| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Lawyer - Is Translating Worth It? Thread poster: LegalWorks
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Hi all,
I am not a translator but looking into possibly making the switch. I am a fully bilingual lawyer English/Spanish and wanted to know if this field was worth exploring. How much could I make doing strictly legal type translation work English/Spanish - Spanish/English (ballpark)?
Any feedback appreciated.
THANKS
| | | | Yael Ramon 
Israel
Local time: 12:00
German to Hebrew
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| how about notary services? | Jul 6, 2014 |
acquiring a notary license can provide you the first taste of the translation world, and smooth your way into it. can also result in a third way of making a living - you will always have at least one of them providing you with projects.
| | | | ATIL KAYHAN
Türkiye
Local time: 12:00
Member (2007)
Turkish to English
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| To Switch or Not | Jul 6, 2014 |
If I were you, I would not completely quit my profession as a lawyer. From what I know, most lawyers can make a lot of money in most countries. The money that you can make as a translator is infinitely variable, it can start from zero, and can go up to many thousands a month. However, most translators make something not too far from zero if you ask me.
As an example, I am a mechanical engineer. The reason I switched to translating is I suddenly lost my job as an engineer in 2004... See more If I were you, I would not completely quit my profession as a lawyer. From what I know, most lawyers can make a lot of money in most countries. The money that you can make as a translator is infinitely variable, it can start from zero, and can go up to many thousands a month. However, most translators make something not too far from zero if you ask me.
As an example, I am a mechanical engineer. The reason I switched to translating is I suddenly lost my job as an engineer in 2004. I had a solid reason for switching as you can see. Even then it was not easy at all. My recommendation is to hold on to your job as a lawyer, and try to explore translation on the side. I know this is not easy but life never is easy as you know. ProZ is a valuable tool to do that. Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Lawyer turned translator: is it worth it? | Jul 6, 2014 |
My prior experience includes five years with a major international law firm as a salaried in-house legal translator, which means I now have what you might call 'insider information'.
Pros:
1. You are finally your own boss, and you can choose your clients, projects and jobs, as well as your working procedures and working time.
2. Potentially, you may charge a hefty rate, because good professional legal translators with formal legal training and extensive han... See more My prior experience includes five years with a major international law firm as a salaried in-house legal translator, which means I now have what you might call 'insider information'.
Pros:
1. You are finally your own boss, and you can choose your clients, projects and jobs, as well as your working procedures and working time.
2. Potentially, you may charge a hefty rate, because good professional legal translators with formal legal training and extensive hands-on experience are a very rare breed, at least in the English-Russian language pair.
3. Generally, your life should become less stressful as compared to that of an associate, senior associate (and even a partner) in the law firm settings.
Cons:
1. You are likely to have lower income as a translator... but think about being your own boss, in full control over your business processes and practices
I quit my previous employment at my own initiative, despite a very generous salary and nice fringe benefits, because I have always preferred independence and freedom over money per se. Strangely enough, I am still quite happy even moneywise one year later ▲ Collapse
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Thanks for the insight Vladimir!
One big advantage is that my country uses a territorial tax system. So any revenue source online from an employer overseas would not have to be declared
| | | | Nicole Coesel
Netherlands
Local time: 11:00
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| An employer is not the same as a customer or agency you perform a translation assignment for | Jul 6, 2014 |
I do not know the legal system in your country, but I DO know that if I generate income from a foreign EMPLOYER, taxes must be paid on that income either in the employer's country or in my own. If my income is generated from a foreign CUSTOMER, I am, at all times, obligated to pay taxes in my country.
I do believe you need to further investigate the issue before you make assumptions that could cost you dearly.
That is why so many of us are freelancers with VAT numbers.<... See more I do not know the legal system in your country, but I DO know that if I generate income from a foreign EMPLOYER, taxes must be paid on that income either in the employer's country or in my own. If my income is generated from a foreign CUSTOMER, I am, at all times, obligated to pay taxes in my country.
I do believe you need to further investigate the issue before you make assumptions that could cost you dearly.
That is why so many of us are freelancers with VAT numbers.
Best of luck. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Hi--where are you located? | Jul 6, 2014 |
In the United States a lawyer with ideas how to develop his business and attract customers, or one working for prestigious law firms makes much more money than legal translator (usually above $200,000 a year). A very good legal translator who knows how to look for work, attract clients--with absolutely top legal knowledge about both the legal systems, plus top fluency in both languages, can perhaps make one third or half of that.
Also, it is much harder and more tiresome to work as... See more In the United States a lawyer with ideas how to develop his business and attract customers, or one working for prestigious law firms makes much more money than legal translator (usually above $200,000 a year). A very good legal translator who knows how to look for work, attract clients--with absolutely top legal knowledge about both the legal systems, plus top fluency in both languages, can perhaps make one third or half of that.
Also, it is much harder and more tiresome to work as a legal translator than to work as a lawyer--in my opinion, at least. You basically need to know all the terms in both languages, plus a lot about two legal systems--not just one--of some countries which may sometimes have two totally different legal systems, which may result in many almost untranslatable terms.
[Edited at 2014-07-06 16:39 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No tax for me! | Jul 6, 2014 |
Nicole Coesel wrote:
I do not know the legal system in your country, but I DO know that if I generate income from a foreign EMPLOYER, taxes must be paid on that income either in the employer's country or in my own. If my income is generated from a foreign CUSTOMER, I am, at all times, obligated to pay taxes in my country.
I do believe you need to further investigate the issue before you make assumptions that could cost you dearly.
That is why so many of us are freelancers with VAT numbers.
Best of luck.
