| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | What do you reply to 'What's your job' Thread poster: Christine Ghafoor
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polskiexpert
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34
Member (2010)
Polish to English
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Hi there
I just say: 'self-employed and do mostly interpreting but when I am tired of talking;) I enter the world of written words...'
I wonder how many people here do a bit of everything: (interpreting and translations?)
Enjoy
Marcin
| | | | | "I'm a translator." | Jul 30, 2009 |
Or "I own a translation business."
As Steven said, people in the US usually think I'm an interpreter. Once I explain the difference, they often wonder who in the world needs German translations (thinking that my mainstay is people in the neighborhood??) Once I explain that, they pretty much get it and think it's kind of interesting. The next comment is usually "I wish I had learned a foreign language" or "I forgot all of my high school Spanish/French/German." Occasionally I see the ... See more Or "I own a translation business."
As Steven said, people in the US usually think I'm an interpreter. Once I explain the difference, they often wonder who in the world needs German translations (thinking that my mainstay is people in the neighborhood??) Once I explain that, they pretty much get it and think it's kind of interesting. The next comment is usually "I wish I had learned a foreign language" or "I forgot all of my high school Spanish/French/German." Occasionally I see the wheels turning, wondering whether I could possibly be making a living from this.
Generally, though, I don't have problems explaining being a small business owner. I have friends who are financial planners, yoga teachers, consultants of various kinds, writers, Web designers - a lot of them are entrepreneurs of some kind, in fact. They all understand the ups and downs of freelancing and owning your own business. (The rest of my friends are teachers married to the above entrepreneurs, so we're really in very similar situations.)
PS Steven, I once looked for disability insurance, too, and had an insurance company (Mutual of Omaha) tell me that they had a requirement that freelancers work outside the home for a certain number of days per week to even qualify for disability ins. Seems like the opposite of the situation you described, so you can't win, apparently.
[Edited at 2009-07-30 15:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | conejo 
United States
Local time: 14:34
Japanese to English
+ ...
"What's your job?"
>>I'm a translator.
"Where do you work?"
>>I'm self-employed. (then proceed to the above question, lol)
I think "translator" is the easiest for most people to understand, although the general public tends to have odd ideas about what a "translator" does, and a lot of people assume that I'm an interpreter.
I will never forget the time I was on an airplane going home from a business trip and I ended up in a conversation with th... See more "What's your job?"
>>I'm a translator.
"Where do you work?"
>>I'm self-employed. (then proceed to the above question, lol)
I think "translator" is the easiest for most people to understand, although the general public tends to have odd ideas about what a "translator" does, and a lot of people assume that I'm an interpreter.
I will never forget the time I was on an airplane going home from a business trip and I ended up in a conversation with the woman in the seat next to me. She asked me what I did for a living, and I told her I was a translator. Then she looked at me and said in a very condescending tone, "But I thought computers did all that now."
I really really wanted to strangle her at that moment. (lol)
But instead I proceeded to explain to her in detail exactly why nobody would want such machine translations... that oftentimes nobody can really understand what they are saying, the meaning is lost, etc...
 It's up to us to educate people when they ask, because no one else can or will. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 13:34
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Ghafoor wrote:
When somebody asks you 'Do you work?' what do you reply?
- I am a translator
- I do translations
- I am freelance
- I work from home
- I have a home office
- ???
I am a translator.
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| Not sure what circles you run in | Jul 30, 2009 |
Sarah Downing wrote:
I'm not ashamed of what I have achieved, but I do wish that the profession of translator had a higher profile in places like Germany, where there is a frequent tendency for people to assume that any idiot can do it.
In Germany, it's generally only the idiots that make that assumption. The others quickly learn the cost of unprofessional work and value the efforts of professionals that set things right. As long as you differentiate yourself from the wanna-be actors, waiters and students who translate a bit on the side for an undiscriminating clientele you can find plenty of respect in Germany. In a pinch you can always take their silly state exams and get yourself sworn by the local courts. I did it more as a joke than anything else, but the unwashed are impressed by a few extra letters placed in front of one's name and you can charge a good premium for exactly the same service you gave before. Just remember the stupid notions of social hierarchy here and in many other places, play them for what they're worth and you can enjoy a reasonable amount of social status.
