Japanese German English Translation Job Question? Outlook, Starting, etc?

I am native fluent in US English (Have both American and Kiwi accent, can use either), Native Fluent in Austrian, highly fluent in German (Hochdeutsch), and some Japanese.



I would LOVE to be a Japanese %26gt; English or Vice Versa Translator but have some questions.



(i'm going to college first, want to major in japanese )

First off, whats the job market like? Is there any wher I can see what is to be expected?



Can I get some tips, advice from translators as for how to get started or at least what I can do to prepare?



Are there any websties where I can translate, but for a reduced amount since I have no experience? Something to get started? ( I have minimal ENG/GRM %26gt; GRM/ENG exp)



Thank you for you input!Japanese German English Translation Job Question? Outlook, Starting, etc?
The job market where?



The job market in Japan itself for foreigners is very poor at the moment. It's hard enough as it is for a foreigner to get a job there, since Japanese will always be chosen over a foreigner when applying for a job. It's become even harder with the recent plunge in the economy. That's not to say it's impossible, but you need to find a good way to get your foot in the door somewhere if you really want to make a career in Japan out of it.



Going to college in Japan might help. There are various colleges that will accept foreign students, mostly in Tokyo. Depending on your grades, you could try for Sophia University, Waseda University, or Temple University. If you don't want to do that, you could always just do an exchange year and try really hard to make some good connections while you're there.



I also want to be a translator (an interpreter actually), and I'll start college in Fall. What I'm doing now to prepare myself is attending concerts and conventions where Japanese people are, and translating for them. For example usually Japanese manga artists or musical artists attend anime/japan conventions across the US, so you can go to the website for the convention and apply for staff as a translator. Usually they need translators, so if you can speak well, you'll have the job.



If you're Japanese isn't that good yet, and you just want to translate (not interpret), you could try working for scanlation websites. These are websites that scan Japanese manga and have people translate the pages, and then put them up in English for everyone to read. They ALWAYS need translators, and you don't have to be fluent or anything, you just need knowledge of grammar and a dictionary.. One site is http://storminheaven.net, and you can google "scanlations" to come up with a TON more.



Otherwise you could try going to Japanese people's blogs and translating them for your own benefit. Places like http://yaplog.jp and http://ameblo.jp are good sources for that.



These suggestions could probably fit for any language, if you know where to look. (I only know links for Japanese places, sorry.)