First English To Chinses Translation Job

 My first English-to-Chinese translation job was translating a company document. Well, it is challenging as there are many business terms and much research to provide a quality translation. 

It may be some time since I did my first translation job. But I remember I was pretty happy that I was able to get my first job at that time. I didn't really focus on any categories at that time. I tried out many types of documents after that. But, of course, it was more challenging than I thought. 

But actually, the "first" job I did was newsletter translation. It was for an NGO, which I volunteered for. I help out for a few years, but it was very interesting as I can read the stories of different people. 

Difference Between Interpreter And Translator

 Since I started taking translation jobs for a side income, I realized that many people don't know the difference between an interpreter and a translator. 

Many customers would tell me, I have a meeting tomorrow with a China client, and I need someone to help me translate our conversation verbally. Another scenario is I have a seminar at this place, and I need a translator to help me to translate, again translating verbally. 

I have to explain to them that I work with written words and can't help much with verbal. I'm not saying I can't speak, but you really need to react fast on the spot, which I can't really do it. Many people don't seem to understand the difference between interpreter and translator and insist that they wanted you (most probably they can't find one on short notice).

Here's an infographic to explain the difference between an interpreter and a translator. So be sure to know who to find the next time you need one. 

What Are The Platforms I Choose For Freelancing Translation (Eng-Chi)?

 Well, there are many platforms you can go to if you are starting out as a Freelancer. I didn't know where to go in the beginning. I did some searching on the internet, and there are plenty of platforms for freelancers, such as Freelancer.com, Upwork, etc. But it is quite competitive as there are many freelancers from all over the world, especially if you are a beginner without experience.

I saw other advice, such as starting a website, a blog, Facebook, etc. I started it by posting in forums for Malaysian. Ya, it was quite popular during the time I started. Not sure if it is still popular now, as I have stopped using this method. 

I started a Facebook page not long later. Till now, most of my translation jobs have come from there. My Facebook page is still around, but I don't really manage that often. Like I said in my previous post, I have a full-time job. I spend some time posting on my Facebook page to get extra jobs. Whenever there's a job, I will manage it in between. 

It can be quite competitive in this digital era, as you can work from home and get jobs from any part of the world. Well, you have to work hard for it. 

See you in the next post. 

What I Had Experience In Freelance Translation?

 Well, it is not easy to be a freelancer. I don't really focus on freelancing as I have a full-time job. I did once think of doing full-time freelancing, but it didn't really work out for me. I was really on my own, and I'm not good at marketing, so yeah, I have very limited resources to find clients. 

Besides the marketing part, partly also I wasn't really focus on going full force in freelancing. I was kind of I would take the job when there is. Sometimes there are projects that were too big for me, maybe around 10k and above. That can be a chance for me, but with a full-time job on hand, and doing that amount alone, it was a bit difficult for me to take up the job. 

Every freelancers will face their own difficulties during their freelancing journey. It is a matter of how are they going to solve it. Well, I will try to solve the problems that I faces during the journey and gain the experience that I need to. Hopefully, I will be able to go full-time one day. See you at the next chapter.

The Journey To Freelance Translation

 This will be my first post for my blog. Erm..., it's actually not really my first one. I started a blog a few years ago but decided to delete it after writing for some time as it is more on the negative side, and I wasn't really constant with it. It is Chinese New Year and since it is a new beginning, I decided to start a new blog and hope it will last long. 

I didn't really plan to be a freelancer in the beginning. I was thinking of making some extra money and there is where I started off. Before I started to take translation jobs, I was helping an NGO to translate their newsletter. I wasn't really interested in translating in the beginning as I'm always been asked to translate some words since my school days. That time, I just feel that it was a hassle.

As I was helping out at the NGO, I slowly started to build my interest in translation. I can see how words can attract people. I wasn't really fluent in the beginning and with the help of some other members, I started to pick up.

I decided to start off with translation later on. Of course, there are still many things to learn, and there is still a lot of improvement to make. I'm currently still holding a full-time job and taking odd jobs for translation, and I'm working towards being a full-time freelancer translator one day.