[BleachFan22]

I'm thinking about going into graphic design as well, but my dream in life is to become a translator. Currently I am studying korean and japanese through tutors at my school since they don't offer a class for them, but I plan on transfering to a school that had a degree plan in languages.

What is the current market for this kind of job? Sometimes, I feel like I am wasting my time and setting myself up for failure because I don't have any knowledge of the job...but it is my dream and I like doing it.

Can anyone help me get rid of my fear?

[Tamago86]

Ohh I can help with this one

The market for both Korean and Japanese translators is very good, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese are the languages these days that will make you the most money, because of their large / growing economies, lack of proficient English speakers or bilinguals, or because of current...political..situations, haha.

However something very important for a translator is a specialization. I'm not sure about other countries, but at least in Japan the translators who make the most money ($150+ a page) are those who can translate engineering, medical and overall highly technical documents. Most of these people were specialists in their fields before they became translators.

I would say that in college you should take both Korean and Japanese, as many classes as you can, and be on the lookout for anything that interests you. You might consider taking some English writing courses as well, because translators generally need above average skills in their own language to be able to make everything flow with their translations.

Generally translation itself probably isn't something you'd study until graduate school, where you would receive specialized training in translation and would have a good grasp of Korean and Japanese after taking them throughout your undergrad.

A few notes, translators are paid to be fast, impossibly fast, you won't have time to sit around and perfect what you do, it might be a tad different than what you enjoy doing now. Also there are a few types of translators, the main ones being in-house and freelance. In-house is when a company hires you and gives you work they get from clients, and you get part of the check. Freelance is when you find your own clients, and keep all the money for yourself but need to have good networking skills to find and keep those clients.
You're also going to need exceptional reading skills, once you get to an appropiate level you should read all you can in both languages, read books, newspapers, whatever you can get your hands on.
And also, the translators that are most desired are those that are actually living in the country of the language they're translating, who can see clients face to face.

And finally, you might find that it's better to just focus on one language instead of two, especially because of how hard both Korean and Japanese are. In translation, someone who is outsanding in one language is more valuable than someone who is average or above average in two.

[itrayya]

of course there will be jobs!!!

the world is growing internationally.... things are done internationally these few days so i know that this job market of translating is a good one.

i also want to be a translator. i'm learning korean now too. a little chinese verbally. but i'm also doing politics internationally too.

there will always be businesses that needs translators... so... i always see that there's hope out there.

no fear of a job that you love. if you love it you can work it.

[RaIn33]

please delete this post!

[Tamago86]

ummmmm
why?

........................

[aznpoo]

ummmmm
why?

........................

I ponder the same question, maybe she afriad he might take her job in the future?

[the.elephant]

dude... there is translator in our church who translates the whole sermon to korean while in service... so all the korean speakers wear a ear piece and listen to him during the service... it must be so confusing cuz it's all biblical terms and the he has to listen and translate and talk at the same time all the while trying to make sense

[globosapien]

^i'm a translator at my church too, although i translate from korean-->english.... it's tough. not at all easy. it requires quick thinking and a broad knowledge of korean vocabulary

[Tamago86]

Translation and Interpretation are two very different jobs

[tuxed0sam]

graphic designing.

i'll talk about this...considering i'm majoring in it now and nobody else has commented

the job market for graphic designing is high considering we are in an age where visual communication and information are key for success. what matters isn't whether or not isn't you're going to find a job within graphic design...it's if you're going to get paid enough! that's the question.

when it comes down to it...graphic designers are ARTISTS and history has set its tone for the way artists are treated in the job force. we're definetely underpaid for work that takes countless hours to accomplish.


also, another thing to consider is what type of grpahic designing you want to get into. right now according to AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Designers-if you do'nt know what this is get yourself better aquainted) entry level graphic designers are paid around 30-35000 a year. that's not very much. Webdesigners (another form of graphic design) get paid about 50000 a year. major different yeah?

many of the graphic designers that i have gotten to know who are out i nthe field right now have a job that they go to everyday but then to earn extra cash (and make their portfolios fatter) they do a lot of free-lance (sp?). this can earn you a lot of money!!! also, for those graphic designers who are hard core also do things for their own personal benefit to be put in a gallery or something.

so...there you go.

[redringlets]

^that was very helpful, thanks.

[globosapien]

Translation and Interpretation are two very different jobs

can you elaborate?

[Tamago86]

can you elaborate?

Translation is written - it involves taking a written text (such as a book or an article) and translating it in writing into the target language.

Interpretation is oral - it refers to listening to something spoken (a speech or phone conversation) and interpreting it orally into the target language.

They're jobs which require different skills and put different types of demands on the person doing the work. For example an interpreter has to be very well-composed, because he'll undergo quite alot of stress, and has to be very fast as well..A translator has to make text flow and seem natural, and not just word for word translation, but unlike an interpreter has time to read the text over and over again and revise it.

[joonsungwa]

ive talked to my mom's friend, who was the personal translator for
formal president of korea, (kim dae joong i believe..)
it's such a hardcore job, it gave me shivers.
im guessing this goes with the "interpretor" more than a translator,
according to above comments.

she had to come up with a funny jokes to compensate for an american joke
that an official would make.. or couldn't even goto bathroom for hours.. etc.

it seemed like a rigorous job, but an interesting one.

becuz she was so rich, i thot i could make a fine living by doing something like that,,,
especially cuz im a 1.5 generation korean, and i could probably write a better essay in korean
than i would in english.

well, when it came to college apps tho, i didnt give a second thot on
majoring in art, cuz that was my passion. we DO hav awkwardly similar case don't we?

i also didn't wanna do anything involving korean becuz that might de-motivate me to
learn something new. -___-

and then there's ARMY draft issue for meeee UGH
so i didn't even kno if i could hav a stable job as a translator.
(that would mean working in korea and wat not)


my question is whether ur tryin to become a graphic designer, a translator, or both??

hell, i wish i could be both.


i couldn't realli give u any answers but i hope u hav more of an idea now :P