Thank you Nicole,
If you live in the Netherlands, you must state your complete worldwide income in your tax return. Your income from abroad is also part of your worldwide income (for example income from employment or foreign property)
I live in Central America, and here things are very different. Government is not as social and taxes are low, plus income generated abroad is not subject to any tax
To the other poster, this is why I am looking into this. I could obviously still make more as a lawyer but independence and quality of life is very important to me.
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| A missing question in your question | Jul 6, 2014 |
You should also be looking into what specific skills, criteria, and approaches you need for translation. It is a separate professional field. Translation involves three areas of expertise: - - - proficiency in two languages (linguistics for manipulating words across languages
- skill / knowledge in translation
- expertise in a particular subject area
You must have some strong ability in two languages since you are considering this, and you have expertise in law. As so... See more You should also be looking into what specific skills, criteria, and approaches you need for translation. It is a separate professional field. Translation involves three areas of expertise: - - - proficiency in two languages (linguistics for manipulating words across languages
- skill / knowledge in translation
- expertise in a particular subject area
You must have some strong ability in two languages since you are considering this, and you have expertise in law. As soon as you translate, you're also into legal systems of different countries, but you would be on top of that since it's your field. The part you should know more about is the translation part. ▲ Collapse
| | | | deleted. (X)
Australia
Local time: 06:00
English to Chinese
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| Not worth it. | Jul 7, 2014 |
I would say it is not worth it. Although I do not have statistics to support this, but my impression is that most of the translators, and experienced ones, excluding those who are employed on full-time basis by organisations such as the United Nations or government agencies, do not make as much as a university graduate makes on his/her first full time job (here in Australia, that figure was $55,000 in 2012), and even if you can make that much, you need to work a lot harder than that university ... See more I would say it is not worth it. Although I do not have statistics to support this, but my impression is that most of the translators, and experienced ones, excluding those who are employed on full-time basis by organisations such as the United Nations or government agencies, do not make as much as a university graduate makes on his/her first full time job (here in Australia, that figure was $55,000 in 2012), and even if you can make that much, you need to work a lot harder than that university graduate on his/her first job.
[Edited at 2014-07-07 04:23 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Freelancers have the potential of making more than$55.000, | Jul 7, 2014 |
probably $75-100,000 working full time, or more than 50 hours a week and not selling oneself cheap, but rather charging what that type of work is worth.
The United Nations pays less than many American or EU companies, since it is technically not American- (just in NY)-governed by different laws.
| | | | Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 05:00
Spanish to English
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| the translation factor | Jul 7, 2014 |
Maxi Schwarz wrote:
...The part you should know more about is the translation part.
I couldn't agree more. This factor can sometimes be overlooked. It takes more than just being bilingual, even with subject-matter expertise. Success as a translator depends on aptitude and appreciation for the linguistic factors involved. You also have to be a good writer in your target language. Freelance translation does offer independence, but the work can be challenging and it's not always exciting. The best translators have a knack for translating and they find the work rewarding, which is probably a precondition to financial success in the field. If this factor is missing then work quality might suffer or the translator might find the day-to-day work too tedious.
Law and translation can be similar in that they both involve a strong focus on research and attention to detail, but the nature of the work done on a daily basis is different. In my case, after working as a translator for several years and then completing a post-graduate law degree in 2010, my original goal was to transition into practicing law. However, the financial downturn threw up some roadblocks. Fortunately I had some established translation clients and it was relatively easy for me to pick back up with full-time translation. Since then I've found that translation has continued to be extremely rewarding, both professionally and financially. My perspective now is that it would probably be difficult to find this same level of satisfaction practicing law, unless it involved some type of linguistic, international, and/or technical aspect.
And for me, that's the key factor for success in any field. No matter how high or low your potential income is capped, if you can't be happy and productive doing the day-to-day work, then it's not likely to work out well.
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| More freedom is very tempting | Jul 7, 2014 |
I am working as a lawyer (civil servant) now and I sometimes do translations after official office hours. What I find attractive with translating is the fact that you can live just about anywhere in places with a good internet connection (I find southern French or Spanish villages very tempting), whereas as a lawyer you have to live in cities within the country whose legal system you are familiar with. In the European Union, we have freedom of movement. So we can chose to live whereever we want.... See more I am working as a lawyer (civil servant) now and I sometimes do translations after official office hours. What I find attractive with translating is the fact that you can live just about anywhere in places with a good internet connection (I find southern French or Spanish villages very tempting), whereas as a lawyer you have to live in cities within the country whose legal system you are familiar with. In the European Union, we have freedom of movement. So we can chose to live whereever we want. If I want to move South, I could work as a translator but not as a lawyer because I would not be familiar with the new legal system. However, I think in general it's true here in Europe too, that freelance translators make less money than lawyers. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Certification? | Jul 7, 2014 |
Noob question - is certification required to do freelance work? How much does it affect pay scale if at all?
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 10:00
Member (2007)
English
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| Do you want to earn it or enjoy it? | Jul 7, 2014 |
Maria S. Loose wrote:
What I find attractive with translating is the fact that you can live just about anywhere in places with a good internet connection (I find southern French or Spanish villages very tempting)
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However, I think in general it's true here in Europe too, that freelance translators make less money than lawyers.
I spent 15 very happy years in a south of France village and I can tell you it costs an awful lot less than living in London. All those things you need to soften the rat-race of a big city - the latest this, the biggest that, the horribly expensive holidays... - none of them are necessary or even desirable. Now that I'm in a great Spanish holiday resort I'm sort of on holiday all the time when it comes to bars and restaurants, so pretty expensive, but at 58 I'm going off the idea of saving for a rainy day: we get so few of them here.
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