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why would anyone go freelancer?
Thread poster: Mueen Issa
Narasimhan Raghavan
Narasimhan Raghavan  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:12
English to Tamil
+ ...
In memoriam
10 replies within 6 hours and more to come Oct 15, 2003

As I was reading the postings I was dismayed to note that they have covered whatever I would have said myself. So what. this is what I have to say.
About the inhouse position. I will not knock it. After all it gives one valuable experience. But there are 2 main disadvantages in my view. Firstly, if you are working in a manufacturing company or any other company that is not a translation agency, the literature you get to translate becomes stereotyped and deal with only one subject or at bes
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As I was reading the postings I was dismayed to note that they have covered whatever I would have said myself. So what. this is what I have to say.
About the inhouse position. I will not knock it. After all it gives one valuable experience. But there are 2 main disadvantages in my view. Firstly, if you are working in a manufacturing company or any other company that is not a translation agency, the literature you get to translate becomes stereotyped and deal with only one subject or at best 2 or 3 subjects. Secondly in any company, whenever there is downsizing, the translator is among those, who is always kicked out in the beginning itself. Not that I was kicked out that way but I am talking in general.
Of course the question of freedom has been touched upon again and again and I add my endorsemnt of it. This plus the variety of the jobs. In addition, by the grace of God, the earning is very good and is many times of what I would have got as an inhouse translator including the other benefits.
Ciao,
N.Raghavan
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MLG
MLG  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:42
Spanish to English
+ ...
Independent Oct 16, 2003

All of the above is a big "ditto". However, freedom must come with independence...

 
Henry Hinds
Henry Hinds  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 13:42
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
FREEDOM Oct 16, 2003

Freedom, a good living and the satisfaction of traveling my own road, even when I have to make my own road.

I cannot add much to what everyone else has said, I can only add my complete agreement.


 
Zhoudan
Zhoudan  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:42
English to Chinese
+ ...
Freedom + Independence + Good income Oct 16, 2003

You have said what I would.

 
Mueen Issa
Mueen Issa  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:42
English to Arabic
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks, but Oct 16, 2003

Freedom it is!! Well, may be, but then again may be we prefer to be independent for other reasons. I would like to ask first: is independent working the original way of doing it? I mean not very long ago, companies were as little as the fingers in one hand; i.e; independent working is the right or the normal working method. May be we are protesting against the new way work is done!!!

Another thing: many of you said they wanted to work independently because they choose who they deal
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Freedom it is!! Well, may be, but then again may be we prefer to be independent for other reasons. I would like to ask first: is independent working the original way of doing it? I mean not very long ago, companies were as little as the fingers in one hand; i.e; independent working is the right or the normal working method. May be we are protesting against the new way work is done!!!

Another thing: many of you said they wanted to work independently because they choose who they deal with. does this mean that we are trying to avoid certain types of people and certain types of situations. Are we running away from certain (feelings, emotions, weaknesses, etc....) just a question.
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Narasimhan Raghavan
Narasimhan Raghavan  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:12
English to Tamil
+ ...
In memoriam
An example from Konrad Lorenz's book Oct 16, 2003

Konrad Lorenz's master piece "Er redete mit dem Vieh, dem Vögel und den Fischen" was compulsory reading for us appearing for the Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom in November 1971. Even 32 years afterwards, that book is vivid in my memory. Among other things he had made a mention of "Demütsgebärde" (gesture of surrender) between fighting dogs, wolves etc. When a wolf fighting against another wolf is weakening, at a certain point it will just lie down and offer the neck to the other wolf. Wonder ... See more
Konrad Lorenz's master piece "Er redete mit dem Vieh, dem Vögel und den Fischen" was compulsory reading for us appearing for the Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom in November 1971. Even 32 years afterwards, that book is vivid in my memory. Among other things he had made a mention of "Demütsgebärde" (gesture of surrender) between fighting dogs, wolves etc. When a wolf fighting against another wolf is weakening, at a certain point it will just lie down and offer the neck to the other wolf. Wonder of wonders, the other wolf will not take advantage of the situation and just circle around the fallen animal, waiting for its getting up and continuing the fight. This beautiful gesture is absent in the case of doves, the socalled birds of peace. The upright dove will continue to peck at the fallen dove and kill it. This is usually not seen in the free nature as the defeated dove can just fly away. But if they are shut up in a cage, this invariably happens.
Enough background to what I say. As a freelancer you are a dove in the open. By avoiding certain situations ot persons, you save yourself. That is what freedom is all about. But in a fulltime job it is not that simple to resign your job and go away. This freedom is what we freelancers are having. If you don't like an outsourcer, you can refuse to work for him. The world is wide and the dove has a lot of place to fly off to.

