| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Do you think that rates are becoming a tougher issue than they were in the past? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Marc Sejourné 
Cambodia
Local time: 12:45
English to French
In memoriam | 15 years, same price | Dec 2, 2014 |
I could not really raise my minimum rate for 15 years, at the time it was good money today you cannot survive in France, with all the taxes. I moved to a better country. Not sure how my European colleagues can survive.
| | | | Strastran (X)
France
Local time: 07:45
French to English
+ ...
Marc Sejourné wrote:
I could not really raise my minimum rate for 15 years, at the time it was good money today you cannot survive in France, with all the taxes. I moved to a better country. Not sure how my European colleagues can survive.
I have the same rates as I did 9 years ago. Of course, everything has gone up since then - rent, food, bills, etc. Nonetheless, attempts to increase them have been unsuccessful. I find I can increase my rates if I wish, but I'll have to accept receiving less work.
If I were to contact a plumber I used nine years ago, I wouldn't expect his rates to be the same. I cannot understand why translation appears to be the only industry where it's very difficult to increase your rates.
| | | | | I dont feel it. | Dec 2, 2014 |
Happily
| | | | | Pressure to drop rates | Dec 2, 2014 |
Several of the agencies for whom I work, including the more "reputable" ones, have asked me to drop my rates, even though I am still charging the same rates I applied ten years ago!
I know a lot of colleagues have experienced the same pressure.
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Kersti Skovgaard
Estonia
Local time: 08:45
Member (2005)
English to Estonian
+ ...
| I have actually raised my rates | Dec 2, 2014 |
Over the past 2 years, I have actually raised my rates. Strangely enough, I should say "Thanks" to low rate translators whose often substandard work was sent to me for editing. Together with the clean files, I returned the files with tracked changes and that justified higher rate for editing. When I raised my rates for translation, about 5 agencies stopped sending work to me, the rest agreed to my new rates. It is important to have good reasons for putting up the rates for old clients and these ... See more Over the past 2 years, I have actually raised my rates. Strangely enough, I should say "Thanks" to low rate translators whose often substandard work was sent to me for editing. Together with the clean files, I returned the files with tracked changes and that justified higher rate for editing. When I raised my rates for translation, about 5 agencies stopped sending work to me, the rest agreed to my new rates. It is important to have good reasons for putting up the rates for old clients and these reasons need to be well communicated.
My experience is that both old and new clients accept higher rates when they need quality. Those who don't, go for "best rate" and get what they pay for. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Hamish Young
New Zealand
Local time: 17:45
Chinese to English
| Yes, but justifiably so | Dec 3, 2014 |
I personally have managed to raise my rates over the last five years since I started professional translation, but it's probably fair to say that I started from quite a low rate and worked my way up.
My impression of the industry in general is that rates have either stagnated or gone down over the past decade.
A key reason for this, and one which I don't think enough translators appreciate, is that translation has actually got much easier over the past decade.
<... See more I personally have managed to raise my rates over the last five years since I started professional translation, but it's probably fair to say that I started from quite a low rate and worked my way up.
My impression of the industry in general is that rates have either stagnated or gone down over the past decade.
A key reason for this, and one which I don't think enough translators appreciate, is that translation has actually got much easier over the past decade.
- "If I were to contact a plumber I used nine years ago, I wouldn't expect his rates to be the same. I cannot understand why translation appears to be the only industry where it's very difficult to increase your rates."
Here's my explanation:
The difficulty of plumbing has probably not changed much over nine years, but surely the difficulty of translation has. The major reason for this has been the development of the internet, and the efficiencies it has brought with it (lower barriers to entering the industry, faster workflows, online dictionaries, google searches). Sure, the world wide web was around 10 years ago but it is obviously much bigger and faster now, making it much easier to research obscure terms and fields.
Another reason is the development of MT, in particular google translate, which greatly assists the translation of technical texts, particularly for beginners.
