| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Translation track record Thread poster: Juliano Martins
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| It does not add up | May 31, 2016 |
Juliano Martins wrote:
Year 2016, January to May, 451 K translated words, 278 K proofed words, 30 K USD.
...
Usually I get paid 0.07 USD for translation and 0.02 for proofreading.
451,000 x $0.07 + 278,000 x $0.02 = $31,570 + $5,560 = $37,130 (rather than 30 K USD)
| | | | Juliano Martins 
Brazil
Local time: 11:19
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Sometimes I get paid a little less | May 31, 2016 |
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
Juliano Martins wrote:
Year 2016, January to May, 451 K translated words, 278 K proofed words, 30 K USD.
...
Usually I get paid 0.07 USD for translation and 0.02 for proofreading.
451,000 x $0.07 + 278,000 x $0.02 = $31,570 + $5,560 = $37,130 (rather than 30 K USD)
Sometimes I get paid 0.06 USD for translation. Different agencies pay different rates. That's why. In general, I am satisfied.
| | | | | community rates vs. real rates | May 31, 2016 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
What occurs immediately to me is that if you charged $0.10 for translating and $0.03 per word for proofreading - figures in line with the ProZ.com community rates for your main pair......).
Except the community rates are complete rubbish; fantasy feather-puffing nonsense. Can you seriously fill 40 hours a week earning the rates you claim Sheila?
Personally, I translate from Dutch to English and Portuguese to English. My PT to ENG rates are lower, yet 99% of my work is from Dutch. Because there's no cash to translate from PT. Translating into PT is even worse, so 60K per annum is good going.
Anybody trying to charge 0.10 USD for translating into PT would probably find themselves with lots and lots of free time on their hands... and be able to join all the others on here moaning about bottom feeders, low rates etc!
[Edited at 2016-05-31 19:23 GMT]
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 11:19
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Richard Purdom wrote:
Sheila Wilson wrote:
What occurs immediately to me is that if you charged $0.10 for translating and $0.03 per word for proofreading - figures in line with the ProZ.com community rates for your main pair......).
Except the community rates are complete rubbish; fantasy feather-puffing nonsense. Can you seriously fill 40 hours a week earning the rates you claim Sheila?
I'm curious about that too.
Personally, I translate from Dutch to English and Portuguese to English. My PT to ENG rates are lower, yet 99% of my work is from Dutch. Because there's no cash to translate from PT. Translating into PT is even worse, so 60K per annum is good going.
Translating into PTBR is very good, at least in my experience. I am offered more jobs than I can handle.
Anybody trying to charge 0.10 USD for translating into PT would probably find themselves with lots and lots of free time on their hands... and be able to join all the others on here moaning about bottom feeders, low rates etc!
Nice argument.
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you would have posted this if your income had been flat or decreasing each year.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:19
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| There's more than one market for every pair | May 31, 2016 |
Richard Purdom wrote:
the community rates are complete rubbish; fantasy feather-puffing nonsense. Can you seriously fill 40 hours a week earning the rates you claim Sheila?
I've never worked a 40-hour week in my life. I thought those sort of hours were for blue-collar workers. When I was an IT employee, from 1975 to 1993, I only ever worked 35 as a maximum. Nowadays, passing 60 and with a retired husband I certainly wouldn't want to. But I do work 20-30 hours, plus two mornings of Spanish lessons. And yes, I earn my published rates (EUR 0.12 per word and EUR 30 per hour) with very few exceptions. I do two infrequent translation jobs that pay less per word but bring in well over EUR 30 per hour with their repetitions etc, and I have a discounted rate of EUR 25 per hour to help fellow freelancers with their own marketing copy.
Anybody trying to charge 0.10 USD for translating into PT would probably find themselves with lots and lots of free time on their hands... and be able to join all the others on here moaning about bottom feeders, low rates etc!
I don't know about into-PT pairs, but I know there are lots of FR>EN translators who would say the same; and many more who would say that USD 0.10 is too low. Anyone (not referring to a specific person here) who works mainly on manuals etc., and/or for the big agencies who see translation as a product to be bought for the lowest possible price, will be in a very different market from the one I serve.
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 11:19
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Doubt no more | May 31, 2016 |
philgoddard wrote:
you would have posted this if your income had been flat or decreasing each year.
Last year I translated 4 books via Babelcube, around 250K words, and after 1 year of sales earned only 300 USD (three hundred dollars). Very bad, isn't it? Now I don't recommend Babelcube anymore. I talked about it in another topic.
| | | | | horsefeathers | May 31, 2016 |
Richard Purdom wrote:
Sheila Wilson wrote:
What occurs immediately to me is that if you charged $0.10 for translating and $0.03 per word for proofreading - figures in line with the ProZ.com community rates for your main pair......).
Except the community rates are complete rubbish; fantasy feather-puffing nonsense...
Those are the rates I saw 30 years ago, and everything has gone up substantially. The only thing "wrong" with that figure is that it is too low - almost 50% of what it might be. Since many of us can and do charge more than that amount, calling it "nonsense" is a bit short sighted.
