How easy is it to work freelance as an Arabic translator?

How can I work as a translator?

• I am not thinking of working translator full time or opening a business. But I knew someone from an East Eropean country. Now in US. And she is able to make a bit of extra money by translating something (I think papers and stuff, she did that at home). Although I have no idea how. So how do I get into something like that. I am originally from Russia and lived there till I was 14, so I pretty much speak and write fluent Russian and English.

• Answer:

  Have you done any work that you can show potential clients? Even something as simple as translating a children's story into Russian, or vice versa [e.g. a Pushkin tale like Tsar Sultan or something traditional like Baba Yaga, into English, or a Chekhov short story]. Yes, they've all been translated already, but a fresh version is always of interest. Working from home, as I do, is ideal, because you can take on small jobs that fit your daily schedule, as well as long time-consuming ones. It would also help if you had some qualification on paper so that when you advertise, you can point to your degree or diploma in Russian - that will give potential customers more confidence in you, that just saying "I pretty much speak/write fluent Russian". What exactly do you mean by "pretty much" - you must be bilingual to translate successfully. You don't say what age you are - if still at school, start preparing to study Russian at uni. If you are an adult, improve your language skills, and find out about translators' qualifications online - I'm not about to patronise you by telling you how, because if you have the ability to work as a self-employed translator, you can manage that yourself.