Where can I find work as an interpreter/translator? I have all the qualifications. All I need now is a job!!!?

Answer 1

try talking to your local job centre/employment bureau to see if they know of any reputable agencies/companies who require translators. Look in and put an advertisement in national and regional newspapers. Have a talk to your local/regional radio station to see if they can mention you are looking for employment.

Answer 2

You don't need a degree to interpret or translate. You need to speak both languages at a native level - this is much higher than fluency. It will be nearly impossible to reach this level through college classes, and you'll likely need to spend several years in Japan speaking only Japanese to have any chance. If you want to do serious work (for business or government) you'll also need to be certified. The professional organizations where you certify will be the source of most of your freelance jobs. I have never worked with a full time staff member/translator in any government office or organization - I'm sure those jobs exist, but most places either hire freelancers or have a secretary/assistant/whatever on staff who can do the job when necessary. Keep in mind that you'll be competing (for jobs) against people who have grown up speaking both Japanese and English at home. Translators generally don't make that much money to begin with, and freelance jobs can be fiercely competitive. You may want to have a backup plan.

Answer 3

It depends on whether you are looking for a job or whether you are going to work as a freelance. Either way, you're going to need some experience. Presumably you're a generalist. Many linguists have a speciality -- they will be engineers, lawyers, economists, etc. and this will give them the edge over other people when it comes to seeking work. You will have to acquire a track record and keep a careful note of every piece of work you do. If, for example, you want to be on the list of Public Service Interpreters (now exclusively managed by the Institute of Linguists) they will demand to see evidence of the numbers of hours you have put in as an interpreter!

You must talk to as many agencies as possible and see whether they are prepared to give you a start. Be prepared to diversify -- see, for example, whether you can get a job which requires a knowledge of languages but which is not necessarily a translation post, just to build up the background which I mentioned -- perhaps in banking. Barclays Bank International used to have a translation division. I don't know if they still do, but that would at least give you some experience to build on. Consider moving abroad. [e-mail] (that last part of the name is the first three letters of company and for some reason Yahoo is censoring the name of one of its own websites!) was circulating details of vacancies in Paris and Turin yesterday. I heard from the following link about a translation job in Milan requiring Italian, English and another language, preferably German: http://www.humanlab.it/offerte.asp#TRADUTTORI.Inglese.e.Tedesco and a long list of jobs was published on [e-mail]. You should get yourself on these lists and as many others as you can spot. You must market yourself hard.

Join a professional organisation or two and do as much networking as possible. But don't ever expect work to fall into your lap! And at the beginning, I'm afraid, it's very much a question of eating humble pie.

Answer 4

Join the military and become a translator or apply at an embassy that would benefit from your knowledge. See government sites.

Answer 5

Try looking for websites that would be interested - just type in Interpretor and translator - employment .... see what you get.
Good luck

Answer 6

Why not approach your local Police?