Hi! My name is Evgenia Attebery. I live in US. I provide mostly written translations, but recently
I was asked to do a few interpreting jobs. My language pair is English-Russian-English. What is the reasonable amount I should charge per hour? How do I charge a client if they need me to go to a different state? Do they pay me for the whole day or just for the hours I work, because if it wasn't for them, I could be making money, translating something else? I would think the client pays for my flight and living expenses (lodging and food) in addition to the hourly pay. The last interpreting job I did, didn't go according to the schedule I was provided. It was supposed to be 3 hours a day for 3 days. It turned out to be more than that. In addition, on the very first day I worked for 6 hours in the morning, then my client cut me loose, and I was supposed to come back in about 3 hours for a business dinner. It wasn't discussed in advance. I can't be going back and forth every 3 hours or so. It basically takes up my whole day instead of promised 3 hours a day. What should I do in this case? I understand that things don't always work as planned. When a plan changes, should I discuss the new payment terms? I appreciate any help.
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Edward Vreeburg Netherlands Local time: 15:29 Member (2008) English to Dutch + ...
get some more details
Nov 23, 2011
It seems you've already asked yourself all those questions, now you should be able to answer them yourself...
What is the reasonable amount I should charge per hour?
Just think what you would make by translating from home, multiply that by 3, and charge by the day of 1/2 day
How do I charge a client if they need me to go to a different state?
- client pays all, meals, transport, hotel (and you don't advance it!)
Do they pay me for the whole day or just for the hours I work, because if it wasn't for them, I could be making money, translating something else?
- whole dat or 1/2 day, possibly even travel time
I would think the client pays for my flight and living expenses (lodging and food) in addition to the hourly pay.
- yes
The last interpreting job I did, didn't go according to the schedule I was provided. It was supposed to be 3 hours a day for 3 days. It turned out to be more than that. In addition, on the very first day I worked for 6 hours in the morning,
- customer would need two interpreters, you're not really 'fresh' after 3 hours
then my client cut me loose, and I was supposed to come back in about 3 hours for a business dinner. It wasn't discussed in advance.
- make tight schedule, include overtime and dinner stuff
I can't be going back and forth every 3 hours or so. It basically takes up my whole day instead of promised 3 hours a day. What should I do in this case?
- charge a whole day
I understand that things don't always work as planned. When a plan changes, should I discuss the new payment terms? I appreciate any help.
- no you should make plans in advance about extra and unforseen issues, normal schedule from 09:00 to 17:00 , overtime and extra work +150%
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