| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Poll: Are you satisfied with your income as a freelance translator/interpreter? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Am I satisfied with my income as a freelance translator is not really a question for me. I survive mainly on my pensions.
I would not advise a young person to become a freelance translator for a livelihood. It´s a bit like going out in stormy weather in a small rowing boat.
My regular customers pay a decent fee but agencies are seldom prepared to pay an acceptable rate.
I started translating years ago on the side when it was a case of pencil, paper an eraser and rushin... See more Am I satisfied with my income as a freelance translator is not really a question for me. I survive mainly on my pensions.
I would not advise a young person to become a freelance translator for a livelihood. It´s a bit like going out in stormy weather in a small rowing boat.
My regular customers pay a decent fee but agencies are seldom prepared to pay an acceptable rate.
I started translating years ago on the side when it was a case of pencil, paper an eraser and rushing to post the results on time. Now that we have access to computers and all the trimmings customers want delivery yesterday.
I’m 86 and am seriously thinking about retiring… ▲ Collapse
| | | | TransGermanica 
United States
Local time: 17:14
German to English
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I am a part time translator with too many years of experience.... that means, I'm expensive. I get some good work that way, but not enough. If I lower my rates, I'm afraid it won't be worth it anymore.
| | | | | Seriously thinking about going over the fence, where the grass may seem greener :) | Apr 27, 2015 |
George Hopkins wrote:
I’m 86 and am seriously thinking about retiring…
Wow, George... I hope I will still have robust intellect at this age. I am turning 53 this year, and I hope to stop active translation work at the age of 55, and focus on running my niche translation agency thereafter.
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 18:14
Portuguese to English
+ ...
The situation in Brazil regarding income is very, very bad.
The main cause (as I am sure it is elsewhere in the world): rates getting lower by the day as the market gets inundated with people who have spent a couple of weeks in Miami and think they can do translation; crippling taxes that have had a devastating effect on Brazilian industry in general; no control over how low rates can go. Sworn translations have a set rate, but unfortunately this is not the case with regular freelance tran... See more The situation in Brazil regarding income is very, very bad.
The main cause (as I am sure it is elsewhere in the world): rates getting lower by the day as the market gets inundated with people who have spent a couple of weeks in Miami and think they can do translation; crippling taxes that have had a devastating effect on Brazilian industry in general; no control over how low rates can go. Sworn translations have a set rate, but unfortunately this is not the case with regular freelance translation work.
Things look to get even worse, as major companies such as Alcoa and possibly HSBC are pulling out of Brazil, tired of so many taxes and high labour costs. The economy is grinding to a halt, inflation soaring and unemployment soaring. ▲ Collapse
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| Quite happy with life! | Apr 27, 2015 |
I think life is what we make of it. If someone is not happy with the way it is now, why not change?
Since my husband and I decided 12 years ago to work as freelancers, we are the happiest persons around. We were scared but did it anyway, and Boy did we take the right decision! We can work from everywhere, we travel a lot (with our laptops), we spend all of our winters by the sea, life is everything we ever wanted.
Each one of us is able to build their own happy life, just close you... See more I think life is what we make of it. If someone is not happy with the way it is now, why not change?
Since my husband and I decided 12 years ago to work as freelancers, we are the happiest persons around. We were scared but did it anyway, and Boy did we take the right decision! We can work from everywhere, we travel a lot (with our laptops), we spend all of our winters by the sea, life is everything we ever wanted.
Each one of us is able to build their own happy life, just close your eyes and jump!!! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | @Fabienne: +1 | Apr 27, 2015 |
Fabienne Agin wrote:
Each one of us is able to build their own happy life, just close your eyes and jump!!!
| | | | | I am very happy- but only because I already had a sound financial basis | Apr 27, 2015 |
My income has developed nicely.
I keep investing in very good hardware, software and additional input (creating TMX, studying certain subjects at university, etc), and that accumulated investment pays out very nicely now.
BUT
I developed my freelancing from being an investment banker- so earned the basis for my lifestyle. If I had to pay rent & get tree kids through university on what I make as a freelancer, I'd go back to trading.
So the answer is- I am extremely happ... See more My income has developed nicely.
I keep investing in very good hardware, software and additional input (creating TMX, studying certain subjects at university, etc), and that accumulated investment pays out very nicely now.
