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For future reference what are your rates?
Thread poster: Rafa Alba
Rafa Alba
Rafa Alba
Spain
Local time: 10:24
English to Spanish
Feb 23, 2021

I had this problem as a language teacher and now as a translator. Sometimes people ask for your rates at times when I think is out of context.

I have two problems with this question:

1. I am still a beginner translator and have not clearly figured out what are my rates.
2. It seems like answering that question reduces the value of my service.

What do you recommend?


 
Francisco Vare
Francisco Vare
Poland
Local time: 10:24
Polish to Spanish
+ ...
Let's meet! Feb 24, 2021

Hola, Rafael!

When I get asked this question and the context is not appropriate, I always invite the person to meet in private so we can talk about the topic.

I also teach and translate, and my approach is exactly the same in both cases.

I am known in my neighbourhood and many mums tend to ask me "Can you teach my son?" when I'm doing the shopping.

My answer is always the same: "Let's meet and we'll see what can be done."

Hope this
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Hola, Rafael!

When I get asked this question and the context is not appropriate, I always invite the person to meet in private so we can talk about the topic.

I also teach and translate, and my approach is exactly the same in both cases.

I am known in my neighbourhood and many mums tend to ask me "Can you teach my son?" when I'm doing the shopping.

My answer is always the same: "Let's meet and we'll see what can be done."

Hope this helps!

Francisco J. Vare
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:24
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Rafael Feb 24, 2021

In order to help you and answer your questions could you please elaborate a bit more on this? Why asking for your rates is at times out of context? Why saying what your rates are reduces the value of your service?

Morano El-Kholy
Esther Dodo
Emanuele Vacca
Fatine Echenique
 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:24
Italian to English
What are you waiting for? Feb 24, 2021

Rafael Alvarez wrote:

I am still a beginner translator and have not clearly figured out what are my rates.


Being a beginner isn't really an excuse for not knowing what you should be charging. It's a problem if you think about it! When are you going to establish your rates? What will you do next time someone asks you for them? What's stopping you setting your rates?


Rafael Alvarez wrote:

It seems like answering that question reduces the value of my service.


It only reduces the value of your service if you let it. We charge for our services because we need to, but also because we want to pursue a career that we enjoy, and be paid what we feel we deserve to be paid. Answering this question actually boosts the value of your service, but you need to show clients that you know what your worth is, and communicate that effectively.


Rafael Alvarez wrote:

What do you recommend?


It seems to me that you don't know what your own services are worth. There are lots of resources out there to help you work out what to charge.
Here's just one from Tess Whitty.
https://marketingtipsfortranslators.com/set-freelance-translation-rates/

Or another thread here on Proz:
https://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/332744-how_much_should_i_charge_as_a_freelance_translator_starting_out.html

It can be daunting and uncomfortable to set our rates. But no-one can do it except us. Best of luck!


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:24
Dutch to English
+ ...
Say 'it depends' Feb 24, 2021

Rafael Alvarez wrote:

I had this problem as a language teacher and now as a translator. Sometimes people ask for your rates at times when I think is out of context.

I have two problems with this question:

1. I am still a beginner translator and have not clearly figured out what are my rates.
2. It seems like answering that question reduces the value of my service.

What do you recommend?



You could tell them that what you charge depends on various factors including the complexity of the job (for example) so you would need to have the document/know more about the assignment before you can produce a quotation. Lots of translators have something to this effect on their websites.

It might help if you tell us a bit more about the out of context situations in which people ask for your rates.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Tina Vonhof (X)
Sarah Maidstone
Ottavia Merlin
Andy Watkinson
Christine Andersen
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Rafael Feb 24, 2021

Rafael Alvarez wrote:
I had this problem as a language teacher and now as a translator. Sometimes people ask for your rates at times when I think is out of context.


Just tell people that you work mainly for large businesses, and that you charge them EUR 0.15 per word. That will shut most people up.


Jorge Payan
 
Mohamad Alayoubi
Mohamad Alayoubi
Lebanon
Local time: 11:24
English to Arabic
You can set for yourself a standard rate Feb 24, 2021

You can set a standard rate for yourself depending on your language pair and the amount of work that's available , sometimes you need a rate lower than average to be able to compete with experienced translators , but you can ask to see the target document and raise your standard rate if you feel the document is a bit harder than normal , that's how i do it personally .
Good luck


 
3089491 (X)
3089491 (X)  Identity Verified
Luxembourg
Local time: 10:24
Looks like mocking Feb 24, 2021

But one needs indeed be careful of the rates he/she mentions publicly. It is very difficult to change that.

It's best to first decide what range you want to be in. And first, figure out why people choose to place themselves in a certain range.

If you place yourself in a range that is superior to your current abilities, a lot of hard work will need to be carried out in the first years. It will look like hell. But the money, well, will be good.

