Hello, I am a foreign language major. I have studied for six years. Four years for undergraduate and two years for master. I graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University, which should be a good school. According to my experience, there are few full-time translators in our class after graduation. Because translation is too difficult. Think about what it's like not to look up and translate every day. Of course, many people are translators, but that doesn't mean they only do translation. Maybe he took the civil service exam, or did translation-related work in a certain unit, and his position was translation. In that case, the salary is not based on your translation. Some positions may also be paid for translation, but generally speaking, the salary is determined according to the salary standard of the unit.

According to your question, I think you might want to be a freelancer. Being a freelance translator is very hard, because a considerable part, maybe two thirds, will be exploited by translation companies. As for income, it doesn't matter how long you work, it depends on how many things you can turn over. The more you climb, the harder it is. If you are a freelance translator, your income will be much higher than that of translation. However, it is more difficult to enter the business, because senior people divide up the market. If you want to squeeze in, you can only compete with others by asking for low prices at first. When your reputation comes out, you can improve your social status.

In short, freelancers are far more stressful than working for others, and they also need courage. There are more and more people who can speak English now, and the translation industry is not as good as before.

As for the certificate, the translation market pays little attention to it, especially interpretation, which still depends on your actual ability. However, it is still a bit difficult to evaluate professional titles by taking the Central Translation Bureau.

I wonder if my answer can satisfy you. You can ask questions again.