Mentoring Thread poster: Alisha Rice
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Alisha Rice 
United States
Local time: 05:25
Member (Jun 2024)
Spanish to English
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I have found it hard to find someone who is willing to serve as a mentor for the language pairs Spanish to English and Portuguese to English. I am fine if I can find a mentor for each language pair. I am really struggling to find work out there and I don't think the methods in which I am searching for work are working. I think someone more experienced in the field could help provide some guidance in how I can navigate this field because I am sure I am doing something wrong. I would appreciate a... See more I have found it hard to find someone who is willing to serve as a mentor for the language pairs Spanish to English and Portuguese to English. I am fine if I can find a mentor for each language pair. I am really struggling to find work out there and I don't think the methods in which I am searching for work are working. I think someone more experienced in the field could help provide some guidance in how I can navigate this field because I am sure I am doing something wrong. I would appreciate anyone that can point me in the right direction of any mentorships out there. I have to go with mentorships though that do not cost as I am not working right now. Thanks! ▲ Collapse
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ProZ has a mentoring scheme. Have you tried that?
If you're in a professional association they probably offer a mentoring scheme too.
It sounds like you are looking for mentoring in business skills and marketing so maybe it doesn't even need to be someone in your language pair.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 14:25
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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Do I remember it well that your rate was quite high (something along the lines of 0.12)? That alone might explain a lot of your problems finding jobs. It's difficult to compare rates in different countries and different language pairs, but if I would start to ask a rate like that I'm pretty sure I would be completely out of (agency) work really soon.
[Bijgewerkt op 2024-11-05 09:44 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 14:25
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Mentoring or business advice? | Nov 5 |
What you describe sounds more like business consulting rather than mentoring as you are asking how to get your hands on more jobs. Mentoring is more about subject-matter skills or increasing subject-matter expertise (in your case it'd be Spanish-English translation or similar).
[Edited at 2024-11-05 11:39 GMT]
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Lingua 5B wrote:
What you describe sounds more like business consulting rather than mentoring as you are asking how to get your hands on more jobs. Mentoring is more about subject-matter skills or increasing subject-matter expertise (in your case it'd be Spanish-English translation or similar).
[Edited at 2024-11-05 11:39 GMT]
Mentoring is a general term - it can be about anything, including business skills.
| | | | Alisha Rice
United States
Local time: 05:25
Member (Jun 2024)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I would say I am looking to better my translation skills because I did fail a translation test I was given by a company and did poorly on the ATA practice tests so that I believe falls under the category of mentoring but also find better ways to market myself so I can obtain some translation jobs. As far as my rate that was addressed in a post, I got a different response from someone in Argentina telling me that is a competitive rate for those language pairs. I seem to be getting different resp... See more I would say I am looking to better my translation skills because I did fail a translation test I was given by a company and did poorly on the ATA practice tests so that I believe falls under the category of mentoring but also find better ways to market myself so I can obtain some translation jobs. As far as my rate that was addressed in a post, I got a different response from someone in Argentina telling me that is a competitive rate for those language pairs. I seem to be getting different responses on rates for translators and I look on people's profiles and people charge all kinds of rates for my language pairs and their years of experience vary. I could lower my rate to as low as .08 USD but I would never make it on that where I live in California. The cost of living has skyrocketed. I wouldn't be able to be a freelancer. That's the dilemma I have. It seems like in this industry translators cannot demand higher pay for reasons I am still unsure of. I think maybe because we have international translators who are willing to charge much less than U.S. translators so then U.S. translators cannot demand higher pay. I wish changes could be made so translators are paid what they deserve. I think I was also told things have worsened lately over recent years. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 14:25
English to German
+ ...
| many aspects to consider | Nov 6 |
Alisha Rice wrote:
I would say I am looking to better my translation skills because I did fail a translation test I was given by a company and did poorly on the ATA practice tests ...
In that case, as a first step I would try to improve my skills - a mentor could be really helpful here. As a _good_ translator your chances are way better. Then maybe do some pro bono translations you can provide as examples.
I would also avoid making similar statements in public under my real name - I think agencies will do their due diligence and see what they can find about you on the web.
There's also the fact that you've chosen a really difficult time to start your career as a translator, with machine translation, large language models and a weak economy not really working in your favour at the moment.
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Alisha Rice wrote:
I would say I am looking to better my translation skills because I did fail a translation test I was given by a company and did poorly on the ATA practice tests so that I believe falls under the category of mentoring but also find better ways to market myself so I can obtain some translation jobs. As far as my rate that was addressed in a post, I got a different response from someone in Argentina telling me that is a competitive rate for those language pairs. I seem to be getting different responses on rates for translators and I look on people's profiles and people charge all kinds of rates for my language pairs and their years of experience vary. I could lower my rate to as low as .08 USD but I would never make it on that where I live in California. The cost of living has skyrocketed. I wouldn't be able to be a freelancer. That's the dilemma I have. It seems like in this industry translators cannot demand higher pay for reasons I am still unsure of. I think maybe because we have international translators who are willing to charge much less than U.S. translators so then U.S. translators cannot demand higher pay. I wish changes could be made so translators are paid what they deserve. I think I was also told things have worsened lately over recent years.
