| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: What aspect of the profession do you find most frustrating? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 18:18
Member (2006)
German to English
and health insurance (or at least the rate I am paying!!)
| | | | Ilan Rubin (X)
Russian Federation
Local time: 19:18
Russian to English
| Nothing I can think of | Sep 25, 2016 |
Of course I would say high taxes if I wasn't living in Russia, where the tax rate for freelancers is from 6-13% depending on how they are set up...
| | | | EvaVer (X)
Local time: 18:18
Czech to French
+ ...
| Unrewarding jobs | Sep 25, 2016 |
After many years, close to retirement, in a country with an acceptable tax level (not many things I find otherwise acceptable about this country), and with enough money to retire, I am mostly BORED with the blah-blah I translate. But I am aware that this will be a minority view.
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| As a non-tecchie ... | Sep 25, 2016 |
... the most frustrating thing is when - occasionally thank the Lord - software or hardware problems arise. It drives me to distraction.
Late/non-payment is frustrating too, of course, but isn't a frequent problem for me.
Boring jobs? Well, sometimes they're boring but usually they're tolerable and sometimes quite fascinating.
| | | | | Lowering rates | Sep 25, 2016 |
This trend has been gaining momentum in the last couple of years. Two long-term clients told me they would have to drop me unless I was willing to lower my rates. They are finding more people who are willing to accept less. (Fortunately, in one case the rate was really high and the lowered rate was still higher than the rest of my clients.)
But there's no question that rates have been dropping. In a recent generic e-mail (which of course I trashed), one agency offered less than I w... See more This trend has been gaining momentum in the last couple of years. Two long-term clients told me they would have to drop me unless I was willing to lower my rates. They are finding more people who are willing to accept less. (Fortunately, in one case the rate was really high and the lowered rate was still higher than the rest of my clients.)
But there's no question that rates have been dropping. In a recent generic e-mail (which of course I trashed), one agency offered less than I was receiving 35 years ago. If there weren't bottom feeders out there, they wouldn't be getting away with it.
[Edited at 2016-09-25 10:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 12:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Just one aspect? | Sep 25, 2016 |
When you go hungry to bed, no matter your profession or occupation, the most frustrating aspect will always be financial: low rates, nonpayment, broken promises, etc.
What makes me more sad than frustrated is a) the ongoing misunderstanding of what a translator does, and b) the self-inflicted damage caused by translators (who should know better) too focused on marketing, selling or grabbing the latest technology.
Blaming the occasional reporter or blogger who calls inte... See more When you go hungry to bed, no matter your profession or occupation, the most frustrating aspect will always be financial: low rates, nonpayment, broken promises, etc.
What makes me more sad than frustrated is a) the ongoing misunderstanding of what a translator does, and b) the self-inflicted damage caused by translators (who should know better) too focused on marketing, selling or grabbing the latest technology.
Blaming the occasional reporter or blogger who calls interpreters translators is a professional pastime. Almost. Making fun of bad translations in menus, signage or product instructions is another. But these activities require little cognitive load. As with most things in life, you can get frustrated often, which requires a great deal of energy misspent on areas you have little or no influence on. So why get frustrated in the first place? Now that's an interesting decision to make. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Lowering rates + non-paying clients | Sep 25, 2016 |
are my least favorite things...
[Edited at 2016-09-25 11:35 GMT]
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Michael Harris wrote:
and health insurance (or at least the rate I am paying!!)
| | | | | The most frustrating aspect... | Sep 25, 2016 |
...are clients, who are completely clueless considering the different structures and grammatics of different languages, especially conjugations and use of compound words, not to mention the word order in a sentence. And then they start using such advanced tools as GT to "verify" the target text I have delivered. Providing a perfectly correct translation with appropriate conjugations comes back with "Why there are two different words used for this same thing? We can't have it this way, this error... See more ...are clients, who are completely clueless considering the different structures and grammatics of different languages, especially conjugations and use of compound words, not to mention the word order in a sentence. And then they start using such advanced tools as GT to "verify" the target text I have delivered. Providing a perfectly correct translation with appropriate conjugations comes back with "Why there are two different words used for this same thing? We can't have it this way, this error must be corrected."
