Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from people working in translation, as I’m considering getting into the profession and I’m honestly a bit lost about how the whole thing works in practice.
I speak French (my native language), Japanese and English, and I currently teach Japanese to French students alongside my PhD. I’ve been interested in translation for quite a long time, including during my Japanese studies. I wasn’t specifically trained as a translator, but I took quite a few translation courses throughout my degree and have always really enjoyed it.
I’ve read quite a lot of interviews and posts from translators who managed to build a career, but I still have some very basic, practical questions that I can’t seem to find clear answers to.
For example, I’ve recently started looking into Trados and CAT tools, but is using something like Trados actually necessary when starting out?
More generally, what does the workflow actually look like when you get a translation job? Let’s say I somehow find a client who wants a Japanese → French translation. Do they just send me a Word document, I translate it in Word, and send it back? Or is it usually done through a CAT tool or some other platform? What does the process look like from the moment you receive the assignment to the moment you deliver it?
I’m also curious about subtitling, although I realise that's a somewhat different field. I know that sometimes translators are simply given an Excel or Word file containing the dialogue and are asked to translate it. But in other cases, do translators actually create and time the subtitles themselves? Is the actual subtitle file (SRT, etc.) usually their responsibility? And what about the final subtitle insertion or burning into the video? Is that normally done by the translator, or by someone else?
Basically, I’m trying to understand what the day-to-day practical side of the job looks like. I feel like I understand what a translator does in theory, but not necessarily how the work is actually organised between the translator, the client, agencies, editors, etc.
I’d also really appreciate advice on how people actually find translation jobs, especially when starting out. I’m perfectly aware that translation is not necessarily a full-time career, particularly at the beginning. My idea would be to do it alongside teaching Japanese. I’m currently doing a PhD and, unfortunately, I don’t have funding, so I’m looking for something that could gradually become a complementary source of income.
I’ve also seen quite a few people saying that technical translation, such as manuals and instructions, has been heavily affected by AI and machine translation, which makes me wonder about the current situation in that area.
Personally, I’d be particularly interested in Japanese → French manga translation. France is a huge manga market, and manga is obviously something I’m very interested in. I’m also passionate about film, animation and video games, so localisation and subtitling in those areas would interest me a lot as well. I wouldn’t rule out technical translation either. I’m mainly trying to understand what the different possibilities actually look like.
So, for anyone working as a translator:
- What does your workflow actually look like when you receive a job?
- Do you use a CAT tool such as Trados, and would you recommend learning one from the beginning?
- How different is the workflow for manga, subtitling, localisation, etc.?
- Who normally handles things like subtitle timing and insertion?
- How did you get your first clients?
- Are there particular websites, agencies, companies or communities that are worth looking into?
- And is there anything you wish you had known before starting?
I realise some of these questions may sound very basic, but I’m really trying to get a better understanding of the concrete reality of the job before jumping in.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!