After graduation, my brother went traveling. No matter where he ventured in the world, someone was sure to ask him if he wanted a job teaching English. Sure, they pay a lot of money in Japan for the American or British accent but my brother wanted more of a career. One of the jobs countries were looking for were a <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/706635']);" href=http://www.multiling.com/Japanese_Translator.aspx>Japanese translator</a> and document localization specialist. My brother loved travelling so much and new that he couldn’t travel forever unless he got a job. My brother majored in Japanese, so he not only could he speak Japanese, he could write it as well. Therefore, being a Japanese translator would be a perfect job for him. But to be a trusted Japanese translator he would have to live in Japan permanently.
The other part of the job was a <a rel="nofollow" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link/706635']);" href=http://www.multiling.com/Document_Localization.aspx>documentation localization specialist</a>. This lengthy job description required a lot more education then just speaking Japanese. The job description said a document localization specialist would be responsible for:
• Translating, editing and doing linguistic evaluation of user interfaces from English into the target language.
• The specialist is responsible for ensuring that translations comply with cultural and industry norms.
• Prepare translated documents and files for publication or on-line presentation
• Participate in maintaining technical glossaries, terminology databases and style guidelines
Besides having to know two different languages perfectly well, he needed to know a computer program called CAT, computer, assisted translation tool. He also said the document localization specialist must know HTML, XML and Java and have a Bachelors degree. He applied. Because they needed someone right away, they told him he could learn while he worked. Only six months later and he was teaching others the program and making his living as a Japanese translator and documentation specialist in Japan!
So to make a long story short, my brother is the person who rewrites the marketing brochures and websites of a product from Japan and translates them in English and localizes the website and brochures for an American audience. Which may sound fairly easy to do- but really it is very difficult, technical and challenging work. Sure living in another country is romantic and exciting but being a Japanese translator and document localization specialist takes much more work than just being fluent in another language. For his position, my brother has to eat, sleep, breathe the Japanese culture to be able to localize and translate documents and websites for people living in Japan. Since my brother didn’t have a wife or kids, he wasn’t committed to living in America.
Besides being able to travel and living in an amazing country, he is now well paid and has met a ton of new people. Plus, if he ever wanted to come back to the states- he would have his pick of companies. With so many new skills, any documentation localization company would scoop him up in a second.
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