| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Hilarious job offer Thread poster: inkweaver
|
|---|
Sebastian Witte 
Germany
Local time: 09:57
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
| The trouble is ... | May 23, 2013 |
... that the top end of the market is unusually small in the translation industry (I would say about 0,75 to 1,25 % of professional translators are part of that segment where average hourly incomes exceed € 50 net of VAT (based on constantly being fully booked, full-time) and the translator has to work a mere 48 hours a week or less and can still feed a family or at least a partner, plus can pick and choose on a daily basis from jobs offered to them instead of having to take at least 85% of wh... See more ... that the top end of the market is unusually small in the translation industry (I would say about 0,75 to 1,25 % of professional translators are part of that segment where average hourly incomes exceed € 50 net of VAT (based on constantly being fully booked, full-time) and the translator has to work a mere 48 hours a week or less and can still feed a family or at least a partner, plus can pick and choose on a daily basis from jobs offered to them instead of having to take at least 85% of what's on offer to get by) compared to other creative and/or intellectually demanding industries, which is: an unusually small percentage of the qualified, gifted and experienced folks that would deserve to actually ever make it there, oftentimes even despite trying hard!
One reason I see is the low esteem translation enjoys as a profession (even though it is actually one of the more intellectually challenging activities out there, sometimes as diffacult as being a lawyer).
Another reason I see is that marketing freelance translation services (standing out in the crowd, pinpointing Unique Selling Propositions, appealing on a personal level to those prospects you want to target, daily (if you can stand it: social business media/otherwise: ProZ, ATA, IoL and other translator forums) and/or one-time brand design (thru the wording of your own website), creating trust, becoming highly visible on the Internet) in major pairs like English to German, French to English or between Spanish and English is unusually tricky as there is really a lot of competition and the image conveyed by translation as such is not exactly charming so where to begin with if you want to create something appealing to the human beings that are at the receiving end of it?
Then there's the fact that all the good advice from the likes of Konstantin Kisin about providing good customer service at all times and being proactive and helpful and easy to work with is much more difficult to implement for reasons I cannot explain here if you have hardly any direct (business) customers and have to mainly work with agencies and private individuals. And direct (business) customers are ten times as hard to get as the other two customer groups.
[Edited at 2013-05-23 18:07 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-05-23 18:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sebastian Witte
Germany
Local time: 09:57
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
I wrote:
... that the top end of the market is unusually small in the translation industry (I would say about 0,75 to 1,25 % of professional translators are part of that segment)
Pls note: that figure is an UNINFORMED guess after almost 10 yrs in the industry including 2.5 yrs of a bit of outsourcing. I have no actual figures available about this. It might really be noticeably higher.
| | | | | Maybe not everyone is meant to succeed | May 23, 2013 |
Sebastian, I know it is not your intention to disencourage anyone and I agree with some of the things you say - but I am starting to feel that all my efforts are worth nothing or almost nothing. Maybe not everyone is here to succeed, maybe some of us are just here to survive.
| | | | | Glad I am not alone | May 23, 2013 |
It really makes me cringe when I hear "hey, I have a hotel brochure that needs translation. Straightforward language, nothing technical. Can you do it for [low price]?"
"Yes, it's simple - simple to understand but not to translate". That's what I usually answer.
| | |
|
|
|
Wolf Kux
Brazil
Local time: 04:57
Member (2006)
German to Portuguese
+ ...
| Maybe an interesting answer of this task.... | May 24, 2013 |
... to tell them, that they are too expensive, because they got such translation for free by, for example, Google Translation!
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 13:27
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | One big reason for low rates is... | May 24, 2013 |
Sebastian Witte wrote:
One reason I see is the low esteem translation enjoys as a profession
.. that our profession does not regulate who can enter it, unlike all other professions (think of doctors, lawyers, cost accountants, software engineers, etc.) which all have stringent procedures (involving passing examinations, apprentice-ship, gaining experience, etc.) which regulate who can call themselves members of that profession.
