| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Translation business in a deep slump? Thread poster: JAN SNAUWAERT
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Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:32
Romanian to English
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| I think the niche is very important | Jul 18 |
In my opinion, if you work(ed) in a boutique domain, the competition in your field is low and demand is high you can do very well.
I am 72, have been retired for six years and I have requests for my services (court interpreting and legal translation in the criminal field) more than before the pandemic.
Right now, I am on a three months "vacation" in Europe and do at least 2-3 ZOOM court hearings/week.
My 2 c.
Lee
| | | | Jean Lachaud 
United States
Local time: 03:32
English to French
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| Let's correct misconceptions | Jul 19 |
Good day to all.
The address (https://www.sft.fr/fr/mentions-legales) listed on the SFT web site appears to be the Secretary's personal address. And calling Le Mans a "very humble city"??
I used to belong to the SFT's "Comité directeur." I don't remember any prestigious address in Paris, except that of the President's of the time.
Also, separately, contrary... See more Good day to all.
The address (https://www.sft.fr/fr/mentions-legales) listed on the SFT web site appears to be the Secretary's personal address. And calling Le Mans a "very humble city"??
I used to belong to the SFT's "Comité directeur." I don't remember any prestigious address in Paris, except that of the President's of the time.
Also, separately, contrary to allegations in this thread, the US economy is booming, with companies hiring left and right, which one had not seen since Bill Clinton was president.
I'm not saying that incomes have followed the inflation, though.
David GAY wrote:
Anyway, 30 years ago, the French Translator association was located at one of the most prestigious addresses in Paris. Nowadays, it's located in very humble city. So I think it perfectly illustrates the current situation in this industry. ▲ Collapse
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 09:32
English to French
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[quote]Jean Lachaud wrote:
Good day to all.
The address (https://www.sft.fr/fr/mentions-legales) listed on the SFT web site appears to be the Secretary's personal address. And calling Le Mans a "very humble city"??
I used to belong to the SFT's "Comité directeur." I don't remember any prestigious address in Paris, except that of the President's of the time.
Also, separately, contrary to allegations in this thread, the US economy is booming, with companies hiring left and right, which one had not seen since Bill Clinton was president.
I'm not saying that incomes have followed the inflation, though.[quote]
So according to you, this association doesn't even have its own registered address.
It's a bit odd
its address used to be
SFT - Société française des traducteurs, Paris. 109 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008, Paris
So according to you, they had no business premises at this adress?
[Edited at 2024-07-20 07:52 GMT]
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 09:32
English to French
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Jean Lachaud wrote:
And calling Le Mans a "very humble city"??
.
David GAY wrote:
Anyway, 30 years ago, the French Translator association was located at one of the most prestigious addresses in Paris. Nowadays, it's located in very humble city.
Sorry to hurt your feelings, but I wouldn't say Le Mans is an exclusive or a prestigious address. Rents there are much cheaper there than in any major city in France. I think very few people, even Frenchmen have ever been there except those who live in the Sarthe departement.
En 2021, la ville comptait 145 004 habitantsNote 2 ce qui en fait la première ville de la Sarthe, la troisième ville des Pays de la Loire pour le nombre d'habitants intra-muros après Nantes et Angers et la 23e ville de France. Avec 347 626 habitants, l'aire urbaine du Mans est la 28e française et la 3e de la région.
source Wikipedia
[Edited at 2024-07-20 07:36 GMT]
[Edited at 2024-07-20 07:49 GMT]
[Edited at 2024-07-20 07:50 GMT]
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Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 09:32
English to German
+ ...
Jean Lachaud wrote:
the US economy is booming, with companies hiring left and right, which one had not seen since Bill Clinton was president.
I'm not saying that incomes have followed the inflation, though.
You say it, people need 2 or even 3 jobs in the US in order to make a living.
I am watching the financial market and it is telling us that we still have to wait a bit before we see a recovery.
Among other things, major investors are starting to demand proof from tech companies of the concrete gains from AI.
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Enrique Bjarne Strand Ferrer wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I have been translating for over 40 years and although over the years work has always been a roller coaster I’ve been noticing since Covid-19 that the ride is even bumpier: a good month is followed by a bad one. So, how were my first 6 months of this year?
