Questions for starting out w/o experience and tools; and translating for supplemental income
Thread poster: Gene Brode (X)
Gene Brode (X)
Gene Brode (X)
United States
Local time: 06:28
Spanish to English
Oct 31, 2010

I have a variety of questions just starting out. First, about me. I'm still tweaking my profile, personal info, etc. I'm fluent in Spanish, native in English, have taught Spanish for a few years and now want to supplement my income with some basic translating in hopes of going full time at some point. I know that much information is available on ProZ, but finding it all in the forums is another story. Please pardon any redundant questions:

I have no professional translating exp
... See more
I have a variety of questions just starting out. First, about me. I'm still tweaking my profile, personal info, etc. I'm fluent in Spanish, native in English, have taught Spanish for a few years and now want to supplement my income with some basic translating in hopes of going full time at some point. I know that much information is available on ProZ, but finding it all in the forums is another story. Please pardon any redundant questions:

I have no professional translating experience, just what I worked on in college. I have no fax machine or laptop, no business experience, no idea about fair rates for inexperienced translators, and no CAT tools, and don't have much money to spend for these things. In fact, I only have WordPerfect Corel and Open Office as far as software goes. I read somewhere that you can get CAT demos... What all do I absolutely need, and what can I get by without?

Should I get some more things in order before I try to quote on any jobs? I noticed a perfect job for me the other day, 2 short letters from Spanish to English, but it was gone in the first 12 hours. Also, how often do small, easy jobs come by and do they get snatched up by "members" pretty regularly?

I have a ton more questions but want to keep on topic.
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Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)
Soonthon LUPKITARO(Ph.D.)  Identity Verified
Thailand
Local time: 17:28
English to Thai
+ ...
Start from your expertise Nov 1, 2010

Start from your expertise and you can enjoy your skill. This is better to gain extra income.

Soonthon Lupkitaro


 
Alexandre Maricato
Alexandre Maricato
Brazil
Local time: 07:28
English to Portuguese
Long list Nov 1, 2010

Try very low paying jobs (or do it for free) to gain experience. Save some money from your regular work to buy the minimum tools you need to work (computer, software). Learn to use the necessary software. Spare some time to learn how to do business. Study the market. Get expertise on a determinate field you want to work in. Throw away the software already you have - it is useless. Learn about payment methods and invoices. This is just to start thinking about being competitive.

Or ju
... See more
Try very low paying jobs (or do it for free) to gain experience. Save some money from your regular work to buy the minimum tools you need to work (computer, software). Learn to use the necessary software. Spare some time to learn how to do business. Study the market. Get expertise on a determinate field you want to work in. Throw away the software already you have - it is useless. Learn about payment methods and invoices. This is just to start thinking about being competitive.

Or just stick to your regular work.
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philgoddard
philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
Don't worry too much about CAT Nov 1, 2010

There are still a large proportion of us managing perfectly well without it. It's a useful tool for certain types of translation, but it's not an absolute must-have. And fax machines are yesterday's technology.
Good luck!

[Edited at 2010-11-01 22:21 GMT]


 
Armand C.
Armand C.  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 11:28
German to English
+ ...
Suggestions for tools Nov 3, 2010


I have no fax machine or laptop, (...) and no CAT tools, and don't have much money to spend for these things. In fact, I only have WordPerfect Corel and Open Office as far as software goes. I read somewhere that you can get CAT demos... What all do I absolutely need, and what can I get by without?


1. Fax
Fax machines, as PhilGoddard said, are "so yesterday"... Faxes are still sent and received though, but there are more convenient alternatives to buying a fax. One is to buy a fax-modem and use your computer for sending and receiving. You can find a decent external modem for $20-30, and an internal one for half that money -- and virtually any operating system has a fax manager on it. Another is to use some online service for sending a receiving faxes. (I use, for instance, Messagenet.com, and the few faxes I send and receive come and go as PDF, DOC or TIFF files attached to emails.)

The advantages of the latter method (over using a modem) is the low cost of sending faxes to a foreign country and not having to leave the computer on (or in stand by) in order to be able to receive faxes 24/7. A drawback might be the privacy of the messages, as they go through a 3rd party email-to-fax gateway.

2. CAT tools
I'm no huge fan of demos. They're fine to evaluate the software but, given the fact that they're demos (that meaning, generally, usable only for a limited period of time and/or with various functionality limitations), less so if you have any further plans. There are however some tools freely available -- Across and OmegaT come to mind.

