How do you get started? Most companies require 5 years of experience or more?!?

Admittedly, it can be difficult and slow getting started in translation. I didn't have a mentor and it probably took me a good two years before I had a steady flow of work.  Below are a few things you can do to speed up the time it takes you to get into translation.

1. Memberships: All translators should join their local and/or national translators association(s).  If you live in the United States, there is the American Translators Association (www.atanet.org). Apart from the obvious benefits, membership in such associations shows the companies you work for that you are interested in current events and the current state of the industry. All things being equal, I am more likely to hire a translator who can demonstrate active membership in their relevant translator associations.
2. Find agencies: Another benefit of memberships is they often help find local, national and international agencies that you can the contact about translation and getting registered in their translators' databases.  In addition, if you are not already a subscriber, downloading MultiLingual magazine's annual resource directories (http://www.multilingual.com/resourceDirectory/) is free.  This is an easy way to find and contact agencies.
3. Translation test: Once agencies begin to respond to your inquiries, offer to take translation tests for them.  Many agencies are willing to work with new(er) translators if they have an opportunity to evaluate your translation skills and the quality of your work. In addition to editing your translations anyway (which every agency should do if they are reputable, i.e., there should be a 2-step process at a minimum), agencies may be willing to send you a translation test. The great thing about a translation test is that you can have as many other people review your translation (e.g., kind of like having several people review a term paper in college) before submitting it.
4. Competitive pricing: When you first get started, give yourself an obvious advantage over others by offering competitive prices for your work.  Of course, you don't want to be half the price of your "competitors" because agencies may not take you seriously. On the other hand, you do want to be equal to or less than your competitors. Margins in the translation industry can be very small and anytime an agency can save even 2% on the cost of working with you, for example, it will be just that much more in your favor. How do you know what your competitors' pricing is? In addition to asking colleagues, translators often list their prices on sites such as Proz.com.

These are just a few things you can do to get started.  Please share with us your thoughts and what other things you have found helpful in getting started.