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Free translations? no, no, no.

olgaclopezm — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00:52 GMT

Good morning to everybody: This happened to me yesterday. This chinese agency contacted me for my very first job, of course I was more than exited about and the project was to translate 50 words movie synopsis in which I was changing $5 dollars, yes, $5 dollars and then after she contacted me I said to myself -"I am going to do this for free". She asked me to lower the price and then I said. -"Well... I am the one who speaks Spanish and that is what they need." You can not imagine how exited I was, considering that I am new in this and they were my first clients. Any way I lower the price to $3 dollars, only $3 dollars and then she sent me an email saying that they have contacted other translator but they needed a test on me and if I would please translate the document only like a test on me. YEA, RIGHT!!!!! We get so eager to start working and earning money even a small amount of money, we must not do our work for free, we have a skill that they do not have, they need us. That is all guys, have a great weekend. Olga

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

pazzallo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:00:52 GMT

Hi I have just been under-bid for about the 20th time on an interesting book translation.
For heavens sake folks, let's get real here - I work cheap, I asked a very cheap rate to get the work and got undercut by 50%!!

We have to make employers realise that if they pay peanuts they will get monkeys working for them. Nobody is going to survive unless we all decide once and for all to charge fair charges and NOT TO WORK FOR FREE!!! That is absolutely ridiculous and just ruins the careers of us all. The power to translate and earn a living should be in OUR hands not in the hands of those providing work and nobody benefite by allowing us to be exploited.

Thank God I do other things because I could never make a living from just :crazy:translating.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

donato — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:18:57 GMT

Dear Demie,

If you consider yourself a good translator and really care for our profession, perhaps you should try to find a different job; offering absurd rates only buries you down along with the rest of us who are trying to make a living out of translation...

Regards,

Donato

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Mouche12 — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:30:22 GMT

Well, you could start cleaning offices at € 17.50 per hour - you will then be able to support your family without working overnight all the time. And you won't screw up the translation market for other, qualified translators. I am a Dutch native speaker, working in the same language pair as you, and my lowest rate is € 0.09 per word, but then again, I am not dependent on this site for jobs! I have no problem finding sufficient work, so you just have to try harder and get a translation certificate.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

tradurol@fsmail.net — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:36:29 GMT

You should never work for this price for the simplest reason that you are destroying the market.:hehe:

Let's think about it... A sollicitor charges 300 $ an hour (about), he knows less than you knowledgewise and do not tell me he has responsability, this is not exactly true since if the does not manage to defend his client, himself never goes to jail so what responsability!

I bet you have to know more things to be able to translate than a sollicitor to be able to work...

if everybody works at this price, in 10 years, everybody will have to work for free..; This is the declining spirale my man... *
Then people will stop translating because it is not worth it.

I say let the low cost of living countrie agency deal within their country.
Just my thought...

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

rosezhao — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:28:10 GMT

Hi everyone,

I was reading all posts, and would like to share some useful information with you all.

Here is the link to the ATA (American Translators Associations)

[url=https://www.atanet.org/business_practices/smarts_2008_october.php][/url]

[url=https://www.atanet.org/business_practices/earnings_calculator.php][/url]

I also like to share my story with you, I started my translation service since I was 14 years old. But I never learn to charge for it until 24 years old. I spent equal amount of time in two different countries to be able to provide accurate translation and interpretation. There's no doubt that the cost to become a professional translator is not cheap. ;)Therefore, never sell yourself cheap. If you don't take that job, no one can force you. Stand firm and you will get what you are qualify for. If what you need is education, go get it. If what you need is practice, go to volunteer and get experience. If you need business coach, go get it. It doesn't hurt to ask any senior translators or business owners, or government agency who are there to help you to start up. But never, never sell it for free or for a penny. It's way easier to make those stable few bucks at McDonalds's than being a free professional translator.

Good luck to all. :)

Rose

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Ayako.Nakamura — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:54:41 GMT

What the Dutch translator who says he's working for peanuts is doing, is not doing anyone a favor - even himself.

I'm not saying he's necessarily churning out bad work because certification/education does not mean the translation is going to be better if the translator (who's not certified) is bilingual and has a lot of experience.

He is however harming the entire market for Dutch/English translations by doing this by crashing the rates....for everyone, and I'm pretty sure the quality of his work suffers too versus what he could do if they paid him more and gave him more time to do the work, because he's working too hard. People don't perform as well when they're being overworked.

You may still think you're doing 'intellectual work' doing translating instead of digging a ditch, but if you're getting paid less than a child in a Nike sweatshop in China, then you should give-up translating and be a waiter in the Netherlands. You'll find you have more time to spend with your family and at least the minimum wage for waiters and their labor conditions will be subject to the law there.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

patmrich — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:34:19 GMT

hi Bea,

the question is , Did you agree from the begining to do it for free?, then is ok . But if you have a contract and do a professional work , and work one week on it , and you don't get pay thats fraud.

pat

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

mshrink — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:17:30 GMT

I think we all should set a non/negotiable price, and be happy even if we do not get the job.
I am a free lance translator, educated in a different profession, but consider myself fine and professional translator. At the beginning I did many works for free, as many of you.
But we have a skill that is need it and has a value.
regards
Bea

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

caro23 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:08:28 GMT

I also agree that there is a lot of competition, and for all of us who had not finished their undergraduate degree, it becomes infinitely harder to land a job. Finally, I decided not to take the $2 jobs for large and complicated documents, and figured volunteer work is more adequate and looks better in my resume while I build my portfolio, improve my skills and can offer better quality and better paid jobs. I hope that joining this site pays me back throughout the year. Happy Bidding, everyone!