In our case, anyone who thinks that he/she is native in a language is free to offer translation services. With the result that there is an over supply of providers which brings down the overall rate.
I wonder if there could be any solution to this, for translation is not a profession that you can learn by completing courses or passing examinations, it is more cerebral than that, which involves certain biological traits (such as exposure to languages at a certain age) which are difficult to verify.
Also, translators come in all hues and occur in all parts of the earth, so it is difficult to imagine a professional body that can span the globe to regulate all shades of translators.
But the solution lies in that direction - to regulate entry into our profession to only qualified translators, and not any person native in the target language, which seems to be the conventional wisdom.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 09:57
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| A perfect offer to ignore | May 24, 2013 |
inkweaver wrote:
I don't usually complain about low rates and just tend to ignore ridiculous offers, but this princely offer really takes the cake:
"Great work opportunity. Low difficulty texts describing tourist destinations worldwide. You will be asked to work Monday to Friday with daily deliveries and a production rate of 2,750 words per day (70% are descriptions, 30% are summaries of the descriptions). 3-week trial period is offered expandable to ten weeks. Good chances to get more work.
Note: an updated CV is required in order to be considered."
That's 0.018 € per source word. Incredible. Now that's what I call a great work opportunity indeed.
"Good chances to get more work". Well, I don't think I'd like any of this to start with, thank you very much. Actually, I can hardly believe this is serious.
I saw the same offer and...only shook my head. Yes, you can earn 50 Euros a day, but only if you can handle 2,750 words per day, preferably every day. They really made it sound like the most fabulous job offer. It might be if you overlook the "fine print" and only focus on the "hook".
And an updated CV to even be considered for this ridiculous offer? Well, I have better things to do than to waste my time on these 1,500 Euros a months.
[Edited at 2013-05-24 06:59 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 09:57
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| In an ideal world | May 24, 2013 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
But the solution lies in that direction - to regulate entry into our profession to only qualified translators, and not any person native in the target language, which seems to be the conventional wisdom.
This could be an option. However, it would require that outsourcers should hire only translators with a proven membership in a translator's association. And this is something, aside from being unfair to beginners, that is to "real" translators in the profession, that is highly unlikely to ever occur simply because everybody is out to make as much profit as possible. And if auto-translation are sufficient for the customer, well, then so be it. (:
| | |
|
|
|
| It's a job Advertising Agency does - and not for peanuts! | May 24, 2013 |
A good tourist translation - in a (nearly) ready for printing form should cost much as the translator is doing (apart from simple translation) a job reserved for highly paid AA big word inventors. Go to the AA and ask them to give you the price for a couple of oily and slimy tourist slogans/leaflet and you will see what they charge.
| | | | Mark Benson (X)
English to Swedish
+ ...
| Probably not so hilarious | May 24, 2013 |
What is it that's wrong with the offer?
It could be anything from the first job for somebody just starting out to a possible break for the more desperate, or whatever else (low-end industry segment). Plus, as Sian says, non-natives and other strange occurrences.
On the other hand, claiming that an earning of 50€ per day is "offensive" is what's really hilarious to my mind.
I can still see why there's a general tendency to ridicule low rate offers and p... See more What is it that's wrong with the offer?
It could be anything from the first job for somebody just starting out to a possible break for the more desperate, or whatever else (low-end industry segment). Plus, as Sian says, non-natives and other strange occurrences.
On the other hand, claiming that an earning of 50€ per day is "offensive" is what's really hilarious to my mind.
I can still see why there's a general tendency to ridicule low rate offers and push for indoctrination of "standards". The ancient aphorism "γνῶθι σεαυτόν" applies.
Anybody can claim >0.2€ per word to translate any text, but I wouldn't see it making much sense in that many cases.
****************************************************************
And also, I agree with most of what Sebastian and Sian said, although I don't think that the profession suffers from low "esteem".
