| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Off topic: Just seen this on Twitter: how to recognize a translator. Thread poster: Tom in London
|
|---|
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:05
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 09:05
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
How appropriate. I will be working until 2 a.m. tonight (or better tomorrow). Your picture expresses exactly how I feel when I'm working during the night.
| | | |
– Are you a real translator?
– Sure.
– Say something in translatorese!
– Without the context, I can't.
| | | |
Can't see the point in sacrificing sleep. It's just unhealthy, and there are so many other things to do. I manage to keep working hours (which can be anything from 1 to 10) in the range of 8.00 to 21.00 latest. Otherwise I would become a slave to my job, let alone exhaustion and lower efficiency. It may be different for night owls, but then it's a personality thing and not the occupation.
| | |
|
|
|
Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 10:05
Member
English to Turkish
| Such a cliche | Jan 27, 2023 |
Why do most people assume that (freelance) translators burn the midnight oil?
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 09:05
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Baran Keki wrote:
Why do most people assume that (freelance) translators burn the midnight oil?
Probably because there are (and were) enough translators out there who work (very) late hours from time to time. Otherwise it wouldn't be a cliché.
I've been doing this since the beginning of my freelance career (in the early days mainly due to procrastination, sometimes because of the difficulty of what I'm translating and another time to compensate for a slower period), but it has (luckily) become rather rare in recent years.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 09:05
French to English
I haven't worked past 8pm for years. I translated a couple of sentences at 10pm five years ago, and before that I don't even remember the last time.
It's more likely a mother tending to her baby in the middle of the night.
| | | | Zoe Rompou
Local time: 10:05
Member (2018)
English to Greek
+ ...
| Translators with kids | Jan 27, 2023 |
If you have kids, it is very obvious that the quietest time for work is when they are at school or when they just fell asleep.
| | |
|
|
|
Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 10:05
Member
English to Turkish
| I'm aware of that | Jan 27, 2023 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Probably because there are (and were) enough translators out there who work (very) late hours from time to time. Otherwise it wouldn't be a cliché.
I've been doing this since the beginning of my freelance career (in the early days mainly due to procrastination, sometimes because of the difficulty of what I'm translating and another time to compensate for a slower period), but it has (luckily) become rather rare in recent years.
If you're an in-house translator, you work from 9 to 5 (something I've done for nearly 10 years unfortunately), so there's not much chance of staying up all night, though that didn't prevent a good friend of mine at the office, who would stay up all night playing Skyrim and other PS games and coming to work after 2 or 3 hours of sleep (running up the electricity bill that way). You wouldn't want that guy to translate your documents.
I've been checking out these forums for the last 6 years, and it's my impression that most people here have very structured lives, they wake up early, have a swim, run, do 3-4k words a day and then stay away from keyboard after 6 PM. Of course, they must have long-established steady boutique or direct clients with whom they have found ways to accommodate their requirements with their lifestyles. They, it seems, are less susceptible to the unpredictability of this trade probably due to their language pairs or being longer in the game.
But, nonetheless, there is this unmistakable impression that translators have gone and f*cked up Circadian rhythms. Especially in my language pair. I'm guessing it's mostly down to best rate agencies and places like Upwork. Bottom feeders are thriving at the witching hour, vying for 1-2 cent per word jobs from India or USA while being active on social media.
[Edited at 2023-01-27 09:00 GMT]
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 09:05
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Baran Keki wrote:
I've been checking out these forums for the last 6 years, and it's my impression that most people here have very structured lives, they wake up early, have a swim, run, do 3-4k words a day and then stay away from keyboard after 6 PM.
I'd love to be a fly to see how that exactly works. Through the years I've learnt to be very careful with what people say, especially if there is no way to verify what they are saying.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 09:05
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| I don’t do that | Jan 27, 2023 |
I may do some light work late, ie. answer an email, here and there.
If I’m late with a deadline, I’d rather wake up early and finish it up then work late.
The image would better reflect my student days when I was studying for exams and tests. Procrastination was present, the days had to be used for roaming around with friends, and lack of sleep at night didn’t affect me much. I didn’t do it all the time but it would happen when an exam date was close.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 09:05
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Work vs. computer | Jan 27, 2023 |
Baran Keki wrote: Lieven Malaise wrote:
Probably because there are (and were) enough translators out there who work (very) late hours from time to time. Otherwise it wouldn't be a cliché.
