| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | Are my translation rates too high? Seeking feedback on pricing strategy Thread poster: Alisha Rice
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 08:37
English to Russian
+ ...
Waseemabas37, May I point out that there are four pages in this post alone with every possible explanation there is, plus useful links, plus more posts on the same subject. What else? We do not have a brief but comprehensive recipe for "current market trends." All Tolstoy in 20 minutes... sorry, can't do.
I could point out that you didn't even specify your language pair but it wouldn't make any difference.
| | | | | Of course you can, working 15 hours a day :-))) | Aug 7 |
kd42 wrote:
Christel Zipfel wrote:
people telling us in all seriousness that they live on 3 cents/word (in Europe), but they didn't even know how much
If you translate 6-8k words daily, you can live decently in Europe.
But what kind of translator in their right mind would do this for around 200 euros EBT?
Anyway, I didn’t mean the *rates* as such, but of course referred to the output (= one‘s personal possible output) and in a broader sense to „cash oriented accounting“ (how much income vs. how many expenses), i.e. „bookkeeping basics“, or let's call it simply "common sense" which in such cases seem to be lacking dramatically.
It seems clear that it's simply impossible to make a living charging 3 cents, because working that many hours every day just to make ends meet would make no sense; furthermore, it would be completely insane, and at the expense of your mental and physical health. Better get a job at McDonald's.
(I hope your post was meant to be ironic.)
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 08:37
English to Russian
+ ...
| Now I have an honest question | Aug 7 |
Speed of 6-8K in 8-hour day with the machine help is not as gruesome a task as it would have been in the "manual mode", which could have been maintained for 1 or 2 days max. 200 euros x 20 days = 4000 before taxes, 48K/year. How many Europeans of all trades receive a compatible monthly salary and survive on it? It is my understanding that this number is not negligeable at all in any European country. 10 days off a month is nice too ... See more Speed of 6-8K in 8-hour day with the machine help is not as gruesome a task as it would have been in the "manual mode", which could have been maintained for 1 or 2 days max. 200 euros x 20 days = 4000 before taxes, 48K/year. How many Europeans of all trades receive a compatible monthly salary and survive on it? It is my understanding that this number is not negligeable at all in any European country. 10 days off a month is nice too
[Edited at 2024-08-07 11:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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IrinaN wrote:
Speed of 6-8K in 8-hour day with the machine help is not as gruesome a task as it would have been in the "manual mode", which could have been maintained for 1 or 2 days max. 200 euros x 20 days = 4000 before taxes, 48K/year. How many Europeans of all trades receive a compatible monthly salary and survive on it? It is my understanding that this number is not negligeable at all in any European country. 10 days off a month is nice too [Edited at 2024-08-07 11:46 GMT]
Yes, you could live comfortably on 48k in any country.
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Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 15:37
French to English
Alisha Rice wrote:
I am shocked because a Master's degree in Translation Studies should amount to a translator being able to charge higher rates in combination with other factors like years of experience. That's why they have degrees out there like that. I learned a great deal from receiving that degree that makes me a much more effective translator.
Sure. You didn't learn that it's a very badly paid profession where people are being ousted by bots?
Sorry but 15 cents a word from Spanish is a ridiculously high rate unless you manage to carve out a great reputation in some highly technical niche field like legal matters for the aerospace industry. I have a Master's, and also nearly 30 years' experience, and I charge that amount to one client only because she's a PITA. I quoted that because I didn't really want to work with her, since she stresses me out and also I personally find her product off-putting. She accepted anyway so I do the work thinking of the easy money.
Yes we as freelancers set our prices, but there's such a thing as pricing yourself out of the market.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:37
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Kay Denney wrote:
Yes we as freelancers set our prices, but there's such a thing as pricing yourself out of the market.
Exactly. It never ceases to amaze me how many translators enter the freelancing market totally unprepared and basically clueless. It's mind-blowing.
It was never my intention to become a freelancer. I just got the opportunity after being fired by my former agency employer. I had a translation degree, was working in 3 language pairs, had 5 years of broad experience and I knew a thing or two about rates (and on top of that I was encouraged by my former employer... who had just fired me), so I decided to give it a go (the best decision of my life, by the way, until this very day).
But just starting out like that... what a nightmare.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:37
Member
English to Turkish
Lieven Malaise wrote:
It was never my intention to become a freelancer. I just got the opportunity after being fired by my former agency employer.
I thought I was the only person who managed to get himself fired as an in-house translator.
Unlike you, I've slaved away for nearly 10 years. If only I could turn the clock back...
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Baran Keki wrote:
I thought I was the only person who managed to get himself fired as an in-house translator.
Yeah, but only one of you was caught in the stationery cupboard with an inflatable friend.
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Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:37
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Baran Keki wrote:
I thought I was the only person who managed to get himself fired as an in-house translator.
It wasn't that difficult. All it took was 1 attempt to talk back to my boss during a meeting (something with lemons an continually being squeezed). He wasn't amused.
Well, technically he didn't immediatly fire me. He showed me the dismissal letter and threatened me to send it unless I would be a good boy again. So I told him he could go to hell (my exact words were "Va te faire foutre", if I remember it correctly).
