| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Proz.com membership: yes or no? Thread poster: Rasa Mikalauskaite
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Tom in London wrote: Chris S wrote:
Beats me why translators collectively accept these rates.
Try Italian to English and see how much you can charge.
Not as much as for Scandi perhaps, but maybe more than you'd think. I manage to get 50-100 per cent more than the average in Scandinavia by finding customers who appreciate/demand quality and are willing to pay for it. They take some finding and it's taken guts and time and stubbornness to get to this stage, but if I can do it so can others. If I could only command £20 an hour I'd change job tomorrow.
| | | | | Proz.com membership: yes or no? | Jun 8, 2016 |
Excuse me if I am wrong, but wasn't that the original question about a year ago?
Well, my answer is yes!
No, normally I don't react on all those underpaid job offers, but so once a while there is one that is worthwhile, and clients are contacting me directly after finding my profile on Proz. Furthermore there are many interesting and usefull features, like this one for example, but most important, it is a platform for us translators where we can show the world we exist... See more Excuse me if I am wrong, but wasn't that the original question about a year ago?
Well, my answer is yes!
No, normally I don't react on all those underpaid job offers, but so once a while there is one that is worthwhile, and clients are contacting me directly after finding my profile on Proz. Furthermore there are many interesting and usefull features, like this one for example, but most important, it is a platform for us translators where we can show the world we exist.
There will be colleagues who will say "I don't need Proz, my clients know how and where to find me", and they are right, but how did they found you in the first place? Did they smell you were a translator, or did you use some kind of platform to expose yourself?
I am always wondering why the biggest supermarket chain in my country still advertises? They are everywhere, you can't miss them.
Just ask yourself that question.
So, Proz.com membership: yes or no? Definitely YES! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:33
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Chris S wrote:
If I could only command £20 an hour I'd change job tomorrow.
So would I. I charge by the word.
I assume an hourly rate would apply to revision, but I don't do revision of other people's translations.
And you're right. £20 an hour would be the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot, as a highly skilled professional translator.
| | | | | Only if you are willing to put in the work | Jun 9, 2016 |
I have just renewed my annual membership, so obviously is worth it for me. BUT (and that's a big but): it has been worth it to me because of clients contacting me through the directory, not because of job postings.
With job postings, I have been lucky a couple of times, but these were small jobs. However, over the past year, I have received quite a lot of emails from clients interested in my ProZ profile. The reason is that I rank quite high for one of my specializations, because of KudoZ.... See more I have just renewed my annual membership, so obviously is worth it for me. BUT (and that's a big but): it has been worth it to me because of clients contacting me through the directory, not because of job postings.
With job postings, I have been lucky a couple of times, but these were small jobs. However, over the past year, I have received quite a lot of emails from clients interested in my ProZ profile. The reason is that I rank quite high for one of my specializations, because of KudoZ. And I have also gotten the Certified PRO status.
So, to sum up: if you are willing to put in some work to rank on the first page of the directory and build your profile, then yes, I consider it to be a good investment. ▲ Collapse
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Zeki Güler 
Local time: 09:33
Member (2012)
English to Turkish
+ ...
| Yes, for everybody | Jun 10, 2016 |
If you are a translator willing to accept lower end jobs for peanuts, yes it is.
If you are a qualified translator with outstanding qualifications (certificates, credentials, positive feedbacks etc.) to showcase, then again yes. it is.
[Edited at 2016-06-10 22:49 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:33
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Zeki Guler wrote:
If you are a young translator or willing to accept lower end jobs for peanuts, yes it is.
If you are a qualified, outstanding translator with several certificates to showcase, then again yes. it is.
Are you saying that young translators are no good, and should therefore be paid less? What kind of a situation would that lead to?
Really good translation: expensive
Not very good translation: not expensive
Awful translation: cheap.
I cannot imagine any circumstances in which a client would want a translation that was not really good.
Oh and by the way: certificates don't matter. What matters is proven expertise.
[Edited at 2016-06-10 14:33 GMT]
| | | | | Sad but true | Jun 10, 2016 |
Tom in London wrote:
I cannot imagine any circumstances in which a client would want a translation that was not really good.
FYI Tom, nowadays there are just too many clients - I mean translation agencies - who want it CHEAP, and who ostensibly couldn't care less whether it's any good or not.
So you may ask me why they don't use free, online, real-time machine translation.
They simply need a human being to BLAME for the poor quality. Nobody can sensibly blame a man-made machine or software for substandard performance.
Some demand native speakers living in the target language's country - regardless of their competence as translators - so they can BLAME that country's school system for being unable to educate their people properly.
[Edited at 2016-06-10 14:51 GMT]
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Rasa Mikalauskaite wrote:
Hello everyone,
I'm considering proz.com membership, as my headline says, and it's not difficult to guess what my question to you is:) Is it worth it?
I suppose, this is the right place for this question since I would do it to expand my market reach, obviously.
Thank you,
Rasa
Just go ahead and try. The money isn't worth spending a couple of hours of either work or free time analysing.
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MacLeod Cushing
Canada
Local time: 01:33
Member (2008)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Definitely worth it for me | Jun 15, 2016 |
I once got a book translation job from an outsourcer who searched Proz for a translator in his local area and found me. The job paid $12,000 and I was able to complete it in six weeks. Not an everyday occurrence, but as recently as two months ago I earned $3,500+ for a little over a week's work from two agencies that posted on Proz. I have made a full-time living as a translator since 2008 using Proz exclusively as my source of contacts. I love it. The staff is tremendous.
[Edited at 2016... See more I once got a book translation job from an outsourcer who searched Proz for a translator in his local area and found me. The job paid $12,000 and I was able to complete it in six weeks. Not an everyday occurrence, but as recently as two months ago I earned $3,500+ for a little over a week's work from two agencies that posted on Proz. I have made a full-time living as a translator since 2008 using Proz exclusively as my source of contacts. I love it. The staff is tremendous.
[Edited at 2016-06-15 04:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Yes, it pays, but... | Jun 15, 2016 |
In my case, it certainly pays: I get many a request every year from interested customers who see my profile here in Proz.com.
However, paying for a membership alone is not enough: you need to have solid credentials, create an attractive profile, keep your profile polished and up-to-date, participate in fora to increase your visibility, do Kudoz work to raise points that help you stand out from the crowd, gather WWAs (positive feedback entries) from customers who are also members, et... See more In my case, it certainly pays: I get many a request every year from interested customers who see my profile here in Proz.com.
However, paying for a membership alone is not enough: you need to have solid credentials, create an attractive profile, keep your profile polished and up-to-date, participate in fora to increase your visibility, do Kudoz work to raise points that help you stand out from the crowd, gather WWAs (positive feedback entries) from customers who are also members, etc. You certainly must keep your account active and moving in order to stand out in a crowd of 300K+ translators! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Bruno Depascale
Italy
Local time: 10:33
Member (2009)
English to Italian
+ ...
| you are a small business | Jun 15, 2016 |
and as such you must invest to promote your services.
I think proz is a good investment for translators
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