| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4] > | How things are going in you language pair(s)? Thread poster: sarandor
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sarandor 
United States
Local time: 08:28
English to Russian
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There is a definite decline in the number of RU-EN and EN-RU jobs posted on Proz and elsewhere. I am curious to know how the current crisis is affecting other languages. What do you do to outsmart (or plain survive) the crisis?
| | | | Arnaud HERVE
France
Local time: 14:28
English to French
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| Part-time job | Feb 20, 2009 |
I have a part-time job in addition to translation.
First page, still no denial of the current economic crisis. For the moment.
| | | | Angela Dickson (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:28
French to English
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There is an economic crisis, that is certain.
I am not in a position to assess the entirety of the FR>EN pair, as I only occupy a small section of it (mostly medical and pharmaceutical translation). I don't pay much attention to jobs posted here.
I have a lot of work at the moment, and have done since Christmas.
| | | | liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:28
Member (2007)
French to English
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| Pretty busy. | Feb 20, 2009 |
Of course people are being affected by the current economic problems, but having worked hard for ages trying to get clients I am now busier than I have ever been, mainly on the Spanish into English front.
Long may it continue, as my husband is not so fortunate:-)
Liz Askew
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| | Kay Barbara
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:28
Member (2008)
English to German
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| Part time jobs | Feb 20, 2009 |
EN>DE
I am pretty busy these days, but this is mainly (just like Arnaud's case) due to my other commitments.
I have just started a job as translator/technical writer/linguist at a company for readability testing for pharmaceuticals. I am pretty happy about this new job since a) I do like to cooperate directly (i.e. in-house) with people for a change, b) I will get a bit of insight into the pharmaceuticals field and, of course, c) because it is a well paid job ... See more EN>DE
I am pretty busy these days, but this is mainly (just like Arnaud's case) due to my other commitments.
I have just started a job as translator/technical writer/linguist at a company for readability testing for pharmaceuticals. I am pretty happy about this new job since a) I do like to cooperate directly (i.e. in-house) with people for a change, b) I will get a bit of insight into the pharmaceuticals field and, of course, c) because it is a well paid job .
Apart from that I teach a translation module at my local university (1h/week) and I am part of a project team for acquiring more PhD-students (this job is entirely unrelated to translation).
I gladly take on the translation jobs I am offered but only if I like them...so I am still in the luxurious position to be picky. So no cheap jobs for me or 60 days payment terms. I don't know why, but I am somewhat optimistic as to my future outlook.
Some people (again EN>DE translators) I talked to about this issue told me that they usually have a slow(-ish) translation business in Jan/Feb and sometimes March... ▲ Collapse
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Really busy in EN>ES, at least for me, with old and new clients.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 05:28
English to German
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In memoriam | Busy like crazy EN>GER | Feb 20, 2009 |
Usually I am taking my vacation in January / February. Didn't happen this year. Old and new clients are keeping me busy, I never had to outsource that many projects at once.
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Mónica Algazi
Uruguay
Local time: 09:28
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
"Really busy in EN>ES, at least for me, with old and new clients."
Penélope Ausejo
Same here, Penélope, and I am confident it will continue this way.
| | | | | Fairly normal here | Feb 20, 2009 |
For English>Spanish and German>Spanish. Things quite normal really, i.e. rather busy most weeks.
| | | | | Certification was good | Feb 20, 2009 |
voyager wrote:
What do you do to outsmart (or plain survive) the crisis?
Some time ago I decided to go for certification, namely ATA's (www.atanet.org/certification). I don't know whether it is just because of the certification (which I achieved last November), but many new prospects come around and ask about rates and a possible cooperation these days. In many cases they don't accept my rates, but with some of them common ground was found and actual work started to flow in.
It's been dead busy over the last couple of months with plenty of work from old clients and the initial jobs from new clients, so I am very happy about it. Probably certification was a good idea, as some extra guarantee for prospects during negotiations about possible work.
| | | | | Maybe try it in Germany or Spain too? | Feb 20, 2009 |
One of the active ATA members I chat with frequently expressed her reservations about the ATA's certification, but if it works, great. Does Spain or some government body in Spain offer testing and certification in your language pairs? That might be useful too. If you've got the time and the inclinatioon to mess with a looooong process, you might look at one of the official certifications in Germany for your pair with German. The chambers of commerce also offer very good certifications, possibly less drawn out.
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| It did exist, but.... | Feb 20, 2009 |
Kevin Lossner wrote:
Does Spain or some government body in Spain offer testing and certification in your language pairs?
Unfortunately the only option that existed not long ago, which was becoming a sworn translator, is now closed for me as you can only do the exam if you have a degree... Additionally, all people with a degree in translation (with a number of its credits in legal translation) become automatically sworn translators in Spain. Both situations are unfair and in many ways undesirable for the quality of work. Formerly you had to pass the exam even with a degree in translation. So the situation is such that:
- Very good translators out there (I am not saying I am one of them) cannot achieve certification.
- Very bad or at least very inexperienced translators out there achieve certification automatically.
Today being a sworn translator in Spain does not say a thing about your quality, unfortunately.
| | | | | It is the same for ENG > NO | Feb 20, 2009 |
Just a few jobs has been posted in 2009. The trouble is that they even want to pay nothing but nickels and dimes due to the crisis. Thank heaven for regular clients that pay for quality work.
| | | | sarandor
United States
Local time: 08:28
English to Russian
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TOPIC STARTER | ATA Certification - Mission (almost) Impossible? | Feb 20, 2009 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
I don't know whether it is just because of the certification (which I achieved last November), but many new prospects come around and ask about rates and a possible cooperation these days.
I tried to take the ATA certification exam in EN-RU about two years ago, and passed one text and did not pass the other - with minimal error points (18-25 points). I've been watching the list of newly certified members (it is published in every issue of The ATA Chronicle), and I've seen only a couple of translators on that list who passed the exam in the EN-RU pair in the last year and a half. The prospects of passing look pretty bleak, so I decided it is not worth the effort, time and money to take it again. But I am happy for you, Tomás! May be I should reconsider and try one more time.
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