| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | I charge $0.01/w, I have 3 years of experience, how much should I be charging? Thread poster: Ammar Naif
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
I can assure you that Ammar is absolutely NOT an Italian name.
Dearest Angie, don't you get it? The joker is making fun of Ammar's surname (Naif > naive). It's very mature. I'm not sure what the Italian connection is, though. This sort of behaviour must be okay because neither Jorge Rodrigues nor Andriy Bublikov nor Rita Pang nor James Heppe-Smith have chosen to do anything about it.
I edited my post.
Also according to this site that name could sound I am naif in ENGLISH, not in ITALIAN which translation is IO SONO INGENUO/NAIF, it should at least be ISON NAIF.
[Edited at 2024-01-13 11:28 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 21:00
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Why not half a cent? | Jan 13 |
Apparently you're not dependent on your translation income. Mainly because nobody can live on such a low income. Then you might as well charge 0.005 cents/word or even less. (This is, of course, not a serious suggestion.)
The next time the greedy LP sends you work just tell him/her that your rate is at least 5 cents/word (better 8 cents). You might not get a reply to your offer and if you do, then they will probably come up with some kind of excuse why they can't pay more. Usually... See more Apparently you're not dependent on your translation income. Mainly because nobody can live on such a low income. Then you might as well charge 0.005 cents/word or even less. (This is, of course, not a serious suggestion.)
The next time the greedy LP sends you work just tell him/her that your rate is at least 5 cents/word (better 8 cents). You might not get a reply to your offer and if you do, then they will probably come up with some kind of excuse why they can't pay more. Usually it's this, you've worked for half a peanut before, so why not anymore? Better yet, just drop them.
Like our colleagues, I strongly recommend that you start looking for serious clients and stay clear off those exploiters. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It’s the way I tell them | Jan 13 |
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Also according to this site that name could sound I am naif in ENGLISH, not in ITALIAN which translation is IO SONO INGENUO/NAIF, it should at least be ISON NAIF.
Say “I’m naive” in an Italian accent. Like Joe Dolce. Amma Naif.
Don’t worry, I’m not dissing Italians or the OP. Just a little joke, which Samuel thinks shouldn’t be allowed for some reason.
But I won’t give up the day job…
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Christopher Schröder wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Also according to this site that name could sound I am naif in ENGLISH, not in ITALIAN which translation is IO SONO INGENUO/NAIF, it should at least be ISON NAIF.
Say “I’m naive” in an Italian accent. Like Joe Dolce. Amma Naif.
Don’t worry, I’m not dissing Italians or the OP. Just a little joke, which Samuel thinks shouldn’t be allowed for some reason.
But I won’t give up the day job…
I am not defending Italy or Italians in this case. I understand your joke now, but no, I have Italian accent i could sound AIM naif. why Amma😃? Oh ok AMMA, yes but not Italian in general (can be Napolitan) Anyway 😀😀😀😀 for your sense of humor.
[Edited at 2024-01-13 13:09 GMT]
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Inge Schumacher
France
Local time: 21:00
Member (2023)
French to German
+ ...
| Ammair Naif => I'm Naive :-) :-) | Jan 13 |
Christopher Schröder wrote:
Angie Garbarino wrote:
Christopher Schröder wrote:
… who is hearing “I’m naive” in a cod Italian accent here?
Where is Italian accent in this post from Emirates? Where is the connection? Can you explain please? [Edited at 2024-01-13 10:44 GMT]
The poster’s name could belong on this list:
http://nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com/2010/05/list-of-prank-names.html?m=1
| | | | Inge Schumacher
France
Local time: 21:00
Member (2023)
French to German
+ ...
The rates you talk about are JUST RIDICULOUS! Maybe not for Arab countries?
No European, American or ? linguist ... would accept those rates, it's just impossible to live on that.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-01-13 14:20 GMT]
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Inge Schumacher wrote:
The rates you talk about are JUST RIDICULOUS! Maybe not for Arab countries?
No European, American or ? linguist ... would accept those rates, it's just impossible to live on that.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-01-13 14:20 GMT]
It all depends on the cost of living, if you can live with 100 euros per month then this rate is ok.
Not in Europe tough.
| | | | Ammar Naif
United Arab Emirates
Local time: 00:00
English to Arabic
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'd like to clarify that I accepted these rates while I was living in austere impoverishment back in Syria, where the average salary is now $80-100 a year, not per week, not per month, per year, so to me this rate seemed like I was going to be swimming in money at the time, I realized later that I've been selling myself short and getting exploited, but I didn't have a better option.
Translation isn't my main source of income at the moment, but I'd very much like it to be, bec... See more I'd like to clarify that I accepted these rates while I was living in austere impoverishment back in Syria, where the average salary is now $80-100 a year, not per week, not per month, per year, so to me this rate seemed like I was going to be swimming in money at the time, I realized later that I've been selling myself short and getting exploited, but I didn't have a better option.
Translation isn't my main source of income at the moment, but I'd very much like it to be, because even at that low of a rate, I'd still be making more than my current fulltime job.
Thanks again everyone, I'll be charging what the services are actually worth, and work more on marketing myself to find better clients.
