| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you consider your CAT tool(s) more of an investment, or more of an expense? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you consider your CAT tool(s) more of an investment, or more of an expense?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 11:45
Member (2009)
English to German
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| An investment | Jun 16, 2020 |
They are definitely an investment and amortized themselves within a couple of months.
| | | | Anna Herbst
Australia
Local time: 21:45
English to Swedish
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MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER
I do not use CAT tools if I can avoid it.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:45
Spanish to English
+ ...
They speed up my workflow,so it was worthwhile.
I wouldn't like to have to pay the high price of Trados, but thankfully, I've never needed to.
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I belong to a species at risk of extinction known in our trade as a dinosaur: I don’t own a CAT tool and like Anna Herbst I do not use them if I can avoid it…
| | | | Mónica Algazi
Uruguay
Local time: 07:45
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
My major clients provide their own CAT platforms, so there is no need to purchase any CAT tools. As for the rest, I do not need them for transcreation.
| | | | Elías Sauza
Mexico
Local time: 04:45
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
+ ...
They are en investment with a fast ROI.
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I hate to sound like an ad, but MateCat, which is excellent, is free
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DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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| Define:investment | Jun 16, 2020 |
1. the action or process of investing money for profit.
o a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future.
"Freezers really are a good investment for the elderly"
o an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.
"The time spent in attending the seminar is an investment in our professional futures"
2. ARCHAIC
o the surrounding of a place by a hostile force in order to besiege or blockade it.
They say a clever mind should always have Plan A, B, and C to achieve certain goals using specific approaches and tools. However, no mere tools—including computer-aided translation—can guarantee the equivalent rendering (en/decoding) of ideas, especially where mechanized monotony is a big no-no.
Meanwhile, most middlemen and some direct clients require certain CATs on a whim as a mere pretext to (1) low standard rates, (2) fuzzy matches, (3) ‘discounts’, (4) ‘freebies’, and other ploys often resulting in under $0.0125/word flat: The translator regularly pays for the status, maintenance, and several subscriptions in vain.
Unfortunately, they turned Never translate the same or similar again! to notorious Never be paid for translating the same or similar again!
The cashflow is showing: income is [+] for you, expense is [-] from you.
Hardly is it a smart decision to bet against your own biz, undermining very your profits and future.
Thus, it's not so much about the mere tools, as the favorable terms.
[Edited at 2020-06-16 17:56 GMT]
| | | | Aline Amorim
Brazil
Local time: 07:45
English to Portuguese
+ ...
ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you consider your CAT tool(s) more of an investment, or more of an expense?". View the poll results »
An investment.
| | | | | Definitely an investment | Jun 17, 2020 |
But it very much depends which field you're using them for. If it is a field that uses a lot of repetitions, definitely an investment but I find they do condition the way you translate if you use them for marketing, creative fields. Even where a word must be translated by X in one part but then the same word appears and X is not the right word for it, X can put you off whereas if there was no CAT tool, you would not consider X for the second word but Y instinctively. However, they are perfect fo... See more But it very much depends which field you're using them for. If it is a field that uses a lot of repetitions, definitely an investment but I find they do condition the way you translate if you use them for marketing, creative fields. Even where a word must be translated by X in one part but then the same word appears and X is not the right word for it, X can put you off whereas if there was no CAT tool, you would not consider X for the second word but Y instinctively. However, they are perfect for consistency. And I hate the one translation agencies provide as they are the ones that condition your thinking and translation.
[Edited at 2020-06-17 10:41 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Definitely an investment | Jun 17, 2020 |
I have one specific direct client which regularlry sends me contents with lots of repetitions. Sometimes, that's almost 30% of Context Matches on a whole project with several thousand words... Not to mention that some agencies, when they don't provide their own CAT licence, require the use of a personal CAT tool.
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DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
| Business: Unrealized income | Jun 17, 2020 |
Definitely as an investment (for CAT vendors).
I like some arguments regarding the besieged translation business as an investment, so let's face it:
Verifiable numbers speak louder than mere words.