Mueen Issa wrote:

Freedom it is!! Well, may be, but then again may be we prefer to be independent for other reasons. I would like to ask first: is independent working the original way of doing it? I mean not very long ago, companies were as little as the fingers in one hand; i.e; independent working is the right or the normal working method. May be we are protesting against the new way work is done!!!

Another thing: many of you said they wanted to work independently because they choose who they deal with. does this mean that we are trying to avoid certain types of people and certain types of situations. Are we running away from certain (feelings, emotions, weaknesses, etc....) just a question.
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Lamprini Kosma
Lamprini Kosma  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 20:42
Member (2003)
English to Greek
+ ...
Simply because I really love this job... Oct 16, 2003

Valeria Verona wrote:

Mueen Issa wrote:

I want to ask every freelance translator out there why would he go independent?


Why not?


... with all these late nights and long working hours when it's necessary (it's part of the challenge, isn't it?)and I do think that it's worth it! I believe that it's one of the few jobs that gives you so much freedom, as you can accept or not accept a project if you don't think you can meet the deadline without too much stress. It's always up to us to decide It's very important for me to be available for my little children and on the same time I feel fulfilled working on interesting subjects, with nice persons from so many places of the world. We are lucky to work via email using the internet...I don't think it's a lonely experience, we simply choose the persons we wish to share our feelings, experiences and many crazy momentswith.


 
Martin Schmurr
Martin Schmurr  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:42
Italian to German
With me it's the contrary - Oct 16, 2003

in everything, thus also in translation:

Narasimhan Raghavan wrote:

"if you work in a company that is not a translation agency, the literature becomes stereotyped"

When I worked as a freelancer, I always got texts on the same subject, and I couldn't say "no" because I earned a lot of money and I never found a client with less boring texts, let alone with so much money.

Here in the agency I have translated various texts (see my glossaries); most
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in everything, thus also in translation:

Narasimhan Raghavan wrote:

"if you work in a company that is not a translation agency, the literature becomes stereotyped"

When I worked as a freelancer, I always got texts on the same subject, and I couldn't say "no" because I earned a lot of money and I never found a client with less boring texts, let alone with so much money.

Here in the agency I have translated various texts (see my glossaries); most of them were boring of course (how I envy those of you who said in other forums they are never bored by technical texts!) but some of them quite interesting.

And I can eat all day - they can't kick me out because I'm the only one who is expert in my boss's project of his lifetime…

And I'm happy to be among people - it's more than enough for me to spend every Sunday with my cat…

[Edited at 2003-10-16 12:35]
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Anne Lee
Anne Lee  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:42
Member (2003)
Dutch to English
+ ...
A sense of achievement Oct 16, 2003

What's given me a buzz is that I am starting to see the results of my hard work: I've got a new laptop, had a logo designed for me, featured in the business section of my local paper this week (posing behind a large pile of dictionaries, in full colour!) and I've just agreed to be interviewed on air by my local BBC radio station. The sense of achievement is worth all the hours I put in.

 
Steffen Pollex (X)
Steffen Pollex (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:42
English to German
+ ...
Nonsense Oct 16, 2003

Who told you you have to work 18-19 hours a day 7 days a week? Of course, this may happen, but is more likely in case you are not a freelancer.

You have no boss, that IS FREEDOM. I'd recommend you to study K. Marx on this.

tyrem wrote:

Working 18-19 hours per day 7 days per week is not freedom. The thing is that companies do not pay for translators (at least in Greece & Cyprus)and if they pay their translators do other jobs too, such as secretarial tasks (photocopies, coffees, answering to the telephone etc).


 
Rachel Vanarsdall
Rachel Vanarsdall  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:42
Member (2004)
French to English
Oct 16, 2003



[Edited at 2005-10-02 17:55]


 
invguy
invguy  Identity Verified
Bulgaria
Local time: 21:42
English to Bulgarian
Efficiency Oct 16, 2003

People are different - everyone has his/her different standards, experiences, habits, stereotypes, preferences... delusions... etc. These can't be fully accounted for in a corporate structure, no matter how progressive and refined its HR management is.


For me, freelancing is the perfect status that allows me to do things my way - and live my life likewise.


I rarely need to comply with things I disagree with, hence I can consistently follow my own principle
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People are different - everyone has his/her different standards, experiences, habits, stereotypes, preferences... delusions... etc. These can't be fully accounted for in a corporate structure, no matter how progressive and refined its HR management is.


For me, freelancing is the perfect status that allows me to do things my way - and live my life likewise.