Across (My-Across.net) has a free version, offered only to freelancers. There are some limitations however: you can use it either locally or as a remote client, and to use it locally you need to install the MS SQL server that comes with it (which is pretty resources-hungry, but not really a worry if your computer isn't older than, say, 2-3 years). Another limitation is that you can only use it up to a certain size of the database -- 2 or 3 GB, I think... which is actually a pretty large amount, considering that we're talking about text and some little extra data.

OmegaT (OmegaT.org) is open source, which means it comes with no strings attached. It's much ligher than Across, simpler to operate, but it also has less features. TM & project management are at stone age level in comparison; glossary/dictionary handling and tools, about the same; and it only handles open source file formats (that is, no MS Word/Excel files... but treats just fine OO documents).


[Edited at 2010-11-03 14:19 GMT]


 
Gene Brode (X)
Gene Brode (X)
United States
Local time: 06:28
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
That's all well and good Nov 6, 2010

The scraps that are left over from the Spanish to English jobs here after the members snatch them up are not always in my area of expertise, or they're too long for me to get in the necessary tight deadline, or they want them done yesterday, or they require Trados or Wordfast, etc, etc. Not to mention, do I have to pay a buck every time I bid? That's crazy! I just think that this site is probably not for me if I want to get started as a translator. I'll have to find something else, I have to... See more
The scraps that are left over from the Spanish to English jobs here after the members snatch them up are not always in my area of expertise, or they're too long for me to get in the necessary tight deadline, or they want them done yesterday, or they require Trados or Wordfast, etc, etc. Not to mention, do I have to pay a buck every time I bid? That's crazy! I just think that this site is probably not for me if I want to get started as a translator. I'll have to find something else, I have to buy diapers and can't wait around for this to work out. Heck, even someone with great skills in Spain with a PhD is having trouble getting steady work--how on earth would I ever get by?

Not to mention the site admin offered me help and then they never followed up with me. I guess I'm just a little annoyed, stressed and under the gun to get some extra work. Here in the States, especially in my area, the economy is eating us up.

Thanks everyone for that advice, I'll see how it all works out somewhere else.
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Veronica Lupascu
Veronica Lupascu  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 11:28
Dutch to Romanian
+ ...
proZ Nov 6, 2010

Gene Brode wrote:

I just think that this site is probably not for me if I want to get started as a translator. I'll have to find something else, I have to buy diapers and can't wait around for this to work out. Heck, even someone with great skills in Spain with a PhD is having trouble getting steady work--how on earth would I ever get by?

Not to mention the site admin offered me help and then they never followed up with me. I guess I'm just a little annoyed, stressed and under the gun to get some extra work. Here in the States, especially in my area, the economy is eating us up.



If you want to start as a translator, this site is exactly what you need.
There can be hundreds of reasons why you don't get the job advertised on proZ. Your experience, your rates, your field of expertize.

Also, I looked at your profile and it is EMPTY. You could write anything you want in your bid, but when the outsourcer checks your profile and finds zero informations there, how can he/she trust you? How can he/she be sure that you will make a good job? It is a big risk.

My advice is:

1. Complete your profile (add information about you, about your credentials, add sample translations).

2. Be active on KudoZ. You didn't answer any kudoZ question, as I can see. By the way, as far as I know, when you are bidding your position depends on your kudoZ points. If you have zero points, you are the last one whose profile may be visited by the outsourcer.

Activity in KudoZ will also increase your position in the translators directory, so potential clients can find you directly, without posting jobs.

3. Be active on forums.

4. Have patience, you registered on proZ in October. I am also new to this business. I don't have yet the amount of work I would like to have. But I have read in forums that people needed 2-3 years to completely establish their translation business. It does not mean that you should wait for these 3 years to fly. You should market yourself, be active, make yourself visible. Translation business, like any other business, needs investments. Time is one of them.

5. Don't consider proZ as a recruitment agency. ProZ is a place where translators from all around the world connect, help each other, cooperate. ProZ is a place where outsourcers can find you if you are active and build a good reputation on this site. You can learn on proZ, participate at virtual seminars and conferences. But proZ is not an employer.

6. Do some pro bono work to increase your translation capabilities. Knowing a language is one thing and translating is a totally different thing. Find on internet a text in your field of expertise and try to translate it into your native language. I am sure you will be surprised how many things you don't know.


As about the proZ.com staff, they always helped me when I needed it. I don't know any other site where the staff is so receptive and helpful. Maybe you addressed them a question that could be easily found in the FAQ section (a very complete FAQ list, by the way).

Good luck!


Veronica


 
Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:28
German to English
Tough market conditions Nov 6, 2010

Gene Brode wrote:

The scraps that are left over from the Spanish to English jobs here after the members snatch them up are not always in my area of expertise,

[snip]
and can't wait around for this to work out. Heck, even someone with great skills in Spain with a PhD is having trouble getting steady work--how on earth would I ever get by?
[snip]
I'll see how it all works out somewhere else.


