| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Poll: If you are not satisfied with your income, it's because of: Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Thanks God at the moment I have enough work and I am satisfied with my income. Almost 90% of my clients are agencies out of my country so it applies zero rate for VAT. For my local clients the things are very different, since I have to consider 15% VAT more 10% in other retentions which increase the price significantly. Of course, there are informal translators who are willing to work for nuts and clients willing to pay nuts for translations (at least in my country).
Besides, the curren... See more Thanks God at the moment I have enough work and I am satisfied with my income. Almost 90% of my clients are agencies out of my country so it applies zero rate for VAT. For my local clients the things are very different, since I have to consider 15% VAT more 10% in other retentions which increase the price significantly. Of course, there are informal translators who are willing to work for nuts and clients willing to pay nuts for translations (at least in my country).
Besides, the currency exchange peso/dollar is at the moment (and I don't know for how long) of economical benefit for me. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Amy Duncan (X) 
Brazil
Local time: 02:14
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Not as simple as it seems | Oct 23, 2008 |
J S wrote:
I'm a bit confused by those who have voted "Low Rates".
If you are unhappy with your income due to your low rates, why don't you, well, raise your rates?!
Sometimes it's just not possible to raise rates. I'll give you an example: I lived in Brazil and worked for several companies there. When I moved to the USA last year I continued to work for those companies, although I started looking around for other, higher paying work as well. Even though I was able to line up some new clients, I still needed the income from those companies in Brazil. I know what they pay, and what they are not able to pay. If I raised my rates any more than I am charging now, I would certainly lose those jobs, and I'm not in a position to do that just now. In other words, the rates are not "low" for them, but they are for me, since I'm not living in Brazil at the moment.
| | | | | All of the above, plus... | Oct 23, 2008 |
... long payment terms, and delays thereafter.
I don't know whether it's a chronic disease, but too many clients want to pay in 30 days. Of course, I don't even take jobs with longer payment terms.
Nevertheless, I seldom get paid on the agreed date, always at least 3-4 days later, for the most plausible excuses. Were it only here and there, it would be okay, but it is a worldwide phenomenon, which happens with most projects I have.
Now and then I ge... See more ... long payment terms, and delays thereafter.
I don't know whether it's a chronic disease, but too many clients want to pay in 30 days. Of course, I don't even take jobs with longer payment terms.
Nevertheless, I seldom get paid on the agreed date, always at least 3-4 days later, for the most plausible excuses. Were it only here and there, it would be okay, but it is a worldwide phenomenon, which happens with most projects I have.
Now and then I get one or another client who bangs my payment immediately upon receiving files from me. But this is rather the (rare) exception that confirms the rule.
I recall dating a Chemistry teacher many years ago. One day she told me that an 11th grade student had asked her: "I've heard that you only teach. Don't you work, too?" Well, more recently I heard about the same question being posed to translators. Maybe the notion that translators do it for fun only, they don't need money has somewhat unfortunately got ingrained in the unwritten general knowledge of mankind. This is evidenced by the attitude of some outsourcers, too. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | UAE? No, thanks! | Oct 23, 2008 |
Williamson wrote:
Why don' those in high taxed countries move to low taxed countries?
The Brits don't need a visa to enter/live in the UAE, a tax-free state. 0 % taxes.
FYI: lowtax.net
Enough to pay the bills and study additionnal biz.courses. Satisfied with that situation at the moment.
Unhappy as I am with USA taxes (even though things are better here than in Hungary or Italy), I don't think I want to move to UAE, thank you very much. I just don't think it's a place for a single woman to live.
But thanks for lowtax.net, I'll explore it!
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Ludmilla3
Local time: 15:14
English to Russian
[J S wrote:
I'm a bit confused by those who have voted "Low Rates".
If you are unhappy with your income due to your low rates, why don't you, well, raise your rates?!
Dear Jocelyne,
Your words is equivalent the words of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France:
‘If there be no bread let them eat cake’.
In my pair there are too many translators and insufficient number of clients / projects. If you see that more than 25 translato... See more [J S wrote:
I'm a bit confused by those who have voted "Low Rates".
If you are unhappy with your income due to your low rates, why don't you, well, raise your rates?!
Dear Jocelyne,
Your words is equivalent the words of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France:
‘If there be no bread let them eat cake’.
In my pair there are too many translators and insufficient number of clients / projects. If you see that more than 25 translators bid on a project, can you raise your rate?
When I tried to have a very modest (according to my opinion) rate, the negotiations with my client took a lot of time but then he cancelled the project. I think he found another translator with lower rate.
Next time I agreed with the client according the rate and had a job for translation his project. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Amal Al-Arfaj
Saudi Arabia
Local time: 08:14
Member (2005)
English to Arabic
+ ...
| Speaking of which | Oct 24, 2008 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
One day she told me that an 11th grade student had asked her: "I've heard that you only teach. Don't you work, too?" Well, more recently I heard about the same question being posed to translators.
To people here I'm considered jobless. Family and relatives always ask if I have found a job yet. This is mainly due to the fact that I work from home. Working full-time online is something new to several people here (at least to people around). No matter how many times I explain to them, they just don't consider it a real job. Even those who understand often say, "but it is not guaranteed. It's not like the fixed salary you receive at the end of the month". Here if you work for the government, whether in public schools, ministries or so, it is extremely hard - near impossible - to fire you. That's why they feel secured. That's why they won't leave me alone, although it's all in good faith. "Didn't she find a job? How come? She graduated with honors. Poor girl!" is all what I hear and they keep calling me or my family whenever they hear there's an available job position out there. If I had an office and worked locally for ridiculously low rates, I would be considered someone with a business.
Oh well, I don't really care, at least not anymore. Translation is my passion and I love to be my own boss.