People at large probably judge from e.g. ridiculous and useless translations of user manuals, not even realizing that a lot of other texts they read are (less apparently, not only because parallel texts in other languages aren't present) actually translations.
Even though the profession should, as it were, be intellectually demanding, I find it possible that the bad translations outnumber the good. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 09:57
French to English
| the invisibility cloak | May 24, 2013 |
Mark Benson wrote:
People at large probably judge from e.g. ridiculous and useless translations of user manuals, not even realizing that a lot of other texts they read are (less apparently, not only because parallel texts in other languages aren't present) actually translations.
That's a very good point you're making there Mark. The whole point is that a good translation is a text that doesn't feel like a translation, so a good translator is an invisible translator.
| | | | xxLecraxx (X)
Germany
Local time: 09:57
French to German
+ ...
Maybe a bit off-topic, but it's so darn depressing to read things like that ALL THE TIME on this forum....
Low rates, extreme competition, no money for nothing, POVERTY... Why studying for five long years in order to become a translator? To spend your life like that?!
And 50 €/h are really that much? I actually thought it was rather normal for an independent professional translator to take around 50 €/hour. Is it really so utopic?
| | |
|
|
|
John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 03:57
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Marcel G. wrote:
Maybe a bit off-topic, but it's so darn depressing to read things like that ALL THE TIME on this forum....
Not all the time. While this is a place where people vent their frustrations, there are plenty of references to higher rates, etc. A lot of translators who are busy marketing to build their clientele and studying for their own professional development, in between their full work schedule, don't have time to rant...
| | | | Rita Pang
Canada
Local time: 03:57
Member (2011)
Chinese to English
+ ...
Moderator of this forum | Indeed- there WILL be takers | May 24, 2013 |
Mark Benson wrote:
What is it that's wrong with the offer?
It could be anything from the first job for somebody just starting out to a possible break for the more desperate, or whatever else (low-end industry segment). Plus, as Sian says, non-natives and other strange occurrences.
On the other hand, claiming that an earning of 50€ per day is "offensive" is what's really hilarious to my mind.
I can still see why there's a general tendency to ridicule low rate offers and push for indoctrination of "standards". The ancient aphorism "γνῶθι σεαυτόν" applies.
Anybody can claim >0.2€ per word to translate any text, but I wouldn't see it making much sense in that many cases.
Said offer would not be so ridiculous to the person who's willing to take it. Frankly speaking, at least you know the word count and can come up with a rough rate per word. This is not to say I support this offer, but the other day I got an email from an agency wanting to pay me $15 USD an hour for translation, the reason being that the responses (to a marketing survey) are all done online and embedded in a system, so they had NO WAY of figuring out how many words there are in total, and therefore we only deserve $15 USD an hour. And oh, the content is really easy too, so couple that with not knowing how many words we'll work with an hour, $15 is just fine and dandy.
What they fail to underline then - how many words/hour will be acceptable? How much do I have to translate per hour in order to make me worthy of your $15? Since I don't know what my workload will be, I might as well work on 30 words that one hour and call it a day, no?
| | | | | Not great here, either | May 24, 2013 |
Camila Artoni Gough wrote:
... but I can't. €50 per day is just offensive. And the poster isn't from India or China or wherever these ridiculous ads normally come from - he's in freakin' Australia!
You could actually make a comfortable living on €50 a day in Poland, where the average salary is well under €1000. According to my knowledge, €0.018 per word would be considered low, but I suspect there are plenty of people working for those rates. There are certainly agencies paying that as a standard rate to their translators. In fact, €0.023 is a popular somewhat decent rate. One's lucky to land €0.03, few agencies pay that. Perhaps €0.04 for a specialist with good qualifications and an open-handed agency with good clients. Or a direct client.
[Edited at 2013-05-24 17:04 GMT]
| | | | | 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 » Hilarious job offer | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
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 
Translation news