I've been doing this since the beginning of my freelance career (in the early days mainly due to procrastination, sometimes because of the difficulty of what I'm translating and another time to compensate for a slower period), but it has (luckily) become rather rare in recent years. If you're an in-house translator, you work from 9 to 5 (something I've done for nearly 10 years unfortunately), so there's not much chance of staying up all night, though that didn't prevent a good friend of mine at the office, who would stay up all night playing Skyrim and other PS games and coming to work after 2 or 3 hours of sleep (running up the electricity bill that way). You wouldn't want that guy to translate your documents. I've been checking out these forums for the last 6 years, and it's my impression that most people here have very structured lives, they wake up early, have a swim, run, do 3-4k words a day and then stay away from keyboard after 6 PM. Of course, they must have long-established steady boutique or direct clients with whom they have found ways to accommodate their requirements with their lifestyles. They, it seems, are less susceptible to the unpredictability of this trade probably due to their language pairs or being longer in the game. But, nonetheless, there is this unmistakable impression that translators have gone and f*cked up Circadian rhythms. Especially in my language pair. I'm guessing it's mostly down to best rate agencies and places like Upwork. Bottom feeders are thriving at the witching hour, vying for 1-2 cent per word jobs from India or USA while being active on social media. [Edited at 2023-01-27 09:00 GMT]
Staying away from a device and staying away from work are two different things. There are people who are on devices a lot and never do any work on them.
| | |
|
|
|
| Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living | Jan 27, 2023 |
Lieven Malaise wrote: Baran Keki wrote:
I've been checking out these forums for the last 6 years, and it's my impression that most people here have very structured lives, they wake up early, have a swim, run, do 3-4k words a day and then stay away from keyboard after 6 PM. I'd love to be a fly to see how that exactly works. Through the years I've learnt to be very careful with what people say, especially if there is no way to verify what they are saying.
It's easy. You start work at 8 and finish at 4, and take weekends off. I did it for more than 20 years.
I've never burnt the midnight oil, not once.
But obviously you have to take that with a huge pinch of salt if it doesn't match your own experience.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 10:05
Member
English to Turkish
| I know where you're coming from | Jan 27, 2023 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
Staying away from a device and staying away from work are two different things. There are people who are on devices a lot and never do any work on them.
Having just checked the other thread. But, as amazing as it sounds, apparently there are some people who can afford to stay away from the device and work at the same bleeding time!
This sounds like a contradiction in terms in freelance translation. I don't know where we (or rather I) would be without email alerts. In my language pair replying to an email an hour late directly affects your livelihood, while others don't give a toss about time zones.
Another thing I hate about freelancing is the fact that you're working almost all your waking hours. Even having to write an email to a PM in English at 11 PM is work, you can't just simply turn off your phone (whereas I used to do that when working as an in-house). Mind you, I don't do social media, so I'm not one of those guys who's glued to his phone screen. This (Proz) is about the only 'social media' I follow, it's kind of sad as one colleague hailing from your neck of the woods has put it 
| | | | | Being on call | Jan 27, 2023 |
Baran Keki wrote:
I don't know where we (or rather I) would be without email alerts. In my language pair replying to an email an hour late directly affects your livelihood, while others don't give a toss about time zones.
Another thing I hate about freelancing is the fact that you're working almost all your waking hours. Even having to write an email to a PM in English at 11 PM is work, you can't just simply turn off your phone
Is this "always on call" approach really necessary? If you switch off, yes someone else might get that job. But then they won't be available to take another job the next morning. Surely it evens out in the end?
And surely even in "difficult" pairs there are some clients out there who don't do everything at the last minute, who are willing to wait for their preferred translator, who are loyal and recognise quality? If not, there's a huge gap in the market.
I don't expect my car mechanic to pick up the phone at midnight, and my customers don't expect me to.
This (Proz) is about the only 'social media' I follow, it's kind of sad as one colleague hailing from your neck of the woods has put it
If I was a paying member I would post pouting selfies daily to cheer you up, Baran. Maybe you should ask K.
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Just seen this on Twitter: how to recognize a translator. | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