January: quite good
February: bad
March: so, so
April: good
May: terrible
June: terrible
July: good, so far
If the work that's been announced for August and September turns out, these will be my best months of the year… Fingers crossed!
January: so, so
February: bad
March: so, so
April: bad
May: bad
June: good
July; terrible until now
I'm down 28 % so far this year (end of june).
January: terrible
February: bad
March: bad
April: terrible
May: terrible
June: so, so
July: good, so far
I'm down 45% from my average in all these years. I am seriously considering quitting.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 09:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
January: just below my minimum goal
February: minimum goal met
March: top goal met
April: top goal met
May: top goal met
June: top goal met
July: with one week to go, 8 working hours short of top goal met
I'm not a niche translator, so chances are slim that I belong to some lucky minority.
Possible explanation: a combination of:
1) being good at what I do
2) an excellent price-quality ratio
3) being able to cover a l... See more January: just below my minimum goal
February: minimum goal met
March: top goal met
April: top goal met
May: top goal met
June: top goal met
July: with one week to go, 8 working hours short of top goal met
I'm not a niche translator, so chances are slim that I belong to some lucky minority.
Possible explanation: a combination of:
1) being good at what I do
2) an excellent price-quality ratio
3) being able to cover a large array of specializations
4) offering at least 2 (in my case 3) language combinations (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = loyal customers)
5) embracing machine translation wisely (= offering a profitable MTPE rate that good agencies still can accept)
6) having a diversified client base that works as communicating vessels (if one client temporarily 'disappears', another one shows up)
7) luck.
As far as the economy is concerned: in my 19 years as a freelance translator every single economical, financial or health crisis passed without any bad consequences for my business.
Perhaps my luck will be over tomorrow, something I have always feared since day 1, but the hard facts are that I keep on doing more than okay year after year after year.
And as many Proz polls have made clear since over 4 years : more than half of the freelancers is still doing okay. I'm inclined to think that this has more or less always been the case, even decades ago.
I respect and am sorry for the less favourable position of other translators here, but I think it's important to counterbalance the negative reports. Even today I remain convinced that there is still a future in the translation business.
I've hesitated to post this, because today's truth could be tomorrow's lie. But I promise that I will also be honest when reality would start hitting me hard. ▲ Collapse
| | | | JAN SNAUWAERT
Belgium
Local time: 09:32
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for this update, Lieven | Jul 24 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
January: just below my minimum goal
February: minimum goal met
March: top goal met
April: top goal met
May: top goal met
June: top goal met
July: with one week to go, 8 working hours short of top goal met
I'm not a niche translator, so chances are slim that I belong to some lucky minority.
Possible explanation: a combination of:
1) being good at what I do
2) an excellent price-quality ratio
3) being able to cover a large array of specializations
4) offering at least 2 (in my case 3) language combinations (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = loyal customers)
5) embracing machine translation wisely (= offering a profitable MTPE rate that good agencies still can accept)
6) having a diversified client base that works as communicating vessels (if one client temporarily 'disappears', another one shows up)
7) luck.
As far as the economy is concerned: in my 19 years as a freelance translator every single economical, financial or health crisis passed without any bad consequences for my business.
Perhaps my luck will be over tomorrow, something I have always feared since day 1, but the hard facts are that I keep on doing more than okay year after year after year.
And as many Proz polls have made clear since over 4 years : more than half of the freelancers is still doing okay. I'm inclined to think that this has more or less always been the case, even decades ago.
I respect and am sorry for the less favourable position of other translators here, but I think it's important to counterbalance the negative reports. Even today I remain convinced that there is still a future in the translation business.
I've hesitated to post this, because today's truth could be tomorrow's lie. But I promise that I will also be honest when reality would start hitting me hard.
Thank you for this update, Lieven. Well, without a doubt, I am also (very) good at what I do. I satisfy most items you mention. I guess, what I miss right now is luck.
Also, I am pretty sure there is *really* a translation business slump going on right now. Everyone will experience it sooner or later.
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JAN SNAUWAERT
Belgium
Local time: 09:32
Member (2008)
French to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
David Urdiales wrote:
Enrique Bjarne Strand Ferrer wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I have been translating for over 40 years and although over the years work has always been a roller coaster I’ve been noticing since Covid-19 that the ride is even bumpier: a good month is followed by a bad one. So, how were my first 6 months of this year?
