Hi, I was wondering what type of major and/or minor would be best for someone who wants to either be a translator or transcriber (I know it’s not translation, but it’s also something I was considering)? For translation, I’m interested in Japanese and Korean, but I don’t know what I want to do with translating right now, but I’m interested in that, but am unsure about if I need/should do International Relations (I saw that was recommended, but I’m not sure if that is what is still recommended or if it’s something else)?
I’m currently in a community college in KY trying to get my core classes out of the way. I’ll probably transfer, but I was wondering if depending on what major/minor I should be taking if you knew any colleges in or around the KY area that would have that particular major/minor.
I will admit that I am thinking about going to school in Japan at a language school/college, but I’m not sure if I should wait till I finish/get that major. Or would a good backup plan be trying to teach English in Japan (and I could be a translator on the side)?
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Need to look up the general requirements today to be hired as a translator. As a kid, I knew the UN wanted a vocabulary of at least 20k words. It also matters what context you’ll work in. You can imagine the differences between doing this for a publisher vs an international bank, high tech company, medical environment, etc. Or just for tourists. So get the right content knowledge. That can mean more than IR.
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You’re overestimating the demand for generic translators and the compensation level of English instructors. Generally, bilingual workers are valued for their professional skills first, and their multilingual abilities second. I work with lots of engineers & business people who are bilingual. Business is conducted in English.
You are aware that you are competing with hordes of Asian school kids & college students who are living overseas and being educated in English?
I recommend that you add another major to your language major/minor, and make sure that that major is something you’d like to do if the translation angle doesn’t work out.
Don’t bother. I graduated with my BA in Arabic in 2014 with hopes of being a translator. People made it sound like the government was in dire need of translators who spoke Arabic. Even when I tell people today about my glorified piece of paper they say “Oh Arabic? You know NSA is always looking for people who can speak Arabic.” Or “They need people like you” I do my best not to laugh. Don’t bother getting your hopes up. It’s all about nepotism and native speakers. Oh well. Whenever i see a news flash about an attack by people who speak that language i just shake my head. It’s a harsh reality, but I wasted 3 and a half years of my life learning a language I’ll never put to use.
You don’t need a major in a foreign language to be a translator. I think passing the national tests (for example, the JLPT for Japanese) is more important than a degree in Japanese because it tests actual proficiency. You can minor or take classes, or even double major, but I don’t know how valuable a language degree by itself is. Moreover, there is a huge chunk of translation jobs that are contract or freelance work. In my opinion, you should focus on another major and language should be either secondary or supplementary.
If you’re interested in Chinese, you could work for a business as a translator/interpreter. Japanese and Korean would work too, but I’d imagine less so.