Or better yet just stay home with the hamster and the cat, forget the idiots and their pecking order and enjoy an existence that lacks much of the daily stress and humiliation the rest have to put up with.
What do I say if asked what I do for a living? Usually I say I'm a "Penner". I try to dress the part too.
| | | | EHI (X)
Local time: 21:34
Kevin Lossner wrote:
Or better yet just stay home with the hamster and the cat, forget the idiots and their pecking order and enjoy an existence that lacks much of the daily stress and humiliation the rest have to put up with.
What do I say if asked what I do for a living? Usually I say I'm a "Penner". I try to dress the part too.
I like that
| | | | | A bit of everything | Jul 30, 2009 |
Marcin Rachmiel wrote:
Hi there
I just say: 'self-employed and do mostly interpreting but when I am tired of talking;) I enter the world of written words...'
I wonder how many people here do a bit of everything: (interpreting and translations?)
Enjoy
Marcin
You've asked how many of us are here... well, I'm here!
I mostly intepret. I do translations every now and then, but the bulk of my work (about 80 to 90%) is interpreting.
My answer to the original question is: I'm a self-employed interpreter and translator. After that, all kinds of quetions follow, some of which I'm pleased to answer, and some make me question the sanity of the asker. I was never asked "do you make enough?" (a dumb question, in my view), but I was asked "do you have enough hours of work to come up to 40 hours a week?" - which is even dumber, come to think of it.
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 15:34
German to English
| I do things with computers | Jul 31, 2009 |
I live in an academic community and I learned long ago that people here look down their noses at individuals who do technical translations. "You have all those degrees and you're doing THAT?" Somehow the local intelligentsia expects translators to spend their time translating great literature, even though that's a tiny part of the US market. I'm perfectly happy not talking about my work.
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| freelancer? - oh poor thing | Jul 31, 2009 |
I got angry the other day when my mother reported a conversation she had with her neighbor back in the states.
The neighbor asked if I was STILL a freelancer ('Tsk tsk') and maybe since I like translating, I should try to make it a career and apply for a job somewhere prestigious, like the UN.
Turns out this neighbor's comments revived my mother's fears that I'm digging through dumpsters for food and am resigned to a career equivalent of bagging groceries.
Grrr.<... See more I got angry the other day when my mother reported a conversation she had with her neighbor back in the states.
The neighbor asked if I was STILL a freelancer ('Tsk tsk') and maybe since I like translating, I should try to make it a career and apply for a job somewhere prestigious, like the UN.
Turns out this neighbor's comments revived my mother's fears that I'm digging through dumpsters for food and am resigned to a career equivalent of bagging groceries.
Grrr.
This just illustrates that most people I meet find 'freelancers' to be poor souls who couldn't get a job elsewhere.
I tried presenting myself more accurately, saying I run a translation business; but they always assume I have employees. When I correct them, they answer 'Oh...you mean you're actually just a freelancer'.
My brother has the same statute but he's a programmer/developper. Yet, he gets a polite nod and a spark of interest from people because he's a .... "Contractor". ooo, ahh
Actually, I don't care about their comments, I just care about stopping my mom's worried phone calls wondering if I can make my next mortgage payment as I lead my careless, bohemian life. ▲ Collapse
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Alexandra Goldburt wrote: Marcin Rachmiel wrote:
Hi there
I just say: 'self-employed and do mostly interpreting but when I am tired of talking;) I enter the world of written words...'
I wonder how many people here do a bit of everything: (interpreting and translations?)
Enjoy
Marcin You've asked how many of us are here... well, I'm here! I mostly intepret. I do translations every now and then, but the bulk of my work (about 80 to 90%) is interpreting. My answer to the original question is: I'm a self-employed interpreter and translator. After that, all kinds of quetions follow, some of which I'm pleased to answer, and some make me question the sanity of the asker. I was never asked "do you make enough?" (a dumb question, in my view), but I was asked "do you have enough hours of work to come up to 40 hours a week?" - which is even dumber, come to think of it.
| | | | Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
Romania
Local time: 22:34
Romanian to English
+ ...
| translator and conference interpreter | Jul 31, 2009 |
This is my answer: freelance translator and conference interpreter, since I do them both.