Forget about M
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But one needs indeed be careful of the rates he/she mentions publicly. It is very difficult to change that.

It's best to first decide what range you want to be in. And first, figure out why people choose to place themselves in a certain range.

If you place yourself in a range that is superior to your current abilities, a lot of hard work will need to be carried out in the first years. It will look like hell. But the money, well, will be good.

Forget about MT.
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Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:24
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
@ Rafael Feb 24, 2021

Rafael Alvarez wrote:

I had this problem as a language teacher and now as a translator. Sometimes people ask for your rates at times when I think is out of context.

I have two problems with this question:

1. I am still a beginner translator and have not clearly figured out what are my rates.
2. It seems like answering that question reduces the value of my service.

What do you recommend?


With all due respect, yes you do have a problem, but not the one(s) you mention. Your problem is being insecure because you are a starter. Does that mean you are a bad translator? If you think so, end of story and career, find something else. If not, go for it! Nobody has to know you are just a beginner, sell yourself, establish a price, contact potential clients, let the ship sail and see where it is going, and if you sail right, you will get there.

Entrepreneurship is daring taking risks. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but do it with the right spirit.

About your rates, see the post of Mihai, especially his first sentence (Proz has somewhere a pricelist I believe).

The first steps are the hardest, but you have to take them.

That is my advice.

Good luck





[Edited at 2021-02-24 23:38 GMT]


Daryo
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 10:24
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
On the contrary Feb 25, 2021

Rafael Alvarez wrote:
2. It seems like answering that question reduces the value of my service.

You've been given valuable advice which I hope helps you see things differently about 'reducing the value'. You are a business and you're not just translating for the love of translating. You've got to earn your bread and butter. Setting your rates also means you are a professional who knows his business. and both agencies and clients expect this so both sides know where they are. It's really best to clear before taking on a job about deadlines, what the job involves and how it is to be delivered, what costs how much, when and how you're going to be paid, etc. and your rates are part and parcel of these. If you're not clear before, you tend to run into all sorts of problems after you start the job and it will be more difficult then.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Barbara Carrara
Barbara Carrara  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 10:24
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Rafael, are you there? Feb 25, 2021

Hope this isn't yet another case of 'person starts thread and then disappears'.

There's one thing I am not getting though. In here you are describing yourself as a beginner, but in your profile page you've indicated an 11-year experience and specialities in 10 different subject areas. I could not access the .pdf with your cv, though.

Is the experience information only covering your teaching career, perhaps? As otherwise, I cannot fathom how you've been handling the fee
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Hope this isn't yet another case of 'person starts thread and then disappears'.

There's one thing I am not getting though. In here you are describing yourself as a beginner, but in your profile page you've indicated an 11-year experience and specialities in 10 different subject areas. I could not access the .pdf with your cv, though.

Is the experience information only covering your teaching career, perhaps? As otherwise, I cannot fathom how you've been handling the fee side of things until now.

If you are there somewhere, we'd like some interaction. Thanks.
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:24
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
@Barbara Feb 25, 2021

Barbara Carrara wrote:

I could not access the .pdf with your cv, though.


I couldn't access the CV either and regarding the @195Tweets it says "This account doesn’t exist"...


Barbara Carrara
 
Rafa Alba
Rafa Alba
Spain
Local time: 10:24
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you! Mar 4, 2021

I have carefully read through all your answers and have been studying carefully what are the market rates and how people charge, and I think I know have a much better idea about how the market works, what I can charge and how to go about the rates.

I still have problems interacting with Proz, I don't like the interface overwhelming you with information, that's one of the reasons for my late answer. Having said that, I am surprised at all the responses, and I kind of feel embraced, i
... See more
I have carefully read through all your answers and have been studying carefully what are the market rates and how people charge, and I think I know have a much better idea about how the market works, what I can charge and how to go about the rates.

I still have problems interacting with Proz, I don't like the interface overwhelming you with information, that's one of the reasons for my late answer. Having said that, I am surprised at all the responses, and I kind of feel embraced, it really seems like people are putting a real effort to help.

Also, I am aware I need to update my profile. That will be my next with Proz.

Thanks everybody!
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Christopher Schröder
Rachel Waddington
Fatine Echenique
 
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:24
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
+ ...
¡Bienvenido Rafael! Mar 6, 2021

You are certainly most welcome.
Step by step, all the information will sink in in due time.
Best of luck.
Bea


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:24
Member (2005)
Chinese to English
So Mar 7, 2021

Francisco Vare wrote:

Hola, Rafael!

When I get asked this question and the context is not appropriate, I always invite the person to meet in private so we can talk about the topic.

Francisco J. Vare


Were you saying when people asked your rates, your reply is always "Let's meet?"


 
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