| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | \"How to Earn $80,000+ Per Year Translating\"????????? Thread poster: Ron Stelter
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| Direct customers | Mar 24, 2003 |
Hi Gillian,
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On 2003-03-24 12:07, gilln wrote:
But on the subject of earning potential. I think it\'s possible but you would have to work with the best-paying agencies (which usually means they expect 3-5 years or more work experience first) and you\'d have to work VERY hard indeed. If on the other hand you worked almost exclusively with direct clients and charge them rather more than you get from the age
... See more Hi Gillian,
Quote:
On 2003-03-24 12:07, gilln wrote:
But on the subject of earning potential. I think it\'s possible but you would have to work with the best-paying agencies (which usually means they expect 3-5 years or more work experience first) and you\'d have to work VERY hard indeed. If on the other hand you worked almost exclusively with direct clients and charge them rather more than you get from the agencies I don\'t see why you shouldn\'t earn that much. I wish I was already there but I\'m not - maybe next tax year! 
I think you\'re absolutely right about the direct clients and high-end agencies. Also, I don\'t think 3-5 years of in-house experience is bad advice for anyone contemplating a go at freelancing. It makes things much easier because you understand the business and its conventions better (i.e. you have the advantage of not having to write in here to ask what to put on an invoice, etc.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Misleading advertising | Mar 24, 2003 |
Quote:
On 2003-03-23 13:14, George Hop wrote:
Whenever a book with such a promising title appears, or you get a letter telling you that you have been specially selected for something or other, there is one word to remember.
Beware.
Nobody, just nobody, is interested in filling your pockets with money.
The splashy title of this book and the promo on the translatortips websi... See more Quote:
On 2003-03-23 13:14, George Hop wrote:
Whenever a book with such a promising title appears, or you get a letter telling you that you have been specially selected for something or other, there is one word to remember.
Beware.
Nobody, just nobody, is interested in filling your pockets with money.
The splashy title of this book and the promo on the translatortips website may obscure the fact that it\'s actually an excellent book. I bought the original edition and found it well worth the money, so much so that I didn\'t hesitate to buy the upgrade when it became available. Before I discovered this e-book, I had bought a couple of conventional (paper) books on the same topic, and they were not nearly as relevant, useful or up-to-date.
[ This Message was edited by: GoodWords on 2003-03-24 15:41] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The book could be good... | Mar 24, 2003 |
... but it\'s title does it no favours. It presents it as the sort of \'promise the earth\' \'making money is easy if you just listen to me\' gimmick that floods the internet. If, as some of you seem to think, it is a sober and well-conceived tome, then the author should seriously consider changing the title if he does a reprint.
| | | | Transflux (X)
Local time: 10:22
French to English
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| close but no cigar | Mar 24, 2003 |
Basically, Mr Eames I believe did make this amount of money with Polish to English and vice-versa in specialised areas in the USA and worked very hard.
Yes it is possible but not very likely unless you have certain language combinations, great business sense, some luck, and no social life. So let\'s get this into perspective. Translation is by and large not very lucrative, but it is a better lifestyle than most jobs, so that\'s compensation enough.
In any case there is no gu... See more Basically, Mr Eames I believe did make this amount of money with Polish to English and vice-versa in specialised areas in the USA and worked very hard.
Yes it is possible but not very likely unless you have certain language combinations, great business sense, some luck, and no social life. So let\'s get this into perspective. Translation is by and large not very lucrative, but it is a better lifestyle than most jobs, so that\'s compensation enough.
In any case there is no guarantee that you can sustain a regualar income year in and year out, that is the nature of freelance work.
Regards ▲ Collapse
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sylver 
Local time: 16:22
English to French
Quote:
On 2003-03-24 18:05, The Tautologist wrote:
... but it\'s title does it no favours. It presents it as the sort of \'promise the earth\' \'making money is easy if you just listen to me\' gimmick that floods the internet. If, as some of you seem to think, it is a sober and well-conceived tome, then the author should seriously consider changing the title if he does a reprint.
That\'s true the title i... See more Quote:
On 2003-03-24 18:05, The Tautologist wrote:
... but it\'s title does it no favours. It presents it as the sort of \'promise the earth\' \'making money is easy if you just listen to me\' gimmick that floods the internet. If, as some of you seem to think, it is a sober and well-conceived tome, then the author should seriously consider changing the title if he does a reprint.
That\'s true the title is a put off, but based on the rest of the informations on his web site (it helped me quite a bit when I started, 2 years ago), I suspect the book can be interesting, and not only for newcommers.
If somebody lacks marketing ideas or business basics,or is using methods which are not cost efficient, I suspect the book may actually be worth the price and more.
