What would it be like to make a living using foreign language skills as a freelance professional? Missa Takahashi, an interpreter and translator of English, French and Italian, shares how she established her career, expanded her work and deepened her understanding of language and culture.
Although Takahashi was good at English while at a Japanese high school and studied French at Meiji University in Tokyo, her first job had little to do with these languages. After working for a domestic clothing company for six years, mainly in charge of inventory control, she had the feeling that "it's different from what I want to do." She decided to quit the company and to go abroad — not to study, but just to live in her longtime beloved city of Paris. That was the turning point in her life at age 28.
"I traveled to Paris withdrawing all my savings," Takahashi recounted, "but thanks to my personal network, I found some temporary jobs there," which helped improve her language skills in English and French. She stayed in the city for two years. "Actually, I wanted to stay longer until a family matter made me return home."