There have been many occasions when we get an assignment having to do with a language or dialect we've never heard of. Most of our clients are based in California because this is where I studied and began the business, although we have clients throughout the United States. And, no, there isn't a typical job, however, the majority of work we get from our California clientele is legal or related to the entertainment industry. In some other states we get quite a bit of business in the field of international public relations. Calculating the charges and the time needed comes with experience.
Translations are very complex.
It takes a professional several hours of editing and re- writing because a document cannot simply be translated verbatim. Computer translation programs are not accurate and cannot be relied upon. Also of note are the many cultural differences that a computer cannot take into account, which may make or break a translation. Some cross-cultural differences are political, social, economic and religious in nature. Well, in this business, no two days are the same when you have to take language, personal, social, religious, and political bearings into consideration.