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| User | Thread poster: Benoit HUPIN Successful translators, have you ever considered to quit translation ? |
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Benoit HUPIN 
France
Local time: 13:32
English to French
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Hello everybody,
This question is mainly for well-established translators.
Have you ever considered to quit translation ? Why ? Too much work for a just-above average revenue ? Not enough social life ? The feeling of not having any life ? Loss of interest for this activity ?
Any comments or feelings about this question will be welcomed.
Regards,
Benoit
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Spencer Allman
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:32
Finnish to English
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Many translators, like myself, get into it later on in life so quitting is often not an option.
But it is hard work, you have to put up with a lot of stupidity sometimes, and I would definitely stop if I won the lottery (although I would translate a novel - at leisure)
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imatahan
Brazil
Local time: 08:32
 Member (2009)
English to Portuguese
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As a freelancer, I can slow down the rythm when I'm tired, or busy, or I have to give attention to my family.
It's been always a pleasant work, it's never bored or annoyed me. Some clients do... But I'm free not to work with them ever again.
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polyglot45
English to French
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And I did, which is why this is now a second string and not my main occupation !
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Jørgen Madsen
Denmark
Local time: 13:32
English to Danish
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Maybe I will never leave translation completely, but I do plan to translate much less than I do at the moment. One day when I don't need to earn as much as now, I will certainly reduce the number of hours I put in each day.
Why?
I want to work less and live more and do things I take pleasure in, things that give me energy instead of draining me of it. I also want to spend more time away from the computer to avoid the many health problems in connection with sedentary work. Another obvious reason is the lack of respect for translators in general leading to ridiculously low rates, slow paying clients and unreasonable conditions in the business. Sometimes it just makes me so sick of this work which I seldomly find rewarding in any way.
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Valeria_2323
Argentina
Local time: 08:32
English to Spanish
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Yes, I have considered quitting due to the low rates and the lack of work stability. You never know what will happen, and it is hard to become indepedent!
[Editado a las 2010-12-14 17:36 GMT]
[Editado a las 2010-12-14 17:36 GMT]
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S P Willcocks
Romania
Local time: 14:32
German to English
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| | A paradoxical question? | Dec 14, 2010 |
Isn't there a contradiction in the very question, though? If you are successful and well-established, why should you think of quitting?
For myself, I couldn't imagine another lifestyle or job that would suit me so well. I get to nose around in other people's business, I am in charge of my own time, I can badger commissioning editors about the best novels I've read lately and I keep alive my extra languages that are not (widely) spoken in the country where I'm living at the moment.
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Pablo Bouvier
Spain
Local time: 13:32
Member
German to Spanish
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| | Successful translators, have you ever considered to quit translation ? | Dec 14, 2010 |
Benoit HUPIN wrote:
Hello everybody,
This question is mainly for well-established translators.
Have you ever considered to quit translation ? Why ? Too much work for a just-above average revenue ? Not enough social life ? The feeling of not having any life ? Loss of interest for this activity ?
Any comments or feelings about this question will be welcomed.
Regards,
Benoit |
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I'm thinking about. I have already a certain age and after after more than 30 years in the translation arena I'm thinking about the relay. But, I also think a translator never fully retire because it is perhaps one of the few occupations where age is not a determinant factor.
[Bearbeitet am 2010-12-14 21:29 GMT]
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Benoit HUPIN
France
Local time: 13:32
English to French
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TOPIC STARTER | | Not so paradoxical | Dec 14, 2010 |
S P Willcocks wrote:
Isn't there a contradiction in the very question, though? If you are successful and well-established, why should you think of quitting?
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Not so paradoxical. Being successful and able to charge high rates implies a lot of pressure and always being at the top. It is physically and mentally exhausting. I really have the feeling of sacrificing the best years of my life working 12 hours a day for people who do not have and do not want to have the slightest idea of what their silly requests imply and of what translation is all about.
Anyway, I have no choice for the five years to come, but once I will no longer need to earn what I earn now, I will seriously consider doing something else and simply... live.
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FarkasAndras
Hungary
Local time: 13:32
English to Hungarian
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S P Willcocks wrote:
I get to nose around in other people's business, I am in charge of my own time |
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Those are the two things I love most about translation!
I haven't considered quitting, but then I haven't been in this business for that long. I'm not sure how you can measure success in translation, either.
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xxxPT Translati
United States
Local time: 04:32
Japanese to English
| | Amazing how split the opinions are... | Dec 14, 2010 |
It's amazing how it's pretty much split 50/50, as far as people who love it and people who just seem to hate it. I'd say moreso than any other career I've ever contemplated. No matter what country's translator portals/sites I went to, the opinion is pretty much split.
So much so that I made a decision a while back to find out for myself. So far so good.
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Bilbo Baggins
Spain
Catalan to English
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| | I love translating | Dec 15, 2010 |
So I wouldn't give up if I could avoid it and would surely carry on - for me:-)
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Bilbo Baggins
Spain
Catalan to English
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| | The hate word | Dec 15, 2010 |
PT Translation wrote:
It's amazing how it's pretty much split 50/50, as far as people who love it and people who just seem to hate it. I'd say moreso than any other career I've ever contemplated. No matter what country's translator portals/sites I went to, the opinion is pretty much split.
So much so that I made a decision a while back to find out for myself. So far so good.
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It seems to be going a bit far to talk about people that "hate" it. I imagine myself to be in a profession that's mostly populated by people who like their job, some of whom may be a bit tired of certain aspects ....
In fact, so far, you are the only person who mentions the word "hate" regarding translation - in a sum-up that does not, in fact, reflect the comments to date in this forum.
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Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 07:32
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
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Perfect job for me. I spent years getting extricated from my previous profession so I could do this full time.
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Gillian Searl
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:32
 Member (2004)
German to English
| | Not quitting but... | Dec 15, 2010 |
This thread caught my attention because after 10 years I am thinking about adding an extra string to my bow. Being a freelance translator is excellent but there are times when I think doing something else/in addition would spice things up a bit. I am thinking about
1) becoming a translation agency
2) becoming a CAT tool trainer
3) becoming an interpreter
Any other suggestions, advice or tips greatly appreciated.
Gillian
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The translation workplace 