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

JohnFromCanada — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:34:02 GMT

People will rate you by how much you charge. If you only charge $0.01 they will consider that you only produce quality that is worth $0.01. If you raise your price to $0.10 you won't get every job but you will get the jobs that need $0.10 worth of value.

Don't charge only $0.01, there is no need to sell yourself short.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Sirhanna — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:50:38 GMT

Please, please do NOT work for nothing (like the Dutch translator and the one who translates for 0.01 USD per word).

That only makes you AND your colleagues suffer. Whether or not you are an educated translator, as a translator you have special skills and you are doing a demanding work, remember to appreciate that. How many of your clients is really asking what qualifications you have (the Dutch translator)? I guess you must have some skills from somewhere, if you can translate.

You don't need to have a degree in Mathematics to calculate how much you need to earn to make a living. What do you need a month to pay your rent, eat properly, have fun sometimes.

For example you can count per hour, how much can you translate in an hour? Take into account that you dont translate all the time, say, 40 hours per week (of course you can work 60 hours per week, but what will that do to your health and the quality of your work?), but you also need to search for clients, negotiate with them etc. and still make enough money. If you make a living, you also pay taxes, like VAT, at least you should.

Let's say you can charge for 20 hours of work per week if you're lucky. If you ask less than 0.15 USD per word, will you survive? I wouldn't, adding extra costs for running own business, making a living etc. I only have to support myself, and I'd say 0.18 USD is beginning to be fair, in my country, of course there are differences (but I believe not much with the Netherlands).

Second thing, if they are in a horry, you might be their only chance. Use that to get better prices. Quick delivery, your expertise, your language combination etc. Imagine yourself in a bazaar, if that helps :)

Let's cooperate, colleagues :)

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

silvermoon — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:22:04 GMT

I found somewhere in this website a way to know how much to charge, there are also some generous ppl here posting their experiences and sharing their knowledge with those of us who are now going freelance for the first time.

Look around this website, you will find some sort of tabulator that will tell you approximately how much to charge.

Good luck! and, if possible, could you tell me if you got that job from this website?

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

I.G. — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:05:33 GMT

But tell me everyone
What's a 'reasonable' price? I've done stuff for 0.01$, was about 4600 words. That was my first translation job ever. Now what? Shall I skip to 0.10 already?

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

femme — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:04:35 GMT

People who accept to do translations at ridiculously low rates are bad for the profession (and me), unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as working for a start-up, or if the file to be translated is large (such as a book). Those who expect translators at ridiculously low rates (especially translation agencies) should be refused by every translator so that they go out of business and never exploit any translator again. Not to mention that, in the end, you willl have hurt yourself, also.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

silvermoon — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:57 GMT

Hi,

To the dutch person who says he gets the jobs nobody wants... how do you do it? I don´t find an option to contact the person responsible for the project.

To the community: the due date is the date they pick a bidder or the date by which the project has to be submited?

I am new and can´t find an answer to those questions. I will have more time to explore this website later on.

Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays to all!

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

LEAWISE — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:40:48 GMT

hey olga,hope you are allright now.i think what Forum Newbie said is true.you will understand the real life.Anyway good luck to us all!:)

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

cordaz — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:43:07 GMT

Yes, it also has to do with correct spelling.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Demie-Brit — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:03:37 GMT

Hi,

I am one of those translators that will accept next to nothing for a job and work myself silly (pulling many all nighters) just to earn a buck. I work for the absurd price of 0,023 ct/word translating seriously difficult technical stuff like diagnostic software.

I consider myself to be a very fine translator - native speaker of both Dutch and English - but due to the fact that I never had an official education I'm not considered to be a 'real' translator in The Netherlands.

Money is extremely tight in my neck of the woods (I can't even afford to become a member here to scout for better jobs) so lets just say I'm happy to pick up the 'cheap leftovers' that you folks won't accept.

All I want to say is that you need to be careful when judging people for their actions. My accepting of 'cheap' jobs is born out of necessity because I just don't qualify for 'better' jobs, despite being a good translator.

Trust me, I'd LOVE to be able to work for better money and be able to spend more time with my kids instead of chugging away for peanuts!

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Standa — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:01:55 GMT

I do agree, but only partially. Repetitions usually don't concern single words, but entire segments. A segment can be a word, a sentence, a clause, or a whole paragraph, depending on the segmentation rules. If a sentence repeats, it is usually translated the same way. Of course, there are exceptions but not many.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Virginiamc — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:14:06 GMT

Hi everybody!

I absolutely agree with all of you. We should stand up and fight against low price and garbage produced by people who call themselves translators. Translations is much more than managing a dicctionary!!

H&K

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Demoiselle — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:21:55 GMT

You are so right about that translation. I mean $55.00 and they are probably saying that because there are repetitions but what people dont understand is that just because a word is repeated does not mean it will be intepretated the same way. Just sad, so sad.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

Standa — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:09:03 GMT

Seconded.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

HillaryM — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:55:08 GMT

It is interesting, though, to see just how ignorant people are about the value of translation (I mean people who are not translators): I just saw an ad with someone wanting a 4,200-word translation for $55! And unfortunately, because there are many people/agencies out there who will take such a terribly low offer, it thins the pool for the rest of us who are trying to make a living. Stick to your guns about price: be fair, both to the customer, and to yourself.

RE: Free translations? no, no, no.

raphitahelena — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:02:55 GMT

Agree with you, absolutely ! We have a speciefic skill that people need and we should stand firm and be professional about it. Translation or interpreting is not just looking into a dictionary and copy-pasting words from there. :)