The translation biz operates in a very competitive market, especially in your language pair. The jobs you see offered here are representative of much of the translation market. If you look elsewhere, you will see the same phenomena: tight deadlines, customer-controlled pricing, CAT tool requirements, etc. Specialists and "boutique" translators are thriving for the most part.

To put it quite bluntly, the market is saturated with generalist translators in the major language pairs. Novices need to distinguish themselves through special skills or expertise acquired through non-translating experience. Otherwise, it's tough to make much money at first, especially as a part-timer.


 
LEXpert
LEXpert  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:28
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
ATA Spanish to English Certification Exam Nov 6, 2010

An excellent option to establish serious credentials.
The practice passages are very useful in preparing for the exam.
atanet_dot_org

JMOH


 
Armorel Young
Armorel Young  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:28
German to English
A couple more tips Nov 6, 2010

To the excellent advice offered by Veronica I would add:-

1) Add a nice businesslike photo to your profile.

2) Don't offer to translate in both directions unless you are truly bilingual. Proper professional practice is to translate only into your native language - offering to translate out of your native language gives the impression that you are not a seriously professional translator.


 
JaneD
JaneD  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 11:28
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
+ ...
And some more suggestions... Nov 6, 2010

Armorel Young wrote:

To the excellent advice offered by Veronica I would add:-

1) Add a nice businesslike photo to your profile.

2) Don't offer to translate in both directions unless you are truly bilingual. Proper professional practice is to translate only into your native language - offering to translate out of your native language gives the impression that you are not a seriously professional translator.


Agree with both of the above and Veronica's advice.

You could also upload some sample translations, as you are new to the field (though I would suggest that you don't state this fact explicitly). You could also translate on a voluntary basis for NGOs or similar organisations, which gives you experience plus something to point to on your profile.

And as for the cost of bidding, it put me off to begin with too - I don't know how the economics work out for your language pair, but in mine it has DEFINITELY turned out to be worth paying for ProZ membership (and not for that on other similar translation job sites, for example).

Finally, perhaps it would be worth asking for a mentor in your particular language pair? Maybe someone who knows that particular market can point you in more specific directions to help you get started quickly.

Though as has already been said, you should expect to be working as a freelance translator for at least a year before you can make a tolerable income from it for a reasonable number of hours' work. If you have no alternative income source, you need to be prepared to take poorly paid jobs and work a *lot* of hours until you have established yourself.

Jane


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 11:28
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
If you can't wait around... Nov 7, 2010

Gene Brode wrote:
I'll have to find something else, I have to buy diapers and can't wait around for this to work out. Heck, even someone with great skills in Spain with a PhD is having trouble getting steady work--how on earth would I ever get by?

The colleagues have already given you very sensible advice.

I would like to add the following: Any kind of business requires preparation, hard work, patience and a pinch of good luck.

There is very little you can do about the "good luck" part (well, if you are a believer you do have the option of asking for help from above as I very often do), but you can do about the other parts, for instance preparation.

You cannot expect to become a dentist just because you have a mouth and can take good care of your teeth. To become a dentist you need to learn a lot more about health, teeth, techniques, instruments, regulations, etc... Yes, you may have a great knowledge of two languages, but... is that enough to become a translator? Just think about how much you know about translation and what it means to offer a translation service today: you need to learn about translation theory, the translation market, translation tools, terminology research, technical spelling, and a long list of other things.

If you want to specialise in some topic, you need to have a personal interest in the matter, read a lot about it (in both languages), and take translation courses in which you can gain some insight about techniques and specialised language.

For all these things, you can self-train if you have a couple of years, plenty of time, and a brave spirit, but if "you can't wait around", your best bet is to shorten that time with courses offered by translation training centers or universities in your area.

To be honest, without translation preparation you cannot compete with the host of very good professionals competing here every day. Instead of spending a buck in every bid, which will be wasted money at this stage in my opinion, you might need to invest a couple of thousands of dollars over a number of months and work hard to put yourself in a competitive position. There is no way you can avoid to invest some money.... the same you would invest money in any kind of business.

And... good luck!


 
Niraja Nanjundan (X)
Niraja Nanjundan (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:58
German to English
Two more things Nov 7, 2010

ProZ.com *might* work better for you if you

1) Get your ID verified. You can do that as described here

2) Pay membership - try this out. ProZ.com offers the option of a refund if you're not satisfied with membership.


 


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Questions for starting out w/o experience and tools; and translating for supplemental income







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