Maria-Letitia
[Edited at 2009-07-31 10:55 GMT]
| | | | | Words I'll never forget | Jul 31, 2009 |
Kevin Fulton wrote:
I live in an academic community and I learned long ago that people here look down their noses at individuals who do technical translations.
As Arlene Feynman once said to Richard, who was afraid of being embarassed over some trivial thing: "What do you care what other people think?" Words worth pondering.
The good academics understand that personal fulfillment is what's most important, not meeting the expectations of others. I was quite pleased one day that a professor of mine, who was probably once a bit miffed at me for blowing off grad school at Stanford, suggested that I consider elementary school education when he finally realized that I preferred changing diapers, reading stories and teaching Trachtenberg math basics to dealing with corporate clients or research directors with expectations that run contrary to actual data.
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| STILL WORKING 9 TO 5? I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO HEAR THAT... | Jul 31, 2009 |
N.M. Eklund wrote:
I got angry the other day when my mother reported a conversation she had with her neighbor back in the states.
The neighbor asked if I was STILL a freelancer ('Tsk tsk') and maybe since I like translating, I should try to make it a career and apply for a job somewhere prestigious, like the UN.
Turns out this neighbor's comments revived my mother's fears that I'm digging through dumpsters for food and am resigned to a career equivalent of bagging groceries.
Grrr.
This just illustrates that most people I meet find 'freelancers' to be poor souls who couldn't get a job elsewhere.
ctually, I don't care about their comments, I just care about stopping my mom's worried phone calls wondering if I can make my next mortgage payment as I lead my careless, bohemian life. [/quote]
To people like you mother's neighbour, I would answer: "I consider people with 'secure' jobs to be poor souls who traded freedom for security, and I most sincerely pity them".
It is awful - NOT to be able to take a vacation whenever you like. To have a boss. (And there is no such thing as a "nice" boss - at best, you have a tolerable one, and at worst... no, I don't even want to go there). To deal with office gossip. To say "How are you?" with a smile to your co-workers as if you really care. To have at least one co-worker who's a pain in [insert your favorite body part]. And, in the United States, it usully means an office with no windows (or a "cubicle", a true horrendos invention) and only one week of vacation a year. Oh, did I mention overtime?
No, thanks. Been there, done that, have scars to prove it. We, the self-employed, the independent contractors, have it best. We should not be concerned about the comments of those poor, poor souls who don't know better than to "pity" us.
Blessed be our "careless, bohemian life".
| | | | | Not that secure anymore | Aug 3, 2009 |
Alexandra Goldburt wrote:
To people like you mother's neighbour, I would answer: "I consider people with 'secure' jobs to be poor souls who traded freedom for security, and I most sincerely pity them".
I don't mind pointing out that with rare exceptions, being employed by someone else today isn't even all that secure! Most people I know have either been laid off at some stage or know a friend or family member who has, so it doesn't take much to make the point that my job is no less secure than theirs.
| | | | | Diana, you are absolutely right! | Aug 3, 2009 |
In fact, it's a false sense of security, and in many cases it's counterproductive.
If I loose one of my clients, it might be upsetting, but never a catastrophe. I'm used to constantly being on my feet, constantly marketing and re-marketing myself. I know better than to take my clients for granted.
But for a person who had the same job for 20 years, who has completely lost the skill of "looking for a job", being laid off can be the end of the world as she knows it.... See more In fact, it's a false sense of security, and in many cases it's counterproductive.
If I loose one of my clients, it might be upsetting, but never a catastrophe. I'm used to constantly being on my feet, constantly marketing and re-marketing myself. I know better than to take my clients for granted.
But for a person who had the same job for 20 years, who has completely lost the skill of "looking for a job", being laid off can be the end of the world as she knows it.
One more reason to cherish what we have, and laugh at those who "pity" us!
[Edited at 2009-08-03 17:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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