Fledgling translator looking for guidance

[Pintilie Haris]

Greetings everyone, 

I have been following this group for upwards of a year now but have not had the courage to contribute anything until now. 

Not that this email constitutes much of a contribution - I am in all honesty feeling kind of lost and would welcome any advice as to what sites or companies I could apply on/at for translation jobs. I am mainly interested in JP-EN right now.

For some background information, I have recently graduated with a MA degree in East Asian Studies (my BA was a double major - Japanese and English) and have been applying for translation jobs on proz.com, LinkedIn Europe (I live in Romania) and other such sites for a few months now, to no avail. 

I do not have much JP-EN professional translation experience - just a few odd jobs here and there - which I suppose is most likely why my applications rarely get a response, be it positive or negative. 

So as to not unnecessarily prolong this email, I will clarify any additional information that might be needed in subsequent replies. 

As stated before, any sort of advice or guidance would help a lot. I have seen other translators say Proz is not really reliable anymore, so perhaps I haven't been looking in the right places.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this;
Haris Pintilie 

[Bill Lise]

Welcome to the group of people who participate here. 

Proz is a reverse auction site, where people bid _down_ to get jobs. It was never a place that offered great opportunities. 

You are entering the market at a time of transition by many translation sellers (and perhaps even consumers) from using professional translators to using MT.

With that as the evolving business environment, in-house work might be more promising than chasing work on Proz. 

But I am not sure that you are in a geographical location that would offer many in-house positions without moving.

One serious question is what expertise you have other than translation and languages.

There is a Facebook group for JA-related translators and it has about 800 members. The might offer other views and information. 

Bill Lise @ Yokohama 

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リゼ　ウィリアム

Bill Lise

wlise...@gmail.com

https://kirameki-translation.co.jp/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-lise/

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[Oroszlany Balazs]

Hi Haris, 

You are certainly starting at an interesting time :)

I would suggest that you find a translation organisation/society in Romania - your local colleagues would be the best source of information on how to get started. They will also have pro bono projects, often with feedback, which is a great way to get some routine and find your speciality.

Switch from JA-EN to JA-RO and EN-RO - it is easier to establish yourself with local agencies with these language pairs, and if they trust you with these general language pairs, they will remember you when a JA-EN project comes up.

Get some routine in the local market, then expand to Japan and US/UK.

Also: all this is easier if you have a daily job - but I have seen translators who went straight to full freelancers.

And finally: as a new graduate, you should be eligible for a discounted MemoQ license - go for the perpetual one, if it is still available.

Good luck,
Balazs Oroszlany

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[Pintilie Haris]

Thank you very much for all the advice, Oroszlany. I will do my best to spread my net, so to speak. 

All the best, 

Haris Pintilie 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/honyaku/CANqOQsBUNFWr2dXaKt-dWbznG9g%2BUA-SvG5utQBqjuftzLtoRQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Pintilie Haris]

Thank you for the welcome and for the response. 

The main issue with in-house JA->EN/RO translation in my country is indeed the lack of opportunities, which is a big part of the reason why I sought out freelancing as a possibility. 

As for expertise in other fields, that is something to think about, as (professionally) languages have been my main interest for years. 

Could you be so kind as to give me the name of the Facebook group, if allowed? There seem to be many, with varying numbers of members. 

Best, 

Haris Pintilie

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/honyaku/CAD0Wv_LhU%2BMaXOWDnhYQmCCq7zT0-N%2B9Qyor1jXeB0fc-qgDDw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Bill Lise]

The Facebook group is “hidden,” so the only way to join or even find the group might be to have someone invite you. Please send me your Facebook account name and I will see if I can add you or have you added. 

Bill lise 

*********************************************

リゼ　ウィリアム

Bill Lise

wlise...@gmail.com

https://kirameki-translation.co.jp/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-lise/

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To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/honyaku/CADzhNWx0CkScEciHPL8kOgnH64vM5dEm%3DphT3uRnwjMMuuk9LQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Charlie Milroy]

Hi Haris,

I personally would recommend a job using your skills not necessarily as a translator and certainly not as a freelance translator. I do not see it as a good time to come into the translation industry.

Are you interested in moving to Japan? If so, find a job over there, or move and take a teaching job, or whatever you can get and look for jobs that you are interested in getting into. If not, there are plenty of Japanese companies around the world, so I would recommend trying to work for Japanese companies that might require you to communicate with the head office or work with Japanese employees working at the foreign branch.

Good luck

Charlie Milroy

[Pintilie Haris]

Thank you Charlie! I have considered teaching in the past as well, and am starting to consider it more and more as an option because it seems teaching jobs are about the only stable Japan-related job one can get in my country, at least as someone relatively lacking in experience and connections. 

All the best, 

Haris Pintilie 

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[Malay Kapoor]

Thank you for much for the information 

Quality starts with you	Thanks & Regards,             Malay Anand Kapoor                                     https://www.linkedin.com/in/malay-anand-19a41860/                                          Twitter:malay@83463549                                                      Malay Anand Kapoor （日本語通訳者） よろしくお願いします。  Cell : 919999916402  Cell: 919999891034

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/honyaku/CADzhNWzLwsdRZRWnFoJmnb-j0wWuhLvR63Up8%2BAVZx5ApHW%2B2A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Pintilie Haris]

To respond to all of your points - I would like to move to Japan one day but at this point in time there is a family member that I want to be available for in case they need help. As for Japanese companies, they haven't seemed to advertise any positions like that lately around here but I will look into it as well, so thank you for the reminder. 

I worked at a Japanese company for a while during my Master's Degree but it was unsatisfactory and not what had been advertised (unfortunately a common practice from what I hear) so I quit before my second year started because I needed to focus on writing my thesis anyway. 

Thank you again, 

Haris Pintilie 

[Malay Kapoor]

Malaya Kapoor is my Facebook Name

Quality starts with you	Thanks & Regards,             Malay Anand Kapoor                                     https://www.linkedin.com/in/malay-anand-19a41860/                                          Twitter:malay@83463549                                                      Malay Anand Kapoor （日本語通訳者） よろしくお願いします。  Cell : 919999916402  Cell: 919999891034

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