BUT
I developed my freelancing from being an investment banker- so earned the basis for my lifestyle. If I had to pay rent & get tree kids through university on what I make as a freelancer, I'd go back to trading.
So the answer is- I am extremely happy because I can apply what I studied, what I am good at, and what I like doing- but only because of my circumstances. ▲ Collapse
| | | | mccamel
Local time: 23:14
German to English
| most of the time | Apr 28, 2015 |
I am generally satisfied with what I earn - of course it could be more, but then I would have to work (even) more.
The reason most are unsatisfied is beacause they do not have enough to do - and, if that is the case, one should ask some questions ...
My feeling is that most "full time" translators can at least make ends meet - and that is something not everybody can say these days.
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Martha Schwan
Brazil
Local time: 18:14
Member
English to Portuguese
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| Not at this time | Apr 28, 2015 |
I have been quite steady just working as a freelance Now I am facing a lot of difficulties to get more clients and my regular ones just vanished. I offer my services during the weekends and very low rates in order to keep my regular. I really hoping that this situation gets better.
| | | | sylvie29
Morocco
Local time: 22:14
English to French
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| Totally dissatisfied! | Apr 28, 2015 |
Although I love my job, I have seen prices diminishing over the years, but not the cost of life. And honestly, if translators as a profession, people like me who have been to university, have lived abroad, etc. to perfect their knowledge do not act, prices will carry on going down.
| | | | sylvie29
Morocco
Local time: 22:14
English to French
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| At least someone realistic! | Apr 28, 2015 |
Totally approve and it cannot carry on but what, as translators, are we trying to do? I have raised forums before, noone seems bothered.
Paul Dixon wrote:
The situation in Brazil regarding income is very, very bad.
The main cause (as I am sure it is elsewhere in the world): rates getting lower by the day as the market gets inundated with people who have spent a couple of weeks in Miami and think they can do translation; crippling taxes that have had a devastating effect on Brazilian industry in general; no control over how low rates can go. Sworn translations have a set rate, but unfortunately this is not the case with regular freelance translation work.
Things look to get even worse, as major companies such as Alcoa and possibly HSBC are pulling out of Brazil, tired of so many taxes and high labour costs. The economy is grinding to a halt, inflation soaring and unemployment soaring.
| | | | sylvie29
Morocco
Local time: 22:14
English to French
+ ...
| Do you have any bill to pay? | Apr 28, 2015 |
I cannot believe your answer, try a daughter in uni and you'll see that your income needs to go up not down!!!
Fabienne Agin wrote:
I think life is what we make of it. If someone is not happy with the way it is now, why not change?
Since my husband and I decided 12 years ago to work as freelancers, we are the happiest persons around. We were scared but did it anyway, and Boy did we take the right decision! We can work from everywhere, we travel a lot (with our laptops), we spend all of our winters by the sea, life is everything we ever wanted.
Each one of us is able to build their own happy life, just close your eyes and jump!!!
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| Sticking to your guns, keeping up with technology, and paying decent rates | Apr 28, 2015 |
The above reflects my approach to running a translation agency business.
Many translators in Russia (even the more professional ones) are willing to accept jobs that are paid for at US$0.02-0.03 per source word. Being paid at this level means you have to work very hard to pay your bills. You are unlikely to have much time for CPD, and you are equally unlikely to have extra money to invest into commercial CAT tools, best PDF-to-Word converters, etc.
My first internationa... See more The above reflects my approach to running a translation agency business.
Many translators in Russia (even the more professional ones) are willing to accept jobs that are paid for at US$0.02-0.03 per source word. Being paid at this level means you have to work very hard to pay your bills. You are unlikely to have much time for CPD, and you are equally unlikely to have extra money to invest into commercial CAT tools, best PDF-to-Word converters, etc.
My first international client (a marine insurance company) paid me US$0.06 per word back in 2002. I raised my rates several times between 2002 and now. Moreover, I am gradually switching to direct clients right now. To do this, you need the prerequisite infrastructure in place that will enable you to handle large projects with tight deadlines.