January: quite good
February: bad
March: so, so
April: good
May: terrible
June: terrible
July: good, so far
If the work that's been announced for August and September turns out, these will be my best months of the year… Fingers crossed!
January: so, so
February: bad
March: so, so
April: bad
May: bad
June: good
July; terrible until now
I'm down 28 % so far this year (end of june).
January: terrible
February: bad
March: bad
April: terrible
May: terrible
June: so, so
July: good, so far
I'm down 45% from my average in all these years. I am seriously considering quitting.
I understand. End June, I was about 10,000 Euro down with respect to last year. The reason I don't panic right now, is that in 1 year and a half, I will be retired.
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 03:32
German to English
| My personal barometer | Jul 24 |
I base my assessment on the level of business activity in the translation sector on two factors:
1. The number of spam emails I receive from random agencies/individuals who don't bother to look at my Proz page where I actively discourage frivolous or unrealistic offers. Prior to the pandemic my spam folder received 4-6 inquiries per week, often more. Lately, my spam folder has been empty for weeks at a time.
2. The number of Kudoz queries from individuals who take on jobs they're obv... See more I base my assessment on the level of business activity in the translation sector on two factors:
1. The number of spam emails I receive from random agencies/individuals who don't bother to look at my Proz page where I actively discourage frivolous or unrealistic offers. Prior to the pandemic my spam folder received 4-6 inquiries per week, often more. Lately, my spam folder has been empty for weeks at a time.
2. The number of Kudoz queries from individuals who take on jobs they're obviously unqualified for. Prior to the pandemic, some of the regulars in my language pair posted multiple queries per week, presumably pertaining to the same translation (I'm excluding those engaged in translation of historical or personal documents involving obscure terminology or colloquialisms). Lately there have been very few multiple queries from these individuals.
Relying in these factors alone, I believe the industry is in a definite slump. ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Fulton wrote:
Relying in these factors alone, I believe the industry is in a definite slump.
Maybe. On the other hand, the economy isn't actually shrinking, being more competitive could just as well mean splashing out on good comms rather than cutting back on translation, and MT/AI can only be grabbing the low end of the market.
It's impossible to know. I can only go by my own experience, which is that there has never in 30 years been any correlation at all between the state of the economy and demand for my services. The difference between a good year and a not-so-good year has only ever been whether or not I get an unexpected project over the summer.
This year I haven't, but I can't really read anything into that.
| | | | David GAY
Local time: 09:32
English to French
+ ...
| my personal barometer | Jul 25 |
My barometer, beyond the signals already mentioned above by Kevin Fulton, is
the number of small agencies that cease trading and the number of translators seeking
some other job. So I can say there's really a slump in this industry.
[Edited at 2024-07-25 09:05 GMT]
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Jean Lachaud
United States
Local time: 03:32
English to French
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| Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 09:32
English to German
+ ...
Interesting, it confirms what many are saying here.
Inflation, Disruptions due to generative AI, Disruptions due to technology in our industry and Fluctuating demand for my areas (but also the other categories) are all linked to the first in the list: INFLATION that followed the invasion of Ukraine due to the abrupt rise of energy costs = all product prices rose > higher interest rates implemented by the FED & co > less investments etc.
Disruptions due to generative AI is more a concern as you can't know this for sure, but due to inflation (= higher costs that can't be all passed along + reduced sales), it is conceivable that companies are trying to save money by using LLMs and MT technology for the strict necessary, and since sales dropped, they are deferring other investments.
Another interesting article on the US economy, with links to further informative sites: https://money.usnews.com/investing/articles/recession-2024-what-to-watch-how-to-prepare
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 09:32
English to German
+ ...
Kevin Fulton wrote:
I base my assessment on the level of business activity in the translation sector on two factors:
1. The number of spam emails I receive from random agencies/individuals who don't bother to look at my Proz page where I actively discourage frivolous or unrealistic offers. Prior to the pandemic my spam folder received 4-6 inquiries per week, often more. Lately, my spam folder has been empty for weeks at a time.
Regarding this, as I mentioned in my first post, I've been getting more interesting inquiries here and on my website for about a month or so now (no MTPE involved), which could mean things are starting to go better. But that's just a personal guess.
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