Quote:
Originally Posted by pandayanyan
This Japan language proficiency test (or whatever it is called)
*Is it hard?
*Can you re-take it to get a better score?
*How much does it decide your career?
And...
*Is there a program like the JET Program that helps jump-start into translation?
*Is translating for manuals and that sort of thing different in experience than translating manga and video games? Or does one help for the other?
*Is this more of a part-time job or a 50+hour work week? Or is it like an at home job that requires as much attention as I would like to make money?
Also,
*You need to be in Japan to fluently learn the language.. you need to fluently learn the language in order to get a job.... but you have to have a job to have a visa to be in japan right? So isn't it kind of a catch 22?
I really can't afford to vacation there just to learn the language every few months....
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I have only taken a lower level proficiency test, and generally level 1 is considered the standard. I imagine it is quite difficult.
You can retake it.
I have never taken it, and this is what I do for a living, so...
I don't think there is a program like the JET program that gives you a jump start...but the JET program is a jump-start, in a way.
Regarding manuals vs. manga. The first thing you think of in a translation is "who is reading this? what do they want to get out of it?" For a manual, they want to get the instructions to use thier whatever, so there isn't a lot of consideration about cultural issues. For a manga they are looking for an comprehensible and entertaining story, so you are on the other end of the scale in terms of cultural language. So "yes" there is a real difference, but they certainly help each other.
I know people that do it part time, and people that do it 50+ hours a week. It is an at-home job, and you make your own schedule.