I'm not sure where to put this, so I'm asking in /wsr/.

>>294157
Get your JLPT N1; this is an entry requirement for any kind of translator qualification.

>>294160
Wasn't even aware of the JLPT test. Thanks for that.

>>294157
Also you won't be translating English to Japanese, unless you're working as an interpreter. Translating the wrong way is called a "service translation" and is not done outside of fansubbing.

If you're serious about translation, you also need to work on your English. You need to be good enough that you could write a book in whatever field it is you'll be translating. If you're planning on translating for business, you need to be at least as good as their technical writers; if you're planning on translating fiction, you need to be able to write fiction. It's commonly thought that translators don't have to do anything creative because the work is already there; this couldn't be further from the truth. If a work could be mechanically translated from one language to another with no need for intellect or creativity, then Google would already be doing it and every translator would be unemployed.

You're not going to get any kind of job even as a freelancer unless you have a formal degree in language and translation studies.
Those who do will always be picked instead of you.

>>294163
You sound young. Have you considered a degree?

A decent Japanese degree is something like:

Year one: learning Japanese at university to an N5 level, some kind of outside course
Year two: learning Japanese in Japan at a Japanese university
Year three: back home for literature, style, rhetoric, etc. Final exams, dissertation in Japanese, graduation

You should come back home fluent at the end of year two; year three is working towards whatever it is you want to do with your fluency. In your case, you'd be applying towards a postgrad in translation.

Be aware that language degrees go fast. Those pesky kana? Week one. A typical university degree in languages covers in its first year an entire highschool syllabus.

>>294166
You can totally get one on the back of your portfolio, but first you need a portfolio.

Consider talking to /adv/ and even /int/ for advice as well.

/int/ has a 'language learning general' up usually.

>>294167
I'm 30 and have a degree in Digital Film Production. It is a dying field and I'm getting out of it. Was pretty much forced into it by a number of things when I was younger and regretting letting it happen, now.

But this is always something I've wanted. I actually tried doing this first, but scholarship money wouldn't pay for it. At this point, though, I want to try again and not let things get in the way.

I'll look into degrees for this. Would you happen to know specific degree titles? I've googled this in the last 20 minutes and found a long list of degrees that don't necessarily fit the curriculum plan you mention. Am I looking at a Language Interpretation and Translation degree (most common for what I googled)? Or is it called something else?

>>294171
Thanks, I'll post there, too.

>>294165
I was hoping to offer services for both. I live in a town with a lot of asian tourism. I was even considering Chinese since ~40% of our tourism is classified eastern Asian. But my goal is to travel. I'll start where I can, though.

>>294157
>working on Katakana

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Come back in 4 years.

>>294213
This isn't /b/. Go troll people who give a shit.