| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: How long is a typical job/project for you? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | Gudrun Maydorn (X) 
Germany
Local time: 13:13
English to German
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Anything from 3 hours to 3 weeks.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 13:13
Member (2009)
English to German
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There is no such thing as a typical job for me. Some jobs need perhaps 1 hour, others 10 - 20 hours, while still others cover several months.
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I seem to be in a minority here. I'd say an overall average for my jobs is 30 K words, though of course some are shorter. They are often much longer. If it's over 100 K, I tend to burn out focusing on the same subject for such a long time, unless it's something that really fascinates me.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 13:13
Spanish to English
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It varies between clients, and within each client's area too. For example, one long-standing client used to send me larger, longer documents like manuals and contracts, SLAs etc., but nowadays they usually just send me shorter texts, between a few hundred to a couple of thousand words, usually for posting as news items on their website. However, they recently sent me 2 larger texts again which are a pain in the... neck, due to formatting issues (tables, text boxes) which are taking quite a bit l... See more It varies between clients, and within each client's area too. For example, one long-standing client used to send me larger, longer documents like manuals and contracts, SLAs etc., but nowadays they usually just send me shorter texts, between a few hundred to a couple of thousand words, usually for posting as news items on their website. However, they recently sent me 2 larger texts again which are a pain in the... neck, due to formatting issues (tables, text boxes) which are taking quite a bit longer than their usual texts in workable (Word) formats.
Another market research client is sending me verbatims this week, and most of these files are around 1000 words, but I don't know how many files there will be when the project comes to a close...
They’ve just sent me a questionnaire template to translate “urgently”, but it's only 300 words.
So, basically in my case the question is tantamount to "how long is a piece of string". ▲ Collapse
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Typical? There is no such thing as a typical job. I have been working for some years with an UN agency on very long jobs (2/3 months), one of my long-standing clients tends to send longish jobs (2/3 weeks), another tends to send shortish jobs (1/2 day), most are in-between...
[Edited at 2015-08-26 12:50 GMT]
| | | | | Other: Random! | Aug 26, 2015 |
Their size varies immensely.
From one same client, I have invoices (they require one invoice per job) ranging from one to five digits in USD.
The time span also varies. I had a once-in-a-lifetime client (moving out of the country) who sent me material to translate in batches, over a four-month period.
Another client sends me video to translate and subtitle. Playing time ranges from 2 minutes to 2 hours per order.
Imagine playing Sokoban with bo... See more Their size varies immensely.
From one same client, I have invoices (they require one invoice per job) ranging from one to five digits in USD.
The time span also varies. I had a once-in-a-lifetime client (moving out of the country) who sent me material to translate in batches, over a four-month period.
Another client sends me video to translate and subtitle. Playing time ranges from 2 minutes to 2 hours per order.
Imagine playing Sokoban with boxes of all imaginable sizes. My time management is somewhat like that. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 20:13
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Jobs can last 5 minutes - at my minimum charge, of course.
Projects can last 5 months - not at my minimum charge, of course.
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| "Typical" jobs do not exist for me! | Aug 26, 2015 |
My jobs are very varied and it is impossible to describe a "typical" job. As Julian said, they can take from 5 minutes to 5 months.
| | | | | There is no "typical" | Aug 26, 2015 |
Certain categories may be a typical length, but other than that, it varies.
| | | | | About a day's work on average | Aug 26, 2015 |
Obviously some jobs are shorter and some are longer. But shortish jobs suit my attention span.
As usual, I'm slightly alarmed that so many people round here seem unable to grasp the concept of "on average"...
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Chris S wrote:
As usual, I'm slightly alarmed that so many people round here seem unable to grasp the concept of "on average"...
If I had my head next to an oven going at full blast and my feet inside a bucket filled with ice cubes, the "average" temperature would be quite pleasant. That's the variety of translation jobs I get in terms of size/duration.
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José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
If I had my head next to an oven going at full blast and my feet inside a bucket filled with ice cubes, the "average" temperature would be quite pleasant. That's the variety of translation jobs I get in terms of size/duration.
I think my head would be *in* the oven...
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Chris S wrote: José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
If I had my head next to an oven going at full blast and my feet inside a bucket filled with ice cubes, the "average" temperature would be quite pleasant. That's the variety of translation jobs I get in terms of size/duration. I think my head would be *in* the oven...
That would kinda burn the midnight oil inside it!
I did it a couple of times in the past; don't do it any more, e.g. working 19-hour shifts on three consecutive days. Now I have successfully set limits for my maximum (work)load.
| | | | Alaa Zeineldine
Egypt
Local time: 13:13
Member (2002)
English to Arabic
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| Typical vs. average | Aug 26, 2015 |
The question is about a typical job/project, not an average one. You can't use math to answer this one.
For me, my typical project is about as long as my typical translation experience.
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