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Originally Posted by DagothUr
Well I was hoping to be an interpreter with some translation on the side. I guess this field needs a lot of experience before anyone will hire you, so I was also going to go into a program like the Jet program. Oh yeah, I just looked on the bls.gov (Department of Labor) website and they said translators in '07 made an average of $76,287, and said that some may have made upwards of $100,000.
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DagothUr, I'll answer your PM to me here (sorry I didn't get to it sooner).
For translation work the fastest way to get hired is to pass the JLPT at level 1. That proves you are fluent in Japanese. To be honest, degrees really don't matter unless you are planning on living in Japan and doing this job, and than a 4-year degree (BA or BS) will be needed. The other way to get work is build a resume. Breaking into the business is hard, but far from impossible.
To me, interpreting is a lot more difficult than translation, and it pays more, but isn't as needed.
Translation is freelance work, for the most part, so pinning down salaries is difficult, but you can certainly make a living at it if you are good.