You're probably going to have a hard time with that if you don't go to school for it.

Most languages can be picked up in 2 years if that's all you are doing. Think rather about what countries or cultures interest you the most, and aim for teaching English there . You will get a chance to
>get paid while you learn the local language
>get laid because you will probably be a novelty and at least 1 girl in town will want to try you out

>>17087340
Freelance translator, native English speaker, and polyglot (conversant in six languages, have been paid to translate from four) here. It's very difficult to make a real living as a translator. You need to be able to hustle for work constantly. And to be able to translate well, you need a better command of a language than most people can get in a year or two unless you are really exceptional. All that said...

Austronesian languages (Indonesian/Malay and Tagalog/Filipino being the big ones) are quite simple to pick up; demand is not immense but neither is the pool of native English speakers translating from them. Vietnamese has growing demand as well, particularly as the country's export-oriented economy grows, and it's also fairly simple, at least in terms of grammar (I find the phonology tricky, but you did say translate rather than interpret).

Lots of people seem to find basic Spanish very quick to acquire, but the translator market in Spanish is probably too crowded for you to survive.

Chinese is high-demand and simple grammatically, but you're not likely to learn to read well enough to translate in just a year or two.

And for a final squirt of piss on your parade, for any of these languages you run the risk of being underbid by a native who can work cheaper than you. Your English may be better, but their price could be half what you ask for, and many clients will settle for weird English.

None of these are reasons not to try, they're just realities you should be aware of if you really mean to go for it.

Do NOT go to college to learn a language. Classes are fine but I can't tell you how many kids I talk to who are devastated they can't have very basic conversations after four years of Japanese. You have to make an effort of it and really push yourself. If you can do that, by all means get a degree.

As for languages, I'd ask what ones interest you? I've been studying Japanese for seven years because I love the culture and video games. Don't listen to detractors who tell you "don't study French because it's only the sixth largest economy." That's true, but that's still eighty million speakers, and millions of businesses and careers. You don't need millions of careers, you just need one to make it worth it. Learning a second language will also change how you think.

Lastly, don't become a translator for the money. It's extremely difficult to get proficient enough at a second language to become one, the new positions aren't all that high, and it only pays about fifty thousand on average. If you love it though, go for it.

>>17087582
Thanks I will keep these in mind. I'm not really looking to make tons of money just have new experiences.
>>17087621
The only language I've really been interested in is Spanish. But I couldn't compete with the large bilingual Spanish/English population in my country.