[Kintamayama]

What do you do? I’m a freelance Japanese translator. Basically, I translate documents, mostly legal, financial, and IT-related, from Japanese into English.

Do you like it? I can’t say I love the actual work, but I love the near-complete autonomy the work provides, along with the high pay and low time commitment.

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I have an unusually high level of competency in the Japanese language, and am a relatively good writer of English. My desire to be independent drives me to do a type of work that most people, even those otherwise qualified, do not care to do. However, I have a short attention span. I’m not naturally attentive to detail, which is a requisite of this work. Though I’m a people person at heart, I have almost no contact with the outside world while working. Though I am an energetic person and would prefer to be physically active throughout the day, my work demands that I sit at a computer all day long.

What kind of people do best in your work? Book worms. Linguistic nerds. Detail-oriented people. People who desire an autonomous lifestyle. People who like to write, but lack the creativity to otherwise do so. People who are curious about a wide range of subjects, but who dislike settling on any one area.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? Surprisingly, no academic qualifications are necessary. Basically, a translator needs to have the following three skills: a high level of competency in the source language (the language translating from), the ability to write well in the target language (the language translating to), and knowledge of the fields in which one is translating (or the ability to fake it well). In the case of Japanese, it takes a minimum of five years, usually much more, to gain sufficient competency in the language. It then takes several more years to learn the unique “skill” of translating.

What is a typical day like? I usually wake up pretty early, around 6:30 or 7:00. After checking my email and surfing the net briefly I get right to work. My brain functions best in the morning, so I try to get as much work done as early as possible. However, I also have a short attention span and have trouble sitting still for very long, so I tend to break my work up into short sessions throughout the day. After working 2-3 hours in the morning, I’ll go work out and then eat breakfast. Then I’ll either put in another hour of work or go take a nap if I feel like it. Another couple of hours in the afternoon, and then I’m usually off to the driving range to work on my golf game. I’ll usually put in another hour or so before dinner and then I’m done, except for corresponding with customers, usually via email. Since the work flow is irregular, I frequently work weekends, although in reality I seldom work more than 5-6 hours a day tops.

What kind of problems do you encounter? Unreasonable deadlines. Poor-quality source documents with lots of illegible text. Occasional jobs in fields I am not familiar with, which slow the process considerably.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? Again, work in difficult, unfamiliar fields. Frustration when a client wrongly insists that the English should be written differently. Frustration at the lack of human contact. Not much elation in the work, other than occasional feelings of accomplishment after completing an interesting or large project. Elation at being outside playing at 1:00 in the afternoon instead of trapped in an office in a salaried position. Elation at having near total control of how I use my time throughout the day (thanks in no small part to the fact that most of my clients are based in Japan, and are asleep while I am awake).

How much do you make? It varies by year, but usually in the $50k~$100k range. However, over the past six years, I’ve probably averaged no more than 25 hours of work per week.

How much can one expect to make in your position? It depends how much you’re willing to work. I know of translators who make upwards of $200k per year, but they produce a high volume of work at the upper end of the pay scale. Many translators are people like me, who get into the field because of the opportunity it provides to make a good living doing what boils down to a part time job.