Interested in how much money you can earn as a translator in the anime industry? Scroll to the bottom to find out!

How AI Has Influenced the Translation Industry

Its not great. The translation industry has been significantly impacted by the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI-driven translation tools have revolutionized the way languages are translated, offering quicker and more accessible translations than ever before. These advancements range from basic online translation services to sophisticated software capable of handling complex and nuanced texts. The rise of AI in translation has led to an increase in efficiency and productivity, as these tools can process large volumes of text swiftly, which is particularly beneficial for businesses, SEO and media outlets.

This shift has also introduced challenges. AI translations, while increasingly accurate, still struggle with context, cultural nuances, and idiomatic expressions. For example, the recent shift by G/O Media to use AI for translating Gizmodo en Español articles highlighted the limitations of AI, with issues like language switching mid-article and loss of original content’s essence. This scenario underscores that, despite improvements, AI cannot yet fully replicate the subtlety and understanding of a skilled human translator.

Should I Be a Translator?

Choosing a career as a translator in the current AI-driven landscape requires careful consideration. As most translator say, translation and interpreting are dying industries. The translation profession faces challenges due to the rising capabilities of AI and the global increase in English proficiency. Unless you are trying to be the best of the best in a narrow field, translator is still in demand, but you probably need years of experience working with international industrial companies in a highly specialized technical field. There remains a significant demand for skilled translators in specialized fields like legal, medical, and technical translation, where precision and expertise are crucial.

How to Use AI to Be a Better Translator

AI can be a powerful tool for translators, augmenting their skills rather than replacing them. To leverage AI effectively, you should do the following:

1. Use AI for Initial Drafts: AI can quickly produce a rough translation of large texts, which can then be refined and contextualized.
2. Stay Informed About AI Developments: Keeping up-to-date with the latest AI technologies can help your work effectively. Here are currently 5 best AI translation tools.
3. Focus on Specialization: As AI struggles with specialized jargon and context, translators can focus on areas where human expertise is irreplaceable. AI is still terrible and takes a lot of resource to translate slangs.
4. Enhance Productivity: AI can handle repetitive tasks or translate common phrases. For example, utilize ChatGPT to alter the tone and choice of words with clear instructions.

What Side Gigs Can Translators Do?

As an anime membership platform, lets talk about how translators can make money in the ACGN industry ( Anime, Comic, Game, Novel). As the rise of Kpop in the past decade, a lot of people in the West learnt Korean for manhwa and fandom. Not surprisingly, the entertainment industry in China is taking over as more creators can make a living off agencies. However, these artists are having a difficult time to promote their work overseas. And this is where you comes in.

How Much Translator Earn in Anime

One of the problem with the current industry is that the agencies chase after revenue and pushed a bunch of really one-dimensional content. The shear amount overshadowed the great passionate artiest behind the scene. Translation groups and Chinese artists are often looking for talented translators for their particular project/ stories. If you like languages, anime, and typeface, you can be a translator for $20 per hour. You earn more based on the frequency and quality. You also get to earn through monthly ad revenue and membership platform like us. On average, translators have

• 50 to 500 members on membership platforms
• 30% to 50% are most paid members
• fans are willing to pay up to $5 to $7 USD

It largely depends on the content you picked up translating though. Translation gigs have one of the highest percentage in willingness to pay long term as these fans are literally fanatics who are craving for that particular niche. We see a pattern that more people are willing to pay for game translations and NSWF novels with up to $2000 per month. Trust me, adult novel is a big niche and you can earn up to $4000 per month as a writer.

All in all, if you are translator, love anime and looking for a side hustle, I strongly recommend joining translation groups like novelupdate or just start uploading your favorite translated works on Unifans!

Unifans is a membership sponsorship platform operated by an international team with an audience spanning the Chinese and English-speaking worlds. The platform welcomes creators of all kinds to join, and web novels are an important category within the content matrix.