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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/16/2010 2:43:23 AM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 45
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Every time you take a job offering a few paltry pennies a word, that is one less job that should have paid a more living wage, more word of mouth advertising among clients that the rock-bottom rate-paying agencies deliver and less future work at a decent scale.
The solution? Just say no to these bottom-feeders. Don't help drive down your own rates elsewhere.
Stick together and show soldiarity to your colleagues. The tempting thought "No one will know if I take this one $0.04 per word job" is wrong, because you strengthen that market and weaken the better market.
So stop bidding against yourself. Always negotiate for a better rate, and never hesitiate to protect your ultimate carreer by saying "No!"
Don't be a willing victim in the race to the bottom. Supply-sdie economics is dead; what stimulates an economy is higher disposable income, and that means higher pay.
We are in a fight for our economic future and we have to act in concert for the benefit of all in order to help ourselves.
Just say no to low-paying work, becuase accepting it, cuts your own throat.
-Scott
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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/28/2009 9:59:50 AM
Posts: 1,
Visits: 14
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Hello,
I share your view 100%. The problem is that agencies are outsourcing in developing markets, and they get away with cut-throat rates that enable them to pay for a professional editor to fix quality of a poor translation.
The same goes for consulting rates, whether business, legal, architectural or engineering... Man-hour rates are dropping dramatically, everywhere!
Do you know of any serious collective effort to (legally) improve man-hour rates on a global scale?
Best,
Mike
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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/18/2010 10:26:17 PM
Posts: 1,
Visits: 255
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| I totally agree with you. Is there a way we can have a chart or a list of the standard rate per word ? That would certainly help us.
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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/20/2009 3:11:15 PM
Posts: 2,
Visits: 21
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| I think it's about knowing your own skills and value of the work you produce, and being able to rightfully convince your clients that, in general, they get what they pay for (at least in my own case). I've asked around regarding fair rates to charge, and I stick to that margin. My customers In Canada (Quebec) and Norway are satisfied and return to me as a result. I am not a pig about it, but will certainly not work for pennies. I value quality, which is the message my rates convey. Forget about those insulting outsourcing offers from India paying 4 or 5 cents a word. My education and experience are from first-world countries, and I produce first-rate work. You only dig your own grave if you set the losing precedent of working for peanuts. It may take guts and strength to stand by your quoted rate the first few times (or with new customers), but once you've established a relationship of confidence with them (i.e., they like the results), then I believe you will keep these customers and even garner referrals through them. I am absolutely certain that garbage rates reflect garbage-quality translations.
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