What skill is more useful in the world, origami or learning a language?

ReadingTim

Unless you're planning to learning a language to degree standard, including significant time abroad, which your disability and long-term unemployment may preclude, then I don't think that's the way to go. 

In this country, I think there are already enough bilingual or native foreign language speakers who are fluent in English to mean you're unlikely to get much of a look in - frankly everyone else in the world wants to learn English, meaning everyday / conversational translators are ten a penny.  In that respect, you're better off going abroad and teaching English as a foreign language, again, which your disability may preclude.  

That said, there might be opportunities in technical translation (medical, legal, etc), however, you will need to understand or be qualified in a particular industry or profession and its terms, concepts, jargon etc to actually be able to do it.  Not sure you're in that space either.  

DullGreyGuy

ReadingTim said:

Unless you're planning to learning a language to degree standard, including significant time abroad, which your disability and long-term unemployment may preclude, then I don't think that's the way to go. 

In this country, I think there are already enough bilingual or native foreign language speakers who are fluent in English to mean you're unlikely to get much of a look in - frankly everyone else in the world wants to learn English, meaning everyday / conversational translators are ten a penny.  In that respect, you're better off going abroad and teaching English as a foreign language, again, which your disability may preclude.  

Wife is a native foreign language speaker and has done some translation work and so knows some other translators. They all state that "professionals" all translate into their native language and so in theory native foreign language speakers here are not competitors to those that are native English speakers and bi/multi-lingual. 

I'm sure in the freelance world people translate in both directions as it's cutthroat and people go for whatever they can get. 

It's certainly easier to learn a language by spending time in a country where it's natively spoke but it's not the only way else no one could be fluent in Esperanto. You really do need to have a passion for it though and that therefore will probably also mean music, films etc in the language.