The ability to process large volumes and meet very tight deadlines, while maintaining high quality is the key to long-term business relationships with direct clients. In its turn, the quality primarily depends on the expertise and professional skills of the translators, editors and DTP experts involved in the project. And you need to pay prime rates, if you want to work with the best language professionals in our industry. However, as I can see, many translation agencies prefer different business models... which makes me feel confident I will be in a position to stand out and make unique selling propositions to prospective direct clients.
[Edited at 2015-04-28 15:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | eski
Mexico
Local time: 15:14
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
MODERATOR | Eski's story: Elizabeth Anne: A bridge over troubled waters | Apr 28, 2015 |
Hi all;
Without getting all "spiritual" on you, I want to pay my gratitude for someone who has changed my life and multiplied my joy as a translator immensely. I apologize beforehand, because this might be a long read. If you need a little inspiration, bear with me and read below:
In general, my observation is that -in some way-our present income -as translators or otherwise- reflects our perception of the times we live in and what we can do to improve our present situation within ... See more Hi all;
Without getting all "spiritual" on you, I want to pay my gratitude for someone who has changed my life and multiplied my joy as a translator immensely. I apologize beforehand, because this might be a long read. If you need a little inspiration, bear with me and read below:
In general, my observation is that -in some way-our present income -as translators or otherwise- reflects our perception of the times we live in and what we can do to improve our present situation within our chosen environment.
Allow me to explain: 11 years ago I was a practicing architect and construction supervisor, building projects that I designed in a partnership with a friend who owned a a healthy construction firm with a bit of heavy machinery in Mexico. I would say that our income was considered fairly high by most standards. One day I suffered an accident which involved falling some 9 metres from a scaffolding tower on to a marble floor in a church remodel. A rope tied to my waiist (and the hand of God) saved my life, but one foot was severely damaged as a result of the fall. (Thank God, I have practically recovered 95% since then.)
That sole event ended my career as a building supervisor, although I still design from my home office. On crutches and unable to walk around onsite I was not a happy camper.
A friend recommended me and following up on his recommendation; I landed a Job at Loyola Pacific University in Acapulco, as an adjunct professor to the architecture faculty. For the next few months our household income was severely affected, as I could only teach less than 20 hours a week; with students helping me climb the stairs at the university, etc. (my classes were on the third floor and the design of the campus does not include elevators).
What to do? I eventually had breakfast with another friend and related my predicament: teaching limited hours just wasn't going to do it for me and my family. He told me that he knew of an English teaching institute with over 100 schools throughout the country that was about to open a new school very close to where I live (in proximity to "La Gran Plaza" in Acapulco). That very afternoon I went and, after an interview with the director, was asked to present myself for the next 4 weeks on Saturday mornings from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM to give classes to students who couldn't study on weekdays. After that initial month (earning even less than I did at Loyola), I was hired on a permanent basis and spent the next 4 years as a full-time Engish instructor working from 7AM to 9PM daily and I also continued to fill the Saturday schedule. The pay wasn't great, but the hours added up and at the end of the day, I earned enough to provide my family with a decent lifestyle. But I knew this wasn't my ideal. In my third year I was promoted to regional supervisor and that nearly doubled my salary (the downside being that I was hopping on an airplane 3-4 times a week supervising schools around the country (and, necessarily - away from home).
How I got into translation. At my home base school ("HH" in Acapulco) - where I continued to teach when I wasn't sent on the road to supervise - we had a 3-hour lunch break from 1-3 PM daily. I would sit in the computer lab and surf the net, looking for a way to use what little navegating skills I had to make better use of my freetime (for example; some of my fellow teachers would sit there at the same time and download music from i-Tunes, or watch YouTube videos, etc.) I started buying scale model cars from online distributors (one of my hobbies at the time) to re-sell (quite a lucrative enterprise, BTW - if you know what you're doing). One day a student (an older woman) asked me if I could translate a legal document concerning a divorce settlement for her. I hadn't done any (professional) translation for a nunmber of years altho' back in the '80's I had my own English Academy for Executives in Mexico City, so translation was not something new to me, I was rather, just a bit "rusty".
Before I'd finished translating the document (it took me 3 days to finish the divorce translation on my freetime (mind you, this was before I had my own computer at home; I used my freetime in the computer lab with the director's permission), I landed a second translation job from another student. This 2nd translation also involved a legal dispute: property damage. The student was suing a yacht owner for accidentally damaging his catamaran, and he needed the translation 'ipso facto'. I added Another 15% to my rates for the rush assignment, which the client was happy to pay. Even charging a modest hourly fee; I added 30% to my weekly salary. I realised I was on to something!