I rarely need to comply with things I disagree with, hence I can consistently follow my own principles;

I have the opportunity to organize my time in a way which suits me best, so I can give the best possible output in the shortest possible time;

I can afford to do my own planning... small-scale as it is, but I am the decision-maker: I know what comes tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and I can (and do) avoid unexpected rushes and excessive strain;

I assume full responsibility for what I do (no one there to back me up) but in return I don't have to assume someone else's responsibility against my wish, neither do I have to do the impossible to fix mistakes that weren't my fault in the first place;

Contrary to popular beliefs, I don't feel deprived of human interaction: every next client or ad-hoc teammate is different - but there are also clients and colleagues I've been working with longer than it would have been possible as a 9-to-5 employee (how about 22 years);

I know my income is a direct function of my own efforts and achievements - no intermediate redistribution mechanisms that blur the relationship between actual contribution and remuneration;

Etc. (I'm sure if we all decide to add to this list, it will grow pretty quickly


The result of all the above: less stress, more predictability, better personal resource distribution/usage - hence, ultimately - better efficiency.


Life efficiency, I mean. In the most general sense one can think of.


A person who lives an efficient life, feels free - and *is* free - even if s/he works 20 hours a day - because it is not a matter of obligation but a matter of choice: one's own choice.


But then again, people are different. Some would gladly make the necessary compromises in exchange for the security of a corporate shelter. I can see their point, which is also viable. Once more - matter of efficiency. One's own estimate of one's own efficiency.


Um... I guess freelancing is rather a territory of/for individualists... a territory not *reserved*, but *good* for individualists... with all those pros and cons we can discuss infinitely

Not talking about the cons here: they also exist, but the question was "why would anyone go freelance?"
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Sonia Gomes
Sonia Gomes  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:12
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Most of all........ Oct 16, 2003

All the reasons already mentioned but most of all I have met so many different people Clients, people at the Translation Agencies, and do not forget the people at Proz, all this has enriched my life in so many ways.

I was an in- house translator for around 2 years, the pay was very good, but it got so boring, now I never know what the new day may bring, even if there is no work ( and it does happen to me )I go back to reading or cooking something different for the family, but someti
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All the reasons already mentioned but most of all I have met so many different people Clients, people at the Translation Agencies, and do not forget the people at Proz, all this has enriched my life in so many ways.

I was an in- house translator for around 2 years, the pay was very good, but it got so boring, now I never know what the new day may bring, even if there is no work ( and it does happen to me )I go back to reading or cooking something different for the family, but sometimes I do miss the thrill of getting dressed for work !!

Regards

Sonia
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xxx xxx
xxx xxx
Local time: 21:42
Being freelance requires a whole range of interests and skills Oct 18, 2003

Well, almost everything has been said already and I fully support all of the reasons mentioned for choosing to go freelance.

For me, there is one more reason: As a freelance translator, I do not only have to translate but also do all of the decision making, marketing, managing bigger projects, chosing collaborators, developping the databases and translation tools that suit my needs, doing the financial planning and facturation etc and I can be in direct touch with my clients.
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Well, almost everything has been said already and I fully support all of the reasons mentioned for choosing to go freelance.

For me, there is one more reason: As a freelance translator, I do not only have to translate but also do all of the decision making, marketing, managing bigger projects, chosing collaborators, developping the databases and translation tools that suit my needs, doing the financial planning and facturation etc and I can be in direct touch with my clients.

Thus, I can live the whole range of my interests and skills.

Diane
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sylver
sylver  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:42
English to French
Seconded but Oct 19, 2003

while I agree that our profession is one of the best on that count, let's not be caried away with all this "freedom" talk. We know what we mean, but there are more then a few non freelance visitors that may not really be aware of the limits of that freedom.

You don't really work "when you want". Regular customer X calls in with a rush job, you can't really drop him on a whim and call yourself a reliable translation provider, right? And if you do it too often, you probably won't last
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while I agree that our profession is one of the best on that count, let's not be caried away with all this "freedom" talk. We know what we mean, but there are more then a few non freelance visitors that may not really be aware of the limits of that freedom.

You don't really work "when you want". Regular customer X calls in with a rush job, you can't really drop him on a whim and call yourself a reliable translation provider, right? And if you do it too often, you probably won't last long anyway. Being a freelancer is a business and you have to discipline yourself, since no one is there to do it for you.

Next, before going freelance, one should remember that there is *no* pay check coming in the first of each month. In fact, until you have stable customerS your income will look like a Yo-yo, and even then, there might be times when a payment should be in and isn't.

Geographical freedom can means a sizeable amount of lost business too. (Finding a place to stay, setting up internet connection, getting used to the area,... all things which take a considerable amount of time you do not use to promote your services.) Yes, you can work on the other side of the world, be it an island or a nice mountain range, or both or even travel all the time. I should know.

Every freedom has a price. Freelance translation is great, but it's not made exclusively of naps under coconuts trees either - besides those who know what a coco nut weights will agree that this is definitely not a safe place to nap your lazyness away.
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