J->E Translation agency?

[yanpa]

A friend of mine is "looking for a translation service to do a few simple documents from Japanese to English".

Anyone got any suggestions etc.?

[IparryU]

A friend of mine is "looking for a translation service to do a few simple documents from Japanese to English".

Anyone got any suggestions etc.?

I have a friend who translates for law firms (in house) and may consider doing a quick side job.

infos?

[gaijinpunch]

There are sites that specialize in this, but as someone who has looked for work on the side in these troubling times, I can say that it is challenging to find the work. Companies don't have as much work to do, so there are more pros getting what little their is. I have a friend at an agency that used to BEG me to translate documents back in 2007 and the first half of 2008. I had zero official experience but she knows my level, and I had JLPT-1 which was good enough for her. Now, she ain't got shit for me, and I've asked a few times.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

There are sites that specialize in this, but as someone who has looked for work on the side in these troubling times, I can say that it is challenging to find the work. Companies don't have as much work to do, so there are more pros getting what little their is. I have a friend at an agency that used to BEG me to translate documents back in 2007 and the first half of 2008. I had zero official experience but she knows my level, and I had JLPT-1 which was good enough for her. Now, she ain't got shit for me, and I've asked a few times.

I can almost ditto the above statement verbatim. Translation has been fucked over more than Engrish teaching over the past few years.

[yanpa]

Ouch.

When I was younger and naiver I had dreams of becoming a translator-cum-writer, maybe making my name as an "Asia Journalist", that kind of thing, for better or worse I drifted into IT (well, was kind of dragged into it by dint of understanding what the people who pay the bills actually want/need, which is something a lot of IT "professionals" fail to grasp, but that's another story), which is not without its problems.

But there goes the backup plan, which was "translating or if that fails, English teaching"; I guess I'll have to replace it with "strange foreigner standing behind the counter at the Lawson 100".

BTW the friend (actually more of an acquaintance) never got back to me with any more details.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Ouch.

When I was younger and naiver I had dreams of becoming a translator-cum-writer, maybe making my name as an "Asia Journalist", that kind of thing, for better or worse I drifted into IT (well, was kind of dragged into it by dint of understanding what the people who pay the bills actually want/need, which is something a lot of IT "professionals" fail to grasp, but that's another story), which is not without its problems.

But there goes the backup plan, which was "translating or if that fails, English teaching"; I guess I'll have to replace it with "strange foreigner standing behind the counter at the Lawson 100".

BTW the friend (actually more of an acquaintance) never got back to me with any more details.

There are some mitigating circumstances in my case, but you've definitely made the correct decision by going into IT.
Translation globally is a massive business, but people generally don't give a fuck about quality until they need to understand something that's been translated, so normally customers have no idea why they should pay so much. Fair enough with Google Translate and all that shit, which generally serves the purpose. If you can translate in a highly specialized field, there's still excellent money to be made. I can't. I'm fucking useless at anything requiring brains, chemical equations or numbers once they've been joined together or separated by symbols. But I think most Japanese to English translators are suffering nowadays (or, to be precise, are now working at market rates most translators around the world have always worked at).

[matsuki]

Translation globally is a massive business, but people generally don't give a fuck about quality

This...especially in Japan where lil Kumiko that spent 2 weeks studying English abroad in the Phillipines gets hired over Mr. Smith, fluent in Japanese and a native English speaker.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

This...especially in Japan where lil Kumiko that spent 2 weeks studying English abroad in the Phillipines gets hired over Mr. Smith, fluent in Japanese and a native English speaker.

Sounds like my boss!!! Except she's better qualified...she spent her two weeks studying in New York.

[gaijinpunch]

Ouch.

When I was younger and naiver I had dreams of becoming a translator-cum-writer, maybe making my name as an "Asia Journalist", that kind of thing, for better or worse I drifted into IT (well, was kind of dragged into it by dint of understanding what the people who pay the bills actually want/need, which is something a lot of IT "professionals" fail to grasp, but that's another story), which is not without its problems.

But there goes the backup plan, which was "translating or if that fails, English teaching"; I guess I'll have to replace it with "strange foreigner standing behind the counter at the Lawson 100".