6 months later I quit my job as a teacher/supervisor at "HH", bought my own computer, and set up a small office next to our kitchen counter at home. A year and a half later I discovered ProZ.com. Starting from virtually zero, I worked like a fiend, had very little income for a good while , but it slowly picked up as I started to land more assignments.
I had my sights on a goal and my vision, thank God, was not blurred by doubt.
"Success" (that is a very relative word, IYKWIM) is elusive , but not impossile and much more likely when you have a definite goal and are willing to put every ounce of commitment into your work, but that's just my opinion - being the "eternal optimist" - as my wife says. For a year I answered every question I could on the English and Spanish Kudoz forums, and worked my way up to the top position of the "Leaders" list for almost as many months. In 2011 I was invited to join the moderator staff at KudoZ and thanks to the infinite patience and encouragement of my peers and especially the ProZ.com staff, I'm still moderating on KudoZ today.
The "Miracle worker":
In 2012 I invited my daughter, Elizabeth Anne, also a ProZ.com member - who lives with her husband and kids in Mexico City- to form a translation co-op, after we attended the Mexico City ProZ.com pow-wow in Colonia Roma. I can truly share with you that inviting Elizabeth to work with me (she is also a marketing student at Monterrey Tech (ITESM) has resulted in being able to expand my vision far beyond anything I could have accomplished on my own.
In 2013 we landed a translation project with a major international banking institute with a 7-figure text volume. We had to buy a Trados licence in order to clinch the job, but the PM was already one of our clients and a friend as well. Partly through her efforts, we were able to get Trados at very little cost (we purchased an 'extra' licence fom another dear and mutual friend who owned two licenses in return for inviting her to participate in the bank translation as part of our team.)
When I fell off that scaffold, I honestly thought my career was shot. At the time I had little hopes of ever having a similar level of income again (I'm 65, and not getting any younger- IYKWIM!) But I refused to believe I was beat. Inviting Liz to come onboard turned my whole life around. True, we don't sign million-word contracts every day. But we have also built a collaborative with a few close translator friends -all ProZians, BTW - and regularly take on large-volume projects on a weekly basis.
The downside? (And there almost always is one). Bags under my eyes; a required 40-minute daily workout to keep my waistline under size 36; sometimes no free weekends (but we make up for it when the workload eases up ), routinely staring at a pc monitor 16 hours a day; you know the drill by now.
No we are not "translation moguls" by any stretch of the imagination (although I confess that I do sometimes dream). What we are is possibly the most dedicated online translation collaborative in Mexico and we work like hell to keep pushing the envelope. And that, dear friends, is my story and my vision for this profession.
With love, from Acapulco
esk
PS: As an added note: this year one of our most important clients in Europe confessed that the situation in his country is rather dismal and asked if we would be willing to come down US$0.01 per word (one cent) on our fees in order to continue working with them. We agreed. The result? We have received TWICE as much work from this client as before and he has become our most important outsourcer. Just a thought. grab that wave!!! )
i
[Edited at 2015-04-28 15:47 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-04-28 15:58 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-04-28 16:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pretty satisfied but not resting on my laurels | Apr 28, 2015 |
Living in France my social security contributions are huge but I seem to get by all right. I have - finally - learned to simply say "no" to people who want me to work for below what I think is acceptable. I am helped hugely in this by the magician who did my website and got the referencing so right I have plenty of demand.
When people try to negotiate me down I do the math for them, explaining how many words I can translate per day and translating their rate into a day's income and (polite... See more Living in France my social security contributions are huge but I seem to get by all right. I have - finally - learned to simply say "no" to people who want me to work for below what I think is acceptable. I am helped hugely in this by the magician who did my website and got the referencing so right I have plenty of demand.
When people try to negotiate me down I do the math for them, explaining how many words I can translate per day and translating their rate into a day's income and (politely) ask them if they would be prepared to work for that. The biggest hurdle though is the number of people/businesses in France who seem quite satisfied with something vaguely resembling English rather than the real thing! ▲ Collapse
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