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Is working for Lionbridge an advisable starting point for a beginner?
Thread poster: Wendel Chaves de Jesus
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:49
Member
English to Italian
Agreed Jul 30, 2016

Kirsten Bodart wrote:

And I find it a bit... well, idiotic, really. I went through the whole shebang with one Czech agency recently, still no work... I shouldn't have been so conscientious and honest, come to think of it. And I won't next time. As if experience will really teach you how to write a proper text...
How do these people suggest our profession will survive if we can't take on any newbies 'because they don't have enough experience'?


Yes, I agree, especially with the last part (that's a typical "conundrum" in may fields...), but, on the other hand, an agency looking for a freelancer probably isn't willing to play wet nurse, otherwise they would be looking for a "junior linguist" for an in-house position.

As for experience=skill, while I do agree that there isn't a directly measurable equivalence between them, I guess it could be argued that, if you have been in business for 20 years, it must mean you have at least a *basic* idea of what you're doing, otherwise you would've already gone out of business, or, for instance, that if you worked X years in-house, then you and your work were closely and thoroughly supervised and checked at every turn...

Of course, that isn't a quality guarantee, but rather an additional element for evaluation, as it's not like those (in-house/freelance, years, # of words, etc.) are the only questions an agency/client would ask you, as they're usually coupled with questions concerning past clients, feedback, references, samples, etc., in which case it does make a little more sense (IMO).

[Edited at 2016-07-30 09:51 GMT]


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:49
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Is eating at McDonalds daily a healthy option? Jul 30, 2016

Same applies to your question. While you may have a hamburger every now and then as a quick solution, if you want to stay healthy in the long run you want to do your homework, go to the grocery store (i.e. keep increasing your training and education and spend time marketing yourself), and cook good meals (i.e. work for agencies that pay the best rate you manage to get for your work).

 
Aleksandar T.
Aleksandar T.  Identity Verified
Serbia
Local time: 10:49
Italian to Serbian
+ ...
To make a long story short... Jul 30, 2016

Yes it is.

 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 05:49
Romanian to English
+ ...
not only interpreting Jul 30, 2016

LilianNekipelov wrote:

They need top level interpreters only, high US clearance (not the highest I think), they have quite hard exams (some quite inadequate and really badly prepared—incomprehensible source, or very low quality), and they do not pay that much. It may depend on the language, if a quite rare language, they may pay better. For Spanish probably $50/hr with 2 hr minimum and many hearings, are no more than 2 hrs.

Portuguese, I don't know, maybe they'll pay $60.

I think they mostly deal with interpreting, so you have to live in the US, be a US citizen with high clearance and a very good interpreter with provable experience. You might be better off working for regular agencies, which pay well. Not the cheapoes, of course that have nothing to do with professional translation.

[Edited at 2016-07-28 07:16 GMT]



For the last 5 years I have been translating a lot of official documents for the DOJ. The named agency, along with three other agencies was awarded a DOJ contract. The rate is above the average agency pay.

You are right about US clearance + US citizenship (a must) + translator must be in the US when translating.

This is the reason I asked Wendel to tell us about his field of expertise.

[Edited at 2016-07-31 03:05 GMT]


 
Bruno Depascale
Bruno Depascale  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:49
Member (2009)
English to Italian
+ ...
To make a long story short... Jul 30, 2016

No, it is not.
Some time ago they contacted me and told me that I had to pay a monthly fee to use their portal for getting potential jobs..I turned they offer down and I'm very happy about that. I also visited their local branch in Rome. I saw dozens of computers lined up with people who looked like robots..


 
Wendel Chaves de Jesus
Wendel Chaves de Jesus  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:49
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank and off you for your valuable contributions Jul 31, 2016

So what I can surmise based on all of your valuable posts is that I must obtain references fom past clients and also from the organizations I am working for as a volunteer so that I can improve my portfolio, right? That certainly makes sense... should I offer them anything in return when asking for their information and permission to use them as references? I imagine that some will just say no because helping me would bring them no benefit. I could be wrong, though, so please correct me if I am ... See more
So what I can surmise based on all of your valuable posts is that I must obtain references fom past clients and also from the organizations I am working for as a volunteer so that I can improve my portfolio, right? That certainly makes sense... should I offer them anything in return when asking for their information and permission to use them as references? I imagine that some will just say no because helping me would bring them no benefit. I could be wrong, though, so please correct me if I am wrong. I also understood that opinions about the company I named are mixed and that naming them is forbidden (I am sorry, I won't do it again).Collapse


 
Wendel Chaves de Jesus
Wendel Chaves de Jesus  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:49
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sorry for forgetting to answer the question Jul 31, 2016

liviu roth wrote:

LilianNekipelov wrote:

They need top level interpreters only, high US clearance (not the highest I think), they have quite hard exams (some quite inadequate and really badly prepared—incomprehensible source, or very low quality), and they do not pay that much. It may depend on the language, if a quite rare language, they may pay better. For Spanish probably $50/hr with 2 hr minimum and many hearings, are no more than 2 hrs.

Portuguese, I don't know, maybe they'll pay $60.

I think they mostly deal with interpreting, so you have to live in the US, be a US citizen with high clearance and a very good interpreter with provable experience. You might be better off working for regular agencies, which pay well. Not the cheapoes, of course that have nothing to do with professional translation.

[Edited at 2016-07-28 07:16 GMT]



For the last 5 years I have been translating a lot of official documents for the DOJ. The named agency, along with three other agencies was awarded a DOJ contract. The rate is above the average agency pay.

You are right about US clearance + US citizenship (a must) + translator must be in the US when translating.

This is the reason I asked Wendel to tell us about his field of expertise.

[Edited at 2016-07-31 03:05 GMT]


My specialties are gaming/linguistics/education


 
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Is working for Lionbridge an advisable starting point for a beginner?







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