The usual working day has about seven hours allowing short exercises, lunch and tea/coffee breaks—just five hours net. It takes a highly skilled specialist some five hours to translate and review about 2000 words at $.10/word flat, making $40 an hour. ... See more Definitely as an investment (for CAT vendors).
I like some arguments regarding the besieged translation business as an investment, so let's face it:
Verifiable numbers speak louder than mere words.
The usual working day has about seven hours allowing short exercises, lunch and tea/coffee breaks—just five hours net. It takes a highly skilled specialist some five hours to translate and review about 2000 words at $.10/word flat, making $40 an hour. Indeed, he can occasionally do some 4000 words as a rush job at 130%-500% rates, but who cares?
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1) Company A requires CAT#1 offering max $.07/word (because CAT matters! as an excuse) for at least 3000 words a day, including free edits/ proofreads/ revisions, DTP/ conversions, and so on. Nicely 3000 × $0.07 = $210 a day or $42/hour?
Not so pretty: According to ‘best rate’ projections, the infamous ‘internal/ fuzzy matches/ discounts’ and PEMT easily can make it under $0.0125/word flat – $7.5 an hour.
Hello McDonalds’ freshman! But for what?
Also the CAT license for three years is $700 plus subscriptions, trainings, and updates, let alone steep learning curve, TM accumulation, preparation, and glitches. Thus, it will take some 100 unpaid hours to recoup the buy for giving 80%+ ‘discounts’. However, it’s just not enough!
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2) So, the translator meets Company B, which demands CAT#2, offering max $.05/word (because CAT!) for 4000+ a day, including ‘traditional’ freebies: Wow! Finally the cherished $40 an hour?!
No way: The ‘discount’ greed grid by default aims at $0.01/word – $40 a day or $8 an hour. Unlike the initial rate without overtimes, after Company’s A $0.0125/word flat, the commercial offer from Company B averaged $0.01/word is pretty comparable acceptable, but still it is not enough.
While the CAT is just $500 for five years plus the stuff, it requires hardware upgrades and a new laptop is strongly recommended, wasting some 65 unpaid hours to go belly-up break-even for the tool. Far too little!
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3) Company C, where CAT#3 is a must, could offer $0.03/word (because!) for 4500 words a day with freebies. Why, the CAT is free, but online, bulky, and glitchy. Even with PE/MT one cannot do make more a day. So far, instead of $27 per hour, they nicely pay about $8/hour—after six month.
Dirty cheap and cheap dirty.
*And now—ALL estimates are before taxes and expenses.
In all, can you see the hardcore optimization Lost profits trend? Or you numbers really differ very much for better?
If you cannot get the big picture that working more and harder has little to do with earning more, then…
Eventually, there should be no ‘pure’ translators; meanwhile, just mind the alien ‘standards’, favorable (for you!) terms, and rather expensive ‘freebies’.
Take care ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 07:45
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| An investment | Jun 18, 2020 |
It's doubtlessly and investment, with a very fast ROI, too. But I still think the major CATs (Trados and MemoQ) are way more expensive than they should be. The prices are based on supply vs. demand, of course, but the actual worth is way lower than the prices charged.
| | | | Eliza Hall
United States
Local time: 05:45
French to English
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| What IS a "repetition" in Trados? | Jun 19, 2020 |
I just had a client send me an almost 9500-word document (in MS Word), but then offer my per-word price x 6500 words as payment, because they have Trados on their end and apparently it said there were 3000 repetitions.
Looking at the doc itself, I don't see blocks of identical text anywhere. Which makes me wonder, what does Trados count as a repetition? This is French; is every instance of the word "le" counted as a repetition?! (I mean every instance after the first, obviously).... See more I just had a client send me an almost 9500-word document (in MS Word), but then offer my per-word price x 6500 words as payment, because they have Trados on their end and apparently it said there were 3000 repetitions.
Looking at the doc itself, I don't see blocks of identical text anywhere. Which makes me wonder, what does Trados count as a repetition? This is French; is every instance of the word "le" counted as a repetition?! (I mean every instance after the first, obviously).
Do you know how Trados counts repetitions? I've googled but had no luck. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Do you consider your CAT tool(s) more of an investment, or more of an expense? | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
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