I do think that if you are looking for a mentor you need to be clear about what kind of mentoring you are looking for - because your first post implied you needed help with finding work but now you say you want to improve your translation skills. Expecting a single mentor to do both is too big an ask, in my opinion, as is expecting your mentor to know what you need when you can't clearly define it yourself.
If you can approach a mentor with a very tightly defined need you want to work on is going to make it easier to find someone who is willing/able to help you.
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 07:25
English to Russian
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I hate to sound harsh, but you need to accept one thing: it’s not that you “wouldn’t be able otherwise” but “you can’t, and you won’t be able to”, and you will not survive in California as a rookie freelancer in an overwhelmingly common and generally underpaid pair without some very serious specialization and experience - something that would make you competitive in the first place. You need to get a full-time job ASAP if you want to eat. There is no dilemma.
How do ... See more I hate to sound harsh, but you need to accept one thing: it’s not that you “wouldn’t be able otherwise” but “you can’t, and you won’t be able to”, and you will not survive in California as a rookie freelancer in an overwhelmingly common and generally underpaid pair without some very serious specialization and experience - something that would make you competitive in the first place. You need to get a full-time job ASAP if you want to eat. There is no dilemma.
How do you even envision a pro bono mentor who would improve your translation skills? Within what time frame, by what means? Giving you random tasks and editing your work for free? Sharing small bits of his workload without pay but providing you with comments and advise instead? Sorry but what's in it for the mentor? You are packed with theory already; practice, years of it, aka more jobs will be your only mentor from now on, preferably under the good, professional editors, the only kind of mentors worth having but… both are hard, if not impossible to get these days. Especially editors. Those great multimillion dollar in-house project times are gone for good. Project editors were interested in training and seasoning their team because a) they didn’t have a choice, b) they didn’t have to worry about their own places under the Sun, and c) it helped them to save their own sanity. Or... maybe the times of humans editing humans are fading into the oblivion altogether and MTPE is indeed the only future??? Can't say, just happy that I'm not a part of it, sorry for saying such selfish thing.
Please, stop wasting your time gathering some non-existing statistics, average or standard rates, news from “someone from Argentina” etc etc. There are people who still get paid 23 cents/word with full word count and no CATs, and people who are happy with $.06 and 90% CAT or whatever discounts in the same pair, or have changed the trade completely. You are all alone in the jungle.
Look into interpretation. Legal and immigration systems in California should be able to help you to make some living in EN>SP pair. California courts mandate court-certified interpreters only, research the opportunity. Stanford constantly requires medical interpreters. Try to investigate government opportunities in both translation and interpretation. In the meantime, look for a full-time job that can be the first step into an interesting future career where your linguistic skills will not be wasted but will be helpful and useful instead without being a translator proper, or something part-time that wouldn’t burden your brain and heart too much😊, put some extra cash in your pocket and give you ample time to pursue your translation ambitions – research, marketing, occasional gigs and maybe some AI/MT workshops/classes. Those nasty bugs are not going anywhere, your generation of translators will not escape it so get a good grip on it. I am so allergic to it that I just quit but I could afford it after 35 years in business, and I’m still doing my beloved interpretation. Add the infamous OPI, it can give you $1000-$2000 extra per month depending on the time you’ll be able to spare. Not even enough for rent in CA, right? Maybe, but better than nothing. In any case, you'll have to work you tail off paving your way to successful freelancing while feeding yourself and paying your bills.
(Oh well, I was previewing the text, stopped and asked myself - is there such thing left at all for the newcomers??? I don't have an answer )
If I'm not mistaken, you have been mentioning something about not willing to work long hours but rather live your life too... A dead wrong attitude, a recipe for utter and complete failure. I had my first vacation after 9 years in the US and many 50-60-hour work weeks plus self-study. The main difference is... the work was actually there for me.
Best of luck and please, wise up!
Sincerely,
Irina ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 08:25
German to English
| Translation skills development possible, career mentoring unlikely | Nov 10 |
Don't worry too much about failing an agency's test, but issues with the ATA practice exam should be taken seriously.
Evolution of the language services environment (Pessimists might call it a downward spiral) has increased in velocity during the past several years with the advent of AI Strategic wisdom and skills that were valid even 10 years ago hardly apply currently. Apart from being honest and doing good work, much career advice that might have worked in the past is not particularly ... See more Don't worry too much about failing an agency's test, but issues with the ATA practice exam should be taken seriously.
Evolution of the language services environment (Pessimists might call it a downward spiral) has increased in velocity during the past several years with the advent of AI Strategic wisdom and skills that were valid even 10 years ago hardly apply currently. Apart from being honest and doing good work, much career advice that might have worked in the past is not particularly relevant today. Many professionals nowadays are doing all they can to keep their heads above water while putting funds away for retirement, leaving little time for career mentoring. Formerly, successful translators often shared their overflow which created opportunities for less experienced people, something that benefited me personally The dearth of jobs has made that type of outsourcing increasingly rare.
When I was in my twenties, people my age were urged to pursue their dreams; the money would follow. Now the choice is either to follow the dream or follow the money. ▲ Collapse
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