Almost 40% of Translators are Not Satisfied with Their Rates Thread poster: Jeff Whittaker
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Jeff Whittaker 
United States
Local time: 14:50
Spanish to English
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| Makes sense. | Apr 19, 2016 |
40%, I'd say, is about how much most translations markets are over-saturated by.
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Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 14:50
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER |
Thomas Pfann
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:50
Member (2006)
English to German
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| More than 60% of translators are happy with their rates | Apr 19, 2016 |
... or as Simon (who conducted the survey and presented the results) interpreted it: "85% of translators are either not satisfied with their rates or want to scale them up".
What I love about statistics is that they can be interpreted to mean anything you want them to mean.
The real surprise for me is that only 3% of respondents (ie. 4 out of the 130 people) were not able to answer the question and ticked the option "Other". Being used to proZ.com polls I'd have expecte... See more ... or as Simon (who conducted the survey and presented the results) interpreted it: "85% of translators are either not satisfied with their rates or want to scale them up".
What I love about statistics is that they can be interpreted to mean anything you want them to mean.
The real surprise for me is that only 3% of respondents (ie. 4 out of the 130 people) were not able to answer the question and ticked the option "Other". Being used to proZ.com polls I'd have expected a lot more indecision. ▲ Collapse
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Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 20:50
German to Swedish
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Doing some googling at random, we can find that 60% of employees are dissatisfied with their pay (http://www.discoverysurveys.com/articles/itw-001.html).
So perhaps translators are overpaid, relative to employees.
Also, if 60% are not dissatisfied, that indicates plenty of room for decreasing rates...
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| "plenty of room for decreasing rates... " | Apr 19, 2016 |
Joakim,
would you like to give a good... pardon: a wrong example and decrease your rates?
I would rather push for an increase.
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Jean Lachaud
United States
Local time: 14:50
English to French
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| Minimum wages | Apr 19, 2016 |
Hah! When minimum wages in a few places do reach $15/hr (not before 2020 in NYC), we shall see what that can buy.
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| No one should ever be satisfied with their rates. | Apr 19, 2016 |
You should always be trying to work less hard for more money.
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ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 22:50
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
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| Rates Dilemna | Apr 19, 2016 |
Yesterday, April 18th, I was asked to quote my rate for a technical translation project from Turkish into English. The rate I gave them was 0.20 TL/word, which is roughly $0.08 per word. The reply I received the same day was the following:
"Fiyatınız Türkiye piyasasının çok çok üstünde.
Bu koşullarda diğer firmalarla rekabet etmemiz çok zor."
"Your rate is way above the Turkish market.
It is very difficult for us to compete with other firms und... See more Yesterday, April 18th, I was asked to quote my rate for a technical translation project from Turkish into English. The rate I gave them was 0.20 TL/word, which is roughly $0.08 per word. The reply I received the same day was the following:
"Fiyatınız Türkiye piyasasının çok çok üstünde.
Bu koşullarda diğer firmalarla rekabet etmemiz çok zor."
"Your rate is way above the Turkish market.
It is very difficult for us to compete with other firms under these conditions."
The rate I quoted was the same rate I use for all the translations jobs I undertake. If $0.08 per word rate is "way above the Turkish market", I wonder what is a reasonable rate that they expect. Obviously, they were looking for a cheap translator with cheap rates.
On one hand, "85% of translators are either not satisfied with their rates or want to scale them up". On the other hand, the translation agencies in Turkey are trying their best to find translators with absolutely minimum rates.
This is a dilemna that I can not logically explain. I honestly believe that my rate is fair and reasonable. Yet, a third-class translation agency in Turkey says it is "way above the Turkish market." Any comments? ▲ Collapse
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Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 20:50
German to Swedish
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| Asymptotic zero | Apr 19, 2016 |
ATIL KAYHAN wrote:
If $0.08 per word rate is "way above the Turkish market", I wonder what is a reasonable rate that they expect.
$0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
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