The development of translation software has further assisted the translator, though perhaps not as much as the developers think.
Vast volumes of highly similar texts are being produced and translated, so that technical translators like myself can expect to translate substantially the same content over and over again.
The end result of all this is that in my opinion a translator charging the same rate as he or she did 9 years ago should expect to make far more money, as their productivity should exceed the productivity which was possible in 2005.
Seen in this context, the downward pressure on rates is inevitable, and we can expect the trend to continue. To stay competitive, translators need to become more efficient, and focus on improving monthly incomes rather than rates per word. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 02:45
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Agree, Hamish. | Dec 3, 2014 |
[...]
The end result of all this is that in my opinion a translator charging the same rate as he or she did 9 years ago should expect to make far more money, as their productivity should exceed the productivity which was possible in 2005.
[/quote]
We must agree with that!
In my specific case, I was able to raise my rates a bit when two things happened:
1) I tried to negotiate a raise with two of my best client agencies (in terms o... See more [...]
The end result of all this is that in my opinion a translator charging the same rate as he or she did 9 years ago should expect to make far more money, as their productivity should exceed the productivity which was possible in 2005.
[/quote]
We must agree with that!
In my specific case, I was able to raise my rates a bit when two things happened:
1) I tried to negotiate a raise with two of my best client agencies (in terms of volume), whose rates had been the same for 4 and 5 years, respectively. In Brazil, inflation is a lot higher than in Europe or in the US. 4/5 years without a readjusment is unacceptable. However, these two agencies simply stopped sending me jobs when I asked for a "raise".
2) I started looking for new agencies in Brazil, and they all offered me the same rates I refused in the other two or less.
The result is: I currently have no Brazilian clients at all. All agencies I work for are in Europe, USA or Canada. I work abroad and receive payment abroad, without leaving home.
There is no way I'll even reply e-mails from Brazil, India or China anymore. I tried many, but they are all looking for slaves. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | work flow dried up considerably | Dec 4, 2014 |
I had constant work flow (EN & DU > FR) from a dozen agencies up until a year ago, about 2x more than I could handle, and was continuously overworked. It all suddenly nearly dried up 12 months ago. Now, I only receive regular work from the very 1rst "intermediary" I started working with 4 years ago (also the one paying me the least). The 10 or so other agencies send me 10 times less work.
I had thought that the reason for the change was that foreign investment in France has plummet... See more I had constant work flow (EN & DU > FR) from a dozen agencies up until a year ago, about 2x more than I could handle, and was continuously overworked. It all suddenly nearly dried up 12 months ago. Now, I only receive regular work from the very 1rst "intermediary" I started working with 4 years ago (also the one paying me the least). The 10 or so other agencies send me 10 times less work.
I had thought that the reason for the change was that foreign investment in France has plummeted in last year due to new government, so that foreign companies need less marketing in France/Belgium. Now, after reading this thread, I understand that my interpretation may be wrong. May be the real reason is that I am being undercut by cheaper intrants on the market. May be the real reason is that rates are going down big time in my language pairs.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
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| rates in Spain | Dec 7, 2014 |
Spain has been hit particularly hard by the crisis and I have not dared to raise my rates for the past 3 (or 4?) years. In my case, I work for University professors and the one who pays is usualy the University. University teachers have suffered strong salary cuts and so have the universities, which have much less funds for research, salaries...and of course, translations. The word is that this will get worse. I often have to wait for 5 or 6 months to get paid because the universities are out of... See more Spain has been hit particularly hard by the crisis and I have not dared to raise my rates for the past 3 (or 4?) years. In my case, I work for University professors and the one who pays is usualy the University. University teachers have suffered strong salary cuts and so have the universities, which have much less funds for research, salaries...and of course, translations. The word is that this will get worse. I often have to wait for 5 or 6 months to get paid because the universities are out of money. In view of this, I have not dared to raise my rates. ▲ Collapse
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