1. I'm a full-time freelancer. I started freelancing on a part-time basis 30 years ago and finally went full time about 15 years ago, soon after went in-house for 5 years, and have been freelancing full-time ever since. Finding clients is relatively easy; developing and nurturing them is harder
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1. Not as a translator. I have always freelanced as a translator alongside other (related) work. The advantage of that is that one does not rely entirely on translation work, and is therefore not forced to accept ridiculous prices.
There is a lot of work available, but there is also a lot of competition. You can register at a number of websites, who will forward translation job offers (translatorscafe.com, aquarius.ne, translationdirectory.com to name but a few).
2. Not applicable.
3. I have one language pair, specialise in one area of translation and only really offer translations in one direction- and I have never had too little work. If you are very good in one language pair you are more likely to find repeat customers and get work than if you are mediocre in several languages.
Maybe the answers would be more helpful if you could clarify your interest slightly- i.e. what language combination(s) do you have, experience, training/qualifications, any particular specialisations, etc.
I speak Indonesian, which I picked up while I grew up in Indonesia (in an English speaking family), but too colloquially to use in any kind of professional context unless I make some effort to polish it up a bit (which I will, but not right now). I'm studying Chinese but I'm only one year through my degree and currently reading at the level of a ten year old. I have a way to go.
I have no experience, qualifications or specialisations- I am at the very beginning of the point in my life where I have to figure out what I want to do and how I need to get there. Translation sounds ideal for me but I worry that my perception of it is too romantic; I'm just trying to get an accurate feel for what it entails.
1. Yes. Although I'm currently on secondment to another, non-translation-related role, I am employed by an international organization as a full-time staff translator. 2. Not applicable. The vast majority of staff translators work only into their mother tongue. 3. Quality is much more important than quantity. For minority languages, it is often enough (at least on the freelance market) to know only one language other than your mother tongue, although in order to make a decent living it's usually better to offer two.
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There is a lot of work available, but there is also a lot of competition. You can register at a number of websites, who will forward translation job offers (translatorscafe.com, aquarius.ne, translationdirectory.com to name but a few).
2. Not applicable.
3. I have one language pair, specialise in one area of translation and only really offer translations in one direction- and I have never had too little work. If you are very good in one language pair you are more likely to find repeat customers and get work than if you are mediocre in several languages.
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I have no experience, qualifications or specialisations- I am at the very beginning of the point in my life where I have to figure out what I want to do and how I need to get there. Translation sounds ideal for me but I worry that my perception of it is too romantic; I'm just trying to get an accurate feel for what it entails.
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2. Not applicable. The vast majority of staff translators work only into their mother tongue.
3. Quality is much more important than quantity. For minority languages, it is often enough (at least on the freelance market) to know only one language other than your mother tongue, although in order to make a decent living it's usually better to offer two.
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