(By the way, teaching in public schools is the much-sought-after job in Saudi Arabia. It pays very well).
| | | | Oleg Rudavin
Ukraine
Local time: 08:14
Member (2003)
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
| Amazing phenomenon | Oct 24, 2008 |
Ludmilla3 wrote:
In my pair there are too many translators and insufficient number of clients / projects. If you see that more than 25 translators bid on a project, can you raise your rate?
When I tried to have a very modest (according to my opinion) rate, the negotiations with my client took a lot of time but then he cancelled the project. I think he found another translator with lower rate.
Next time I agreed with the client according the rate and had a job for translation his project.
That's one amazing phenomenon and a very common fallacy - low rate due to the insufficient number of jobs, too many translators around or severe competition. A colleague of mine calls it 'parallel worlds': dozens of translators bidding for a job posted by a client that looks for a 'best rate', and at the same time, those translators who charge twice as much and never bother bidding are overburdened with work.
| | | | | Low rates are the root cause | Oct 24, 2008 |
...of my number one dissatisfaction with the profession. I don't accept low-rate jobs, and I have a couple of steady clients that pay me well and keep me busy. But I would like to diversify, and the low rates limit my options. Over and over again outsourcers who contact me through ProZ try to twist my arm and get me to reduce my rates; when I don't yield, they find someone else. Hey, I was recently asked to work at a rate I was charging in the 1970s!!
I don't want more volume per se... See more ...of my number one dissatisfaction with the profession. I don't accept low-rate jobs, and I have a couple of steady clients that pay me well and keep me busy. But I would like to diversify, and the low rates limit my options. Over and over again outsourcers who contact me through ProZ try to twist my arm and get me to reduce my rates; when I don't yield, they find someone else. Hey, I was recently asked to work at a rate I was charging in the 1970s!!
I don't want more volume per se - I can tap into just about as much work as I want to handle. What is want is more opportunities to do the work I love for a wider variety of clients at a decent rate of compensation.
[Edited at 2008-10-24 05:04]
[Edited at 2008-10-24 05:05] ▲ Collapse
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Williamson wrote:
Why don' those in high taxed countries move to low taxed countries?
The Brits don't need a visa to enter/live in the UAE, a tax-free state. 0 % taxes.
A visa IS required to work in the UAE. My daughter (dual British/Italian nationality) lives and works there, so I'm sure. It is tax free though.
I live in Italy and taxes and social security are so high that I'm considering moving to another country.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 07:14
English to French
+ ...
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
... long payment terms, and delays thereafter.
I don't know whether it's a chronic disease, but too many clients want to pay in 30 days. Of course, I don't even take jobs with longer payment terms.
30 days is short term here! The rule is 60 days with invoices sent at the end of the month...
A simple matter of getting organised.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 07:14
English to French
+ ...
I agree with all those who complain about taxes. On top of my rates, the customer (if he resides in my country) pays 21% VAT.
SME tax rates are ok if you have a skilfull accountant. My personal income tax is around 50%, social security is another 30% of my personal income. All in all, my net income is about 25% of my turnover.
Back to work
[Modifié le 2008-10-24 07:53]
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I am in this field for last three years, and I found that the jobs in my pair are very few. However, I am continuing because I like translating into my native language.
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Oleandra
Local time: 06:14
English to Russian
| And what with the current crisis... | Oct 24, 2008 |
I am not entirely satisfied with my income because I don't get enough projects.
I refuse to reduce my rates unless it's an interesting project and I want to do it just for the love of it - but even then I’m not prepared to go below a certain threshold. Also, I hardly ever bid for jobs on Proz.com, especially where the outsourcer is asking for ‘best rate’. Yes, it might be in my interests to be more flexible as far as rates go, but I don’t wish to set a precedent and let the... See more I am not entirely satisfied with my income because I don't get enough projects.
I refuse to reduce my rates unless it's an interesting project and I want to do it just for the love of it - but even then I’m not prepared to go below a certain threshold. Also, I hardly ever bid for jobs on Proz.com, especially where the outsourcer is asking for ‘best rate’. Yes, it might be in my interests to be more flexible as far as rates go, but I don’t wish to set a precedent and let the agencies take advantage and subsequently push my rates down even further. There are a few translation agencies I work with, of course, who accept my terms, but they don’t often get jobs in my pair.
That said, in the last couple of months at least two of my direct clients suspended their projects indefinitely due to the financial crisis. One of them found that at the moment they can’t even pay for the completed part of the project. It’s not a huge sum of money but it does make me wonder… ▲ Collapse
| | | | Xanthippe
France
Local time: 07:14
Member (2008)
Italian to French
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Satisfied... | Oct 24, 2008 |
keep my finger crossed .... I'm satisfied of my incoming ....
| | | | Laureana Pavon
Uruguay
Local time: 02:14
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...
MODERATOR | Supply and demand | Oct 24, 2008 |
Oleg Rudavin wrote:
That's one amazing phenomenon and a very common fallacy - low rate due to the insufficient number of jobs, too many translators around or severe competition.
Forgive me for asking, but do you actually believe this?
Let me quote a definition of supply and demand:
"Supply and demand is an economic model describing effects on price and quantity in a market. It predicts that in a competitive market, price will function to equalize the quantity demanded by consumers, and the quantity supplied by producers, resulting in an economic equilibrium of price and quantity."
We may not like it, but this is just the way it is.
I don't accept low rates either, and because I have been a freelance translator since 1992 when there was no Internet and no globalization, I'm lucky enough to have plenty of end clients. But I see that very low rates are being offered for EN-SP translations (as low as USD 0.02!!!!). I've also noticed that some ProZ.com members who are always saying how much they strive to maintain professional rates provide outstanding BB comments for outsourcers who all too clearly state that their standard rates are USD 0.02-0.03.
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