And nobody in that agency seemed to be older than 30, so it probably would have happened anyway at some point in time.
| | | | P.L.F. Persio
Netherlands
Local time: 15:37
Member (2010)
English to Italian
+ ...
| Way to stick it to the man, Lieven, well done! | Aug 8 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Baran Keki wrote:
I thought I was the only person who managed to get himself fired as an in-house translator.
It wasn't that difficult. All it took was 1 attempt to talk back to my boss during a meeting (something with lemons an continually being squeezed). He wasn't amused.
Well, technically he didn't immediatly fire me. He showed me the dismissal letter and threatened me to send it unless I would be a good boy again. So I told him he could go to hell (my exact words were "Va te faire foutre", if I remember it correctly).
And nobody in that agency seemed to be older than 30, so it probably would have happened anyway at some point in time.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:37
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
... but to be honest, I was pretty devastated by my dismissal at the time. I can be very lighthearted about it now, but it was a very hard lesson: I thought I was of some kind of value to the agency (my colleague and me were the most profitable department of the agency), so I thought I had some "weight". Boy, was I wrong.
I was young and naive and from then on I knew that everybody (E.V.E.R.Y.B.O.D.Y) is replaceable from one day to the next.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 17:37
Member
English to Turkish
| Replaceable/irreplaceable | Aug 8 |
I was fired because I wasn't able to produce a minimum of 4k words a day in any conceivable subject matter (and that was before MT/AI). I was taking my time to research, trying out various sentences/phrases/wordings to provide the best possible translation within the context and thus churning out less volume. I also talked back many times and wasn't on the best of terms with my boss.
On account of being employed for nearly 10 years, I was owed a fair bit of severance pay, and I was kind of... See more I was fired because I wasn't able to produce a minimum of 4k words a day in any conceivable subject matter (and that was before MT/AI). I was taking my time to research, trying out various sentences/phrases/wordings to provide the best possible translation within the context and thus churning out less volume. I also talked back many times and wasn't on the best of terms with my boss.
On account of being employed for nearly 10 years, I was owed a fair bit of severance pay, and I was kind of afraid of losing out on that dough had I taken the plunge myself, so she did it for me, for which I was grateful (I sued her immediately afterwards and got that money in like 3 or 4 years after an unnecessarily lengthy legal process, by which time that 'huge sum' didn't amount to much).
I thought I was a quality translator (always receiving positive feedback from clients) and therefore irreplaceable. But she proved me wrong! Apart from a few senior translators like myself, the agency had a huge turnover of personnel: young university graduates coming in, working for 4 or 5 months for less than minimum wage to get experience or just to pass the time, screwing up the agency's TMs in the process. It's a wonder she remained in the business as long as she did with the quality she delivered with those clueless rookies, but I was wrong there again. She opened 4 more branches (one in Birmingham, UK no less) since she'd fired me and she seems to be making money like there's no tomorrow. Goes to show the level of quality people come to expect in the third world I guess... ▲ Collapse
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Christopher Schröder wrote:
Yes, you could live comfortably on 48k in any country.
with a family, on one salary. Especially in London.
| | | | P.L.F. Persio
Netherlands
Local time: 15:37
Member (2010)
English to Italian
+ ...
I feel your pain for doing the right thing. I'm also a dedicated follower of the Va te faire... (Vaff... in Italian) School of Thought, and I've always had to pay the hefty consequences for being vocal, as recently as right now.
Funny thing is, when I was a sweet and naive young thing, they (my bosses, anyone hierarchically my senior, sexist jerks, etc.) thought that – what with me being extremely petite and, apparently, mild-mannered – I looked too meek and... See more I feel your pain for doing the right thing. I'm also a dedicated follower of the Va te faire... (Vaff... in Italian) School of Thought, and I've always had to pay the hefty consequences for being vocal, as recently as right now.
Funny thing is, when I was a sweet and naive young thing, they (my bosses, anyone hierarchically my senior, sexist jerks, etc.) thought that – what with me being extremely petite and, apparently, mild-mannered – I looked too meek and vulnerable to stand up for myself. At the very least, I had the surprise factor on my side: "Porzia, language! That's so unladylike!" – "Oh, boo hoo, tell that to someone who actually gives a f***ing f***!"
Good for you, Lieven, and you, Baran, don't have any regrets! You're both great professionals, and some of the coolest dudes I've ever met.
Non, rien de rien, je ne regrette rien even if it kills me. And it won't kill me. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Unsustainable in any case | Aug 8 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
Christopher Schröder wrote:
Yes, you could live comfortably on 48k in any country.
Not with a family, on one salary. Especially in London.
Plus, whether you have a family or not, working 15 hours every day would be too high a price to pay and unsustainable anyway for your health and everything else (family and social relations and so on). Not to mention the fact that earning max. 48 k, being lucky, and without holidays and health issues (before expenses and taxes!), you can't even afford a housekeeper who you would probably need under such heavy circumstances.
Anyway, this discussion is meant to be merely theoretical for the reasons I have explained before: no translator in their right mind would ever lead such a miserable life!
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