I think it would be a smart move to rename it, but that\'s his call, and he is the only one to know how much his stuff sells. Would it sell better with an other name? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ron Stelter
Local time: 03:22
Member (2003)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | My two cents | Mar 25, 2003 |
As I posted the original question, I guess I should give my two cents about this. I have seen in some surveys where all these translators say they are working 28 days a month and stuff like that. But the sampling is always very small and don\'t think it represents the translation community at large. In talking to a large number of colleagues, I would estimate (very unscientifically) that:
Probably 10% of the 40,000 people on Proz pay all the bills with this (everything: ... See more As I posted the original question, I guess I should give my two cents about this. I have seen in some surveys where all these translators say they are working 28 days a month and stuff like that. But the sampling is always very small and don\'t think it represents the translation community at large. In talking to a large number of colleagues, I would estimate (very unscientifically) that:
Probably 10% of the 40,000 people on Proz pay all the bills with this (everything: Car, mortgage, insurance, dental braces, vacation, etc.)
I also believe that probably only a very small percentage of that 10% make more than this 80,000 threshold. For one thing, even if you can reach a certain level of skill, there are so many translators that I think it would be very hard to get enough work and high enough rates to reach that earnings level. (Of course, I do hear of people claiming to make 5 times the rate of everybody else, but I\'m a doubting Thomas.)
I also think that if you asked that small percentage of that 10% figure whether they could make 80K a year, their almost pat response back would be, \"Well, I probably could. But I\'d have to work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days year to do it.\"
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Quote:
Probably 10% of the 40,000 people on Proz pay all the bills with this (everything: Car, mortgage, insurance, dental braces, vacation, etc.)
Interestingly enough, I a keep hearing about a 10% figure in a different context. Several knowledgeable editors, translation department managers, agency owners, etc. say that 10% of all translators (in each language combination) that contact them seem to ha... See more Quote:
Probably 10% of the 40,000 people on Proz pay all the bills with this (everything: Car, mortgage, insurance, dental braces, vacation, etc.)
Interestingly enough, I a keep hearing about a 10% figure in a different context. Several knowledgeable editors, translation department managers, agency owners, etc. say that 10% of all translators (in each language combination) that contact them seem to have a potential for their purposes (subject area, text destination, turnaround, etc. [price being the least important factor]).
Quote:
For one thing, even if you can reach a certain level of skill, there are so many translators that I think it would be very hard to get enough work and high enough rates to reach that earnings level.
FWIW, never heard any serious complaints about not getting enough work from high-end (whatever it means) translators charging high rates.
Quote:
...whether they could make 80K a year, their almost pat response back would be, \"Well, I probably could. But I\'d have to work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days year to do it.\"...
Grossing 12.18 per hour?
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| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:22
Flemish to English
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| To be or not to be a freelancer. | Mar 28, 2003 |
\"Translation is by and large not very lucrative, but it is a better lifestyle than most jobs, so that\'s compensation enough\"
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Depends: You should do some activity-based costing. A normal person works 9-5 and earns a modest income. Should that person work 7 days a week for 12 hours per day how much \"cash-flow\" (which is what counts, not how much you make) would he or she make as an employee given the social and tax-legislation of a particular country?
I worke... See more \"Translation is by and large not very lucrative, but it is a better lifestyle than most jobs, so that\'s compensation enough\"
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Depends: You should do some activity-based costing. A normal person works 9-5 and earns a modest income. Should that person work 7 days a week for 12 hours per day how much \"cash-flow\" (which is what counts, not how much you make) would he or she make as an employee given the social and tax-legislation of a particular country?
I worked for a company where the perks, if you used them wisely, were worth more than an annual salary as an employee.
No, translation is not very lucrative if you work 9-5. Too much competition and too much pennypinching and looking for the needle in the haystack (minor mistakes made) in order to reduce the rates.
Interpreting on the other hand means the pressure of the moment and pays much beter. No nagging over rates here.
Any freelance C++ programmers out there. One of my acquaintances made 125.000 euro/$ gross a year for four consecutive years by being a freelance programmer in the financial sector.
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Ron Stelter
Local time: 03:22
Member (2003)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | I certainly don't believe that | Mar 30, 2003 |
Konstantin,
I\'ve heard plenty of complaints from quality translators who don\'t get enough work or high enough rates.
| | | | | By the way, Ron, one question mark in your title(s) should do | Mar 30, 2003 |
Quote:
On 2003-03-22 19:16, ronjon wrote:
On the http://www.translatortips.com (best known for Transmail), they offer an e-booklet entitled \"How to Earn $80,000+ Per Year as a
Freelance Translator\"
Well, I\'ve been doing this really hard for two years and I haven\'t even come close to that. I was just wondering if the o
... See more Quote:
On 2003-03-22 19:16, ronjon wrote:
On the http://www.translatortips.com (best known for Transmail), they offer an e-booklet entitled \"How to Earn $80,000+ Per Year as a
Freelance Translator\"
Well, I\'ve been doing this really hard for two years and I haven\'t even come close to that. I was just wondering if the other 40,000 translators on Proz were earning that.
General comments and feedback appreciated. (If you\'re making 200,000 dollars a year, no bragging, please.)
I\'m really more interested in a general conversation on earnings potential rather than whether you like Mr. Eames\' products.
[ This Message was edited by: ronjon on 2003-03-22 19:38]
[ This Message was edited by: ronjon on 2003-03-22 19:39]
[ This Message was edited by: ronjon on 2003-03-22 20:02]
[ This Message was edited by: ronjon on 2003-03-22 20:03]
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