[Edited at 2024-01-14 14:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| A long-ish post and a quick question! | Jan 13 |
Ammar, you got some excellent advice from people. You are a one-man business now, darling, and you have to learn to market yourself. Also, can you do the job well? Do you take the time to do it well? If yes, then you are at an advantage over someone who's been a cheap hack for a decade - charging a pittance and then hurrying to get it done, doing an even worse job than they will have done if they'd charge a better price.
I say this because, some of the people whose 'work' one of my ... See more Ammar, you got some excellent advice from people. You are a one-man business now, darling, and you have to learn to market yourself. Also, can you do the job well? Do you take the time to do it well? If yes, then you are at an advantage over someone who's been a cheap hack for a decade - charging a pittance and then hurrying to get it done, doing an even worse job than they will have done if they'd charge a better price.
I say this because, some of the people whose 'work' one of my agencies keeps torturing me with can't possibly be as bad as their work is! I suspect they are just 'cheap' and that makes them think: 'I'll just hurry up and do as little as I can, they aren't paying me much after all'. It's really a chicken and egg type of thing.
Someone in my pair(s) gets a low offer from an agency, now they aren't a superb translator, but they could do a correct job if they took the time, only they do not do anything like a correct job since they despise the agency for the low rate and think whatever I send in you ought to be happy with! Of course the agency used to be a great one, before they started aiming down and is used to great quality work, and the agency despises them back for ruining the files...You get the picture.
Decide right here and now not to be part of this in any way and up your rate to USD 0.05 and then go from there. Keep the old agencies until you land better ones.
Can I just ask, is this 0.01 with fuzzy match grid discounts? Are they at least paying for every word?
An agency that pays this little is either greedy or, and if you ask me this is more likely, is incompetent and can't sell the jobs for a reasonable price to the end client. So you really are working with incompetent people, and that's a separate issue from even how much they are paying. It's a hell of its own to have to work and deal with incompetent people.
An agency has to be able to sell the work at a reasonable price, to have the budget to offer their talent a reasonable rate, in the first place.
Good luck Ammar, you've got this! Do fix your profile page, though! It needs to read like you are a translator, and you know what you're doing, which after three years you do, do know more than three years ago!
If you aren't confident about your capabilities, why should any of the decent agencies take a chance on you? Again, you've got very good advice in the previous posts, so just follow along those lines and you should be fine. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Holger Laux
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:00
Member (2011)
English to German
+ ...
| Don't let them take advantage | Jan 13 |
Just adding to the comments made so far:
There are a lot of clients/agencies out there that are trying to push you as low as they can. And, sadly, there are people out there that are so desperate that they will work their socks off for next to nothing.
Take pride in what you do and tell them that they've got to pay for a good service (or just ignore them). You should do this not only for yourself, but for our whole profession.
And do your maths. In the UK, ... See more Just adding to the comments made so far:
There are a lot of clients/agencies out there that are trying to push you as low as they can. And, sadly, there are people out there that are so desperate that they will work their socks off for next to nothing.
Take pride in what you do and tell them that they've got to pay for a good service (or just ignore them). You should do this not only for yourself, but for our whole profession.
And do your maths. In the UK, we have a legal minimum wage of about GBP 12 per hour, which is about USD 15. This is actually meant for unskilled workers, e. g. those stacking supermarket shelves or doing cleaning jobs.
But let's assume you want to achieve this minumim wage. How much can you translate within 8 hours? 2000 words, perhaps 3000 at a stretch?
8 hours x USD 15 = USD 120 per day
USD 120 / 2000 words = USD 0.06 per word
This should be your absolute minimum. With good qualifications and a proven track record, you can do better than that. And you can always quote high and then grant a "discount".
BTW, I hate it when they say "Please give us your best price." Sorry, my best prices are reserved for my best customers.
[Edited at 2024-01-25 11:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Angie Garbarino wrote:
Inge Schumacher wrote:
The rates you talk about are JUST RIDICULOUS! Maybe not for Arab countries?
No European, American or ? linguist ... would accept those rates, it's just impossible to live on that.
[Bearbeitet am 2024-01-13 14:20 GMT]
It all depends on the cost of living, if you can live with 100 euros per month then this rate is ok.
Not in Europe tough.
It is not possible to live with €/US$ 100 euros per month, not even in Venezuela.
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[Edited at 2024-01-13 20:15 GMT]
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| | | Find out more about those to whom you are selling your work | Jan 13 |
Find out what it is worth to them, and try to figure out what they are selling it on for. There is no particular fixed rate for translation work, nor for a particular language pair, and there are many different types of translation-related services that can be provided these days, so there is no ballpark figure of any sort.
Regardless of your qualifications or experience, you need to find out what your work is worth, in monetary terms, to those who buy from you. Do they sell it on a... See more Find out what it is worth to them, and try to figure out what they are selling it on for. There is no particular fixed rate for translation work, nor for a particular language pair, and there are many different types of translation-related services that can be provided these days, so there is no ballpark figure of any sort.
Regardless of your qualifications or experience, you need to find out what your work is worth, in monetary terms, to those who buy from you. Do they sell it on as it is, or do they have to send it for proofreading first - and into what general business category do their customers fall? After you have figured that out, try to obtain your reasonable fair share of the cake. ▲ Collapse
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You need to charge higher, lie 0.04 USD/w, 0.05 or 0.06 or higher for your service depending on the context. Go ahead !
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