Hello,
I wanted to see if there was anyone on this sub that had advice or experience they could share about getting into translation as a job/career in Japan. I’m currently starting my last semester of university in here in Tokyo and will be taking and assuming passing the N2 JLPT come this summer. Unfortunately I don’t have any of the computer science or programming skills that I should have gotten during school but I do really enjoy reading and translating so I want to pursue that as a job/career if possible. Also in terms of translation language it’s ENG-JP. Thank you for any advice.
9 comments
N2 isn’t enough for even the most basic translations. You need a level beyond N1 for you to get a career in it, unless you’re doing creative translation for games, in which N1 is enough. But in that case, you’ll need very good creative writing skills
If you’re in Tokyo there are often in-house positions to be found, which is a good way to get into the field. I see positions like this come up on Linked In pretty regularly. They don’t seem to pay that well, but if you are just out of school it’s not too bad.
Definitely not the career to get into at the moment. AI and translation software are going to make that position obsolete really soon. Become good at Japanese but make that a tool in your arsenal.
If you pass a test like the 翻訳実務検定(TQE®)or the JTA公認翻訳専門職資格試験, you will have an advantage in getting a job.
I was a translator for over 20 years (1998-2022)
My advice about getting into translation today is: don’t.
The market for human translation is shrinking fast, and there’s really only room for the superbly skilled with many years of experience. And by the time you reach that level, I expect human translation to be at best a niche, “boutique” profession.
I wouldn’t recommend hanging your entire livelihood on this, but if you’re trying to make some money on the side or just want some motivation to improve your Japanese, it’s pretty easy to get started doing translation work at any of the many manga/light novel/visual novel publishing companies. Look at Yen Press, J-Novel and Seven Seas. If you’re willing to do porn, there’s Kagura Games, JAST USA and Manga Gamer.
This will not pay well (2-3 US cents per moji is around what I’ve seen offered by the above companies), but if you really want to do it, you can submit a resume and ask for tests. It’s something to put in your portfolio.
N2 is easily enough for this sort of literary translation. As your Japanese improves and you add to your resume, you may be able to move onto better paying work. AI is disrupting the technical translation fields but I think it’ll be a good while longer until the need for human localization is completely obviated. But, again, I wouldn’t recommend putting any long term stock into this becoming a lucrative career for you.
I work in the area and wouldn’t recommend anyone to get into it now.
AI translation is pretty good already, and it will only get better. Even tough AI translation isn’t perfect, it is more than enough for most people (at least in Japan). Most people don’t really want to spend money in translation, let alone spend extra money on a translator when they can just get a AI translation.
I’m a 社内 translator for a massive Japanese company you all know. I understand the concerns about AI translation, but my company was using Internet Explorer until it wasn’t possible and some of their intranet sites were last updated in the 90s 🤓
Anyways – I used Recruit Agent and I found my current job in around 3 months. I had N2 at the time but I guess I did well during the interview and the translation test (plus I speak Spanish and some French).
Why get into translation?
It’s already a competitive industry, with no experience and only N2 it’s going to be hard to find a job.
On top of that, A.I programs like ChatGPT will kill the industry in 5 years.
Find another field