BTW the friend (actually more of an acquaintance) never got back to me with any more details.

I guess I have a similar story. Never aspired to be a journalist, but didn't think I'd make my living in IT which I clearly do now, and for better or worse, likely will for the rest of my days. I like my job though, except those common times when I feel like throwing my computer out of the fucking window.

As Hairdo stated, if you have some specialized knowledge (I think medical or copyright translators are always in demand) then you can make mad bank . If not, and you really want money and don't mind how mind-numbing it can be, try to get private students in your house for 2500 - 3000 yen an hour. You can most likely pocket the dough. Something you will never get to do with translating, so unless you're REALLY good at translating, you would likely make less with it. The upside to translating is you get to set your own schedule, of course.

[james]

The upside to translating is you get to set your own schedule, of course.

I've been looking to get into J->E translation a bit more and have done several jobs in the past. Some was quasi-technical, (parts of these arcane NEC PC-98 series manuals), others were just run of the mill stuff like email correspondence and another job was a Powerpoint presentation for a local rice producer which had a quite a lot of jargon that I've no doubt already forgotten. All word of mouth.

I don't expect it to be lucrative but it can help pick up the slack a bit. I've had my own school teaching English out here in the sticks for a dog's age now, but the last 3-4 years have been absolutely brutal for attrition. If I weren't leaving this year anyway, I'd have to get off my ass to start looking for a "real" job and probably move.

There is another advantage to doing translation work though which I think is worth noting, mainly that you can do it from anywhere. Not being tied to a physical location and being on your own schedule can make it worthwhile.

I was poking around a bit on one of those general work contract sites and the rates some of these people were willing to pay were ridiculously low. One guy had a budget of $12.50 total to have 50 ebay listings translated, with an estimate of 5-10 mins per job. Even at that low end it works out to $3.72/hr.

[Bucky]

I used to buy a lot of E to J and J to E translation services (moved on now.) I am on the Left Coast and was routinely using only native speakers to translate into their languages (unless I had a handwritten Japanese original -- then I needed a native Japanese-speaker.)

The going rates for J to E for good translators that I was paying was from 10 cents to 20 cents per word, depending on the subject. Usually 15 cents was a standard rate. For E to J, it was usually 15 cents to 25 cents per word.

If you are serious about getting into translation you might look into JAT (Japan Association of Translators) where you could get some information.

Unfortunately there are a lot of folks in India doing J to E translation at rock bottom rates. They have had some impact on depressing prices.

The best angle I have seen is to make a connection with an ad agency that does work for companies like Sharp, Canon, Ricoh, etc. . . and see if you can get on a list of potential translators for them. Otherwise, approach translation agencies. In the US you can find agencies through the ATA American Translators Association website (atanet.org) and look at their directory.

Direct clients will pay the best. Agencies have to get their cut as well as proof and edit your work, if they are a legit agencies. Many will just pass your work right through with no review, though.

[yanpa]

Unfortunately there are a lot of folks in India doing J to E translation at rock bottom rates. They have had some impact on depressing prices.

I weep for the future of the English language.

[Coligny]

Say that if the outsourcing is as good as for engineering...
the problem will vanish by itself in few years... (companies start to notice that paper engineers from india are mostly worth jackshit...)

[james]

Unfortunately there are a lot of folks in India doing J to E translation at rock bottom rates.

There are a lot of folks doing a lot of stuff in India at rock bottom rates, and as with most things, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, like you said, they're dragging everyone else down with them.

Thanks for the tips. I think I'd have to get a few certifications before any of these places would even consider looking at me, but it couldn't hurt to get my name out there.

[Kanchou]

I've been trying to start freelancing for several months now and I finally got a job... it was only 4 yen per character, but for seven hours of work it was a pretty decent chunk of cash.

If I had one job that size every day I would be more than happy.

I've read that even though India is putting out more engineers from universities than any other country, a vast number of them don't even have basic math skills, much less engineering ability. So it's definitely quantity over quality.

That said, can someone tell me how many places I can expect to have to apply to in order to get enough clients and work to freelance full time?