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| I also tried, and failed to get the community to share | May 31, 2016 |
At the beginning of the year, after finalising my income from the previous year, I thought it'd be interesting to see what others had earned, to see how I was doing. I shared my figures and was given a very similar response. It'd be great if there was an anonymous way that we could share work and income stats. I'd like to know the round-about figure other translators can earn at full-steam!
| | | | | A valid justification | Jun 1, 2016 |
DJHartmann wrote:
...I'd like to know the round-about figure other translators can earn at full-steam!...
But people in general won't publicise their earnings, being well off varies wildly between regions, and probably many people don't see translation as their vital source of income over the long term. Some focus on productivity, while others focus on unit rates. Some will be appalled at the rates you work at, and others will struggle to find 3kwords/week. Some are private individuals, others are businesses.
Moreover, I must admit that a sole trader earning over 1,000€$£/month is suspicious, even more so in translation, a side job for bored spouses that everybody can do.
I don't mind about the figures I disclose because they're made up, my name is fake, I am not a translator and I relocated to Mars last year. I don't care either about the e-abuse I get because I am a troll.
From the various aborted topics about it over the years and networking from my impersonated self:
- Earning 6 €digits p.a. working full-time as a translator with agencies for an average rate is possible, and for decades in a row, at least in Europe
- Translating 1M sustained words/year with agencies is possible
- Many translators earn over €60k working full-time, at least in Europe
Even though I used to think that 10 years ago, don't tell them that they'll ruin their health, their work is crap or they're destroying the translation business. They simply do what needs doing to get there. And yes they can.
Now, In my opinion, agencies and end-customers pay translators far too much. It's almost against nature to realise that they can earn in a year what footballers (soccer players) earn in two days.
Sub-par translators who don't reach these thresholds won't publicise it (except yours truly, but see above), and supra-par translators who don't publicise their financial figures don't care about who's got the biggest and/or don't want to be disturbed by charities asking them to sponsor their events. And a cyberpsycho with an ax can read their posts and go look for them, hack their webcam, remotely disable the house alarm and/or wait for their coming back in an armchair.
That said, there's nothing bad about people not feeling comfortable about revealing how much they earn. If I were a translator, I'd be more reluctant to state my phone number or children's names than my turnover, but I understand their position.
Newcomers beware: what you read here will not necessarily be your reality. The rate of failure/survival in this business is likely much higher than success rates.
Philippe
| | | | | how many words per hour? | Jun 1, 2016 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I've never worked a 40-hour week in my life. I thought those sort of hours were for blue-collar workers........
....I earn my published rates (EUR 0.12 per word and EUR 30 per hour) with very few exceptions.
Sheila, the first part smacks of utter disdain for the lower orders, perhaps not your greatest moment t.b.h.
As for your rates, it implies you only do 250 words an hour?? No wonder you have to charge so much!
personally I make 4/5 times the average wage where I live on 0.07/0.08 per word, I can pick and choose assignments to fill my blue-collar 40-hour week, and anything more would feel like pure greed.
[Edited at 2016-06-01 15:02 GMT]
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:19
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| My words; your interpretation | Jun 1, 2016 |
Richard Purdom wrote:
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I've never worked a 40-hour week in my life. I thought those sort of hours were for blue-collar workers
utter disdain for the lower orders, perhaps not your greatest moment t.b.h.
Well, it certainly wasn't meant that way. I don't have disdain for anyone's job apart from obvious ones such as drug dealers, and I certainly don't see people who for example assemble goods or keep our cities clean as "lower order" in any way. Where would society be without them? It's just a different type of work, not a lesser type.
As for your rates, it implies you only do 250 words an hour?? No wonder you have to charge so much!
personally I make 4/5 times the average wage where I live on 0.07/0.08 per word, I can pick and choose assignments to fill my blue-collar 40-hour week, and anything more would feel like pure greed.
You do have a way of loading your words . OK, here it is in black and white: I ONLY do 250 words an hour! So am I so incredibly slow that I have to overcharge? Or is it just that I work in a market where my clients don't want "a translation" but "the best translation"? But we can certainly agree on your last point. I'm pretty sure I could charge quite a bit more - maybe not my current clients, but I could target new ones. However, I actually think that EUR 30 per hour is fair enough on an island where there's up to 35% unemployment (18-25 years) and few employees earn more than the minimum wage, currently below EUR 6 per hour.
Anyway, I didn't come here to discuss my rates - quite the reverse, in fact. I thought it was Juliano who wanted to tell us about his.
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A 40 hour week is something most public sector workers in the UK (e.g. teachers, GPs, social workers) can only dream of!
| | | | Clarisa Moraña
United States
Local time: 08:19
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| I don't keep track of my words | Jun 1, 2016 |
I have different clients, with different rates and invoicing systems, thus it is impossible to me to know how many words I translate per year. I don't have your output (yours is great!), but I always have a translation to deliver.
Regards
Clarisa
| | | | Juliano Martins
Brazil
Local time: 11:19
Member (2008)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | It's possible | Jun 1, 2016 |
Clarisa Moraña wrote:
I have different clients, with different rates and invoicing systems, thus it is impossible to me to know how many words I translate per year.
I believe it's always possible to know how many words you do, because each job has a wordcount.
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