For some reason, I've never met a PM who would do this. ▲ Collapse
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What frustrates me most is when I'm told to adhere to glossaries that are demonstrably wrong for consistency with past translations. It doesn't happen often, but for one particular project it killed me inside.
| | | | | Other - several, one at a time | Sep 25, 2016 |
Hardware/software/PC problems - I had no problem until last week, as I was using Windows XP.
I ran some online diagnostic that determined that my computer hardware is well above average for present demands.
I tried all in-between versions of Windows (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) and didn't like any.
Yielding to the pressure by software developers, last week I added an SSD with Windows 10,... See more Hardware/software/PC problems - I had no problem until last week, as I was using Windows XP.
I ran some online diagnostic that determined that my computer hardware is well above average for present demands.
I tried all in-between versions of Windows (Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) and didn't like any.
Yielding to the pressure by software developers, last week I added an SSD with Windows 10, so now I can select which OS I'll boot with. Win 10 is comparatively slower than XP to do anything (except loading, thanks to the SSD speed), and won't run a significant number of programs, so I'll keep both OSs, using 10 only for those that won't run on XP any more.
Non-paying clients - That's a matter of setting up and enforcing risk policies. One prospect had been insisting to have me work for them. I eventually took a $33 job from them, and they didn't pay - as expected. It was within my policy's acceptable risk level, so I won't waste my time any more rejecting jobs from them.
Unrewarding jobs - What's an unrewarding job? I see too many translators eager to get into video subtitling, openly expressing their dream of having the privilege of being the first to watch those movies everyone will be talking about forever. They fail to consider that these will most likely be assigned to experienced pros, and that, if they master the required skills, they'll be translating a large number of pretty dull or disgusting flicks too, which is often frustrating.
I get particularly frustrated from realizing that I could do a much better audio mixing job than some guys who actually do it in Hollywood. Maybe that's because my training was for theater sound, where we have only ONE chance to make it right, there is no "undo" button, we can't "rewind" the play before a live audience to show it again.
Lowering rates - Yes, this one could be really frustrating, if I were lowering MY rates merely because bargain hunters want me to do so. I shun frustration by considering that anyone who wants to pay less than my rates is not seeking the level of service I deliver, and move on.
Stress - Frustration causes stress. Hence stress can't be frustrating, but the other way around.
Too many taxes - This is an aspect of each and every paid professional endeavor. It is more or less frustrating depending on the kind of politicians a country has in its government.
I'd add to the list:
Wrong expectations I - Some clients expect translators to be money lenders. As I don't keep an inventory of translations ready for delivery, bought on credit, the chain of supply starts with me, the translator. A number of translation clients expect me to work for them AND also lend them money, so they'll pay me in 30, 60, 90 or more days after I deliver my SERVICE. I checked with my bank, they DON'T provide translation services. So why should I provide financial services? And even if I did, I'd be an eternal amateur doing it. Professional banks compete against each other on who offers loans at the lowest interest rates. As an amateur, my interest rates should be much higher than theirs. Some clients complain that my interest rates are too high, to buy from me on credit. It's a pity that I can't compare my translation rates with those offered by banks, as they don't do it.
Wrong expectations II - Some clients expect me to have a crystal ball. Do you want it done this way, or that way? "Whatever! Do your best." I mean, what do you intend to do with this translation? "I don't know. I was told to get it translated."
Wrong expectations III - Applying translators MUST use "CAT tool X", this is the only mandatory requirement; everything else is negotiable. Quite often in such cases, the original is handwritten, too short, an audio or video file, etc. So, I ask - if allowed, which is VERY rare - WHY do you need CAT tool X? ... and the answer is "our house policy, carved in stone; everything else is negotiable". ▲ Collapse
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 17:18
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| We can take control of most of them | Sep 25, 2016 |
I personally can't keep a grip on the IT side of the job - I'm useless at it. I just keep my fingers crossed as I know it isn't going to improve. But everything else on the list except taxes is under my control. And to be honest I've never objected to taxes and social contributions as I don't like to imagine the alternatives.
| | | | Doan Quang
Vietnam
Local time: 23:18
Member
English to Vietnamese
Teresa Borges wrote:
are my least favorite things...
[Edited at 2016-09-25 11:35 GMT]
| | | | Doan Quang
Vietnam
Local time: 23:18
Member
English to Vietnamese
Teresa Borges wrote:
Lowering rates + non-paying clients
Lowering rates + non-paying clients
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