you're doing now that you stopped translating(?)?
(2016-05-24, 12:24 am)jimeux Wrote: It’s probably just satire or something. I doubt it’s serious. Freelance translator is a hardly a job to aspire to. Many companies don't care if you’re barely at N3 level and write English as badly as Khatz himself appears to, which means your best qualification is your willingness to work for ¥1/character.
You’re also guaranteed approximately nothing. It’s up to you to keep finding clients, and the “freedom” you gain comes with an unpredictable income, no insurance, no paid holidays and no visa sponsorship. Fun is relative, but I personally find translation absolutely mind-numbing. It’s work and it’s incredibly monotonous work.
If you do find translation enjoyable, then I'd recommend freelance translation only long enough to build a portfolio that would get you a real job. You'll probably still need some real skills (IT, finance, etc.) to improve your chances of this though.
Take it from me - as a professional developer for an Australian company working on a big software project with a Japanese systems integrator and having to do translation for meetings/emails/communications/training/skype calls etc... After doing that for a year and a half I just wanna get as far away from that as possible. Coding is much more fun, much less stressful, much more rewarding, a much better quality challenge. Translation... kinda shitty tbh.
Also, one of my friends has been a full time freelance translator for years and she definitely enjoys the freedom it allows her but she's also constantly ripping her hair out over clients that simply 'complain' to the company so they don't have to pay after she's translated the whole thing for them, so she doesn't even get any money out of what might have been an 18 hour day. Not glamorous.