| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Given the choice, would you prefer to work on one major job or several small jobs? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Given the choice, would you prefer to work on one major job or several small jobs?".
This poll was originally submitted by Els Spin. View the poll results »
| | | | Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 01:42
Member (2006)
German to English
| Several smaller ones | Dec 12, 2012 |
as there is a bit more variety than just the same ongoing text.
What I do prefer is a large project with reasonable deadline which allows me to take on small jobs in-between.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 08:42
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Michael Harris wrote:
as there is a bit more variety than just the same ongoing text.
Also, and more importantly, if you devote all your time and effort to just one project, you will inevitably have to refuse work from other customers. This is not a good idea since you run the risk of them "going shopping" elsewhere and you will face difficulties wooing them back when the big project spread over a few months ends. 
Ideally, a large ongoing project interspersed with small- to medium-size projects will keep most of your customers "serviced" and happy. 
Had no choice but to vote "Other". A "Combination of the above" would have been appreciated as an option.
| | | | Andrea Munhoz
Brazil
Local time: 20:42
Portuguese to English
+ ...
I basically work with novels and movie subtitles, and those are usually large in volume, but are rarely boring for there's a story in progress.
For other kinds of work - "traditional" ones, let's put this way - several small jobs, sure.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 01:42
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Michael Harris wrote:
as there is a bit more variety than just the same ongoing text.
What I do prefer is a large project with reasonable deadline which allows me to take on small jobs in-between.
If there is one big job with a comfortable deadline, then several smaller assignments will provide an appreciated variety.
Several smaller jobs are fine for as long as they're not coming from several clients, requiring an invoice for each. In case of smaller jobs from one or two clients I prefer monthly invoices.
| | | | | Much the same here | Dec 12, 2012 |
I get tired of really big jobs before they are finished, unless there is a reasonable deadline to allow for smaller ones in between as well.
I almost always insist, because the average size of my jobs is somewhere between 1000 - 2000 words, and I do not want to let regular clients down while I am working on the big ones.
| | | | | Definitely different assignments | Dec 12, 2012 |
I hate routine, I avoid going shopping to the same supermarket for a long time, I choose different roads to drive...
The same applies to translation: by the end of a long book I feel like a squeezed lemon, I constantly need some fresh ideas, new things to learn, new people to deal with...
For me good medicine against professional routine - taking short-term assignments with different language pairs. That is why I greatly enjoy interpreting.
Nice day to ever... See more I hate routine, I avoid going shopping to the same supermarket for a long time, I choose different roads to drive...
The same applies to translation: by the end of a long book I feel like a squeezed lemon, I constantly need some fresh ideas, new things to learn, new people to deal with...
For me good medicine against professional routine - taking short-term assignments with different language pairs. That is why I greatly enjoy interpreting.
Nice day to everyone. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Helen Hagon
Local time: 00:42
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
| One major job | Dec 12, 2012 |
I much prefer long-term projects. This is mainly because it is easier to juggle work and family. If a child is sick, or there is a school play (especially at this time of year) I can take time out to deal with these things and then catch up later on without fear of missing the deadline. With short-term assignments this can be much more difficult. I also find that larger projects are much more fulfilling as I get more involved in them, and I don't have to negotiate as often or panic quite so ... See more I much prefer long-term projects. This is mainly because it is easier to juggle work and family. If a child is sick, or there is a school play (especially at this time of year) I can take time out to deal with these things and then catch up later on without fear of missing the deadline. With short-term assignments this can be much more difficult. I also find that larger projects are much more fulfilling as I get more involved in them, and I don't have to negotiate as often or panic quite so frequently over where the next job is coming from. ▲ Collapse
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That's a tricky one! Ideally, a larger scale project + a steady stream of small- to medium-sized jobs that I can squeeze in between commitments, just like Julian says, but it depends on several factors, namely the subject matter of the larger job...
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 01:42
Spanish to English
+ ...
I don't translate an ad blurb, an email or a business letter the same as I translate an instruction manual, academic paper or a book. It's all grist to the mill.
I don't mind working on one large job AS LONG AS I'M LEFT IN PEACE TO GET ON WITH IT (chance would be a fine thing). However, as my usual activity consists of juggling with several things at the same time, on the hoof, so to speak, I have to deal with things as they crop up so... in the real world, for want of a "combinatio... See more I don't translate an ad blurb, an email or a business letter the same as I translate an instruction manual, academic paper or a book. It's all grist to the mill.
I don't mind working on one large job AS LONG AS I'M LEFT IN PEACE TO GET ON WITH IT (chance would be a fine thing). However, as my usual activity consists of juggling with several things at the same time, on the hoof, so to speak, I have to deal with things as they crop up so... in the real world, for want of a "combination" option, I'm afraid my own response has to be "Other". ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I usually like one major project | Dec 12, 2012 |
but i am also able to take smaller jobs at the same time. If I'm doing a large translation job and the deadline isn't too tight, I'll accept smaller jobs, like editing or localization jobs. It keeps me from getting bored and keeps the money flowing in!
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 02:42
Turkish to English
+ ...
| One major job | Dec 12, 2012 |
I love to get my teeth into a long, demanding assignment and eat, sleep and drink that job for days.
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| generally a major project (1 week or more) is better | Dec 12, 2012 |
Say I want to head to the beach to surf for a few days, a small project will not interfere with that much, whereas a large project may require completely rethinking my plan.
It depends
I generally wouldn't accept a job that takes less than a half a day unless I'm just looking for something to do. Between communications, invoicing, chasing down payments on small jobs and so on, in my experience I always f... See more Say I want to head to the beach to surf for a few days, a small project will not interfere with that much, whereas a large project may require completely rethinking my plan.
It depends
I generally wouldn't accept a job that takes less than a half a day unless I'm just looking for something to do. Between communications, invoicing, chasing down payments on small jobs and so on, in my experience I always find these tiny jobs become a waste of my time.
I like the larger jobs because it's like a big puzzle, and eventually things start to come together, typically in a fairly pleasing manner. "I know what it means, but what does HE really mean, and is it really what he means to say?" Figuring out these and other things make it very satisfying to complete a larger project.
In smaller projects, you might spend a long time researching words that are used precisely once in a document, whereas longer projects typically reward you with multiple instances of those challenging words/phrases/concepts. And that would be the primary reason I don't do tiny projects. Only a couple bad experiences with getting sent dodgy and/or extremely challenging short texts, and I don't even look at tiny projects any more because I feel it is likely to be someone (probably at an agency) looking to pawn off the worst parts of a larger project, for which I will be paid as through it were a translation of normal difficulty.
Again, in terms of the time management aspects of the question, it depends If you send me a large project right now I'd say no. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Theo Bernards (X)
France
Local time: 01:42
English to Dutch
+ ...
My aim is usually a large project every quarter (something that keeps me going anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks) and small jobs in between. This worked out all-right in 2010 and 2011, unfortunately it didn't work out that well this year (but next year seems to start off well).
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I prefer several small jobs, also a big job keeps you busy for quite a long time, and if payment terms are too long, the risk is that you cannot work on other projects which are paid earlier.
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