Job Discussion Forums

[brian-hopeful]

Ok...I need help with my insane plan! I've read enough to make me think this is possible in Taiwan, but I don't know if it is in China.

I really want to settle in Central or Eastern Europe and my Mandarin seems to be the most valuable job skill in that market. My Mandarin was fluent 12 years ago. I want to go to China or Taiwan to improve my mandarin some more and get into translating. I have a degree in Software Engineering and I feel that I can do well in that niche market...very few translators will have the basic understanding of the underlying materials. What I want to do is spend a year teaching in the region and recovering/improving my abilities followed by a year marketing myself and building a steady clientele for translation. After that, I'll take a teaching job in Central/Eastern Europe and make extra money off of my Chinese translation(instead of local privates) while learning Polish, Hungarian, Romanian or whatever they speak where I end up. From there, i could translate from that language as well, look for a job on the local economy involving my Mandarin or maybe move to another country to pick up another language.

One more thing: I have enough savings that I can afford to take some risks and/or do things that may not pay well initially as part of a long term strategy.

So that's the plan. I haven't found much info about translation work for China. Can I (legally or practically) do freelance translation in China or am I confined by my work visa? What does Chinese to English translation pay? What does editing pay? How much work is out there?

I've found enough info on Taiwan to feel like I could make a go of it, but I have found next to nothing on China. Any help would be appreciated as part of me would much rather go to the PRC.

Thanks!

[xiguagua]

I get the feeling that there wouldn't be a lot of translation work for a foreigner doing Chinese-English. There's already a huge number of Chinese that can easily do this and hiring a foreigner over a Chinese can create a hassle for employers. If you know another language, that may be different.

However, being that your goal is to go back to Central/Eastern Europe...it seems to me that using your Chinese in your software engineering background may be more lucrative. If you don't wanna do that for whatever reason, I think there's a bigger market for a English Teacher who speaks Chinese for X events and marketing would be better than trying to do specifically Chinese/English translation.....you're gonna be doing that anyway, just not under an official job title.

[Zero]

I predict a bright future in oral English teaching for you. Mandarin is useful for picking up Chinese girls, though. Unless they speak a bit of rudimentary English, that is, in which case they will steadfastly refuse to use Mandarin with you. The nice thing is that most Chinese people will nervously giggle whenever you speak Chinese, and then promptly answer you in English.

Good luck!

[johntpartee]

[MisterButtkins]

[Brian Hugh]

You can do it but it takes time. Most good translators need at least 15 years to develope a reputation. But it is like the previous poster said your work will entail translating Chinese into English

[peewee1979]

If you have experience or a degree in programming I advise to go to Shanghai as you can better succeed as there are many software companies there.

[brian-hopeful]

[brian-hopeful]

[brian-hopeful]

[Zero]

Because the market for oral English teachers is vast, the market for what you want to do is not, and the skills you have are not valued. The opportunities you find to do what you want will often involve lower pay, and higher hours, than oral English teaching. I was once offered a magazine editing job in a large Chinese city for 7,000 RMB a month, 40+ hours a week, no housing allowance. Why bother?

[brian-hopeful]