How much should I ask for a Translation as a Student? Thread poster: Riccardo97
|
|---|
Good evening
I'm a translation and interpreting 20 years old student at the second year of my triennale in Italy. I'm writing in English because the form is in English.
I was asked to translate a 2 pages short simple press release into German and English by the enterprise hosting me for my internship
How much should I ask to avoid unfair competition? Not that I'm so pretentious to compare to professionals, but I just want to understand the way it works.
Thank you... See more Good evening
I'm a translation and interpreting 20 years old student at the second year of my triennale in Italy. I'm writing in English because the form is in English.
I was asked to translate a 2 pages short simple press release into German and English by the enterprise hosting me for my internship
How much should I ask to avoid unfair competition? Not that I'm so pretentious to compare to professionals, but I just want to understand the way it works.
Thank you in advance ▲ Collapse
| | | |
The company where you are doing your internship has asked you to write a press release. I have two questions:
- what is the subject of your press release?
- why is unfair competition concerned?
[Edited at 2017-08-30 09:43 GMT]
| | | |
Riccardo97 wrote:
Good evening
I'm a translation and interpreting 20 years old student at the second year of my triennale in Italy. I'm writing in English because the form is in English.
I was asked to translate a 2 pages short simple press release into German and English by the enterprise hosting me for my internship
How much should I ask to avoid unfair competition? Not that I'm so pretentious to compare to professionals, but I just want to understand the way it works.
Thank you in advance
Are you sure they're not expecting you to do it as part of your internship?
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:13
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Mother tongue | Aug 30, 2017 |
Riccardo97 wrote:
Good evening
I'm a translation and interpreting 20 years old student at the second year of my triennale in Italy. I'm writing in English because the form is in English.
I was asked to translate a 2 pages short simple press release into German and English by the enterprise hosting me for my internship
How much should I ask to avoid unfair competition? Not that I'm so pretentious to compare to professionals, but I just want to understand the way it works.
Thank you in advance
Assuming that you are not a native English speaker and that you are a student, it is unlikely that your translation into English would be anywhere near good enough for use in a work environment. I assume the same would apply to the German. My suggestion: do it for free. That way, nobody will be able to accuse you of ripping them off. And after all, as an intern you are expected to work for nothing anyway (as Mirko suggested).
[Edited at 2017-08-30 10:43 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
| Unfair competition | Aug 30, 2017 |
I'm still having a problem understanding why unfair competition is involved.
Do you mean that someone external to the company has asked you to do a press release about the company where you are doing your internship? If someone external to the company is asking you to do the press release, then you should check with the company that accepting to do the press release does not breach a condition of your internship.
If someone within the company is asking you to do the press release, ... See more I'm still having a problem understanding why unfair competition is involved.
Do you mean that someone external to the company has asked you to do a press release about the company where you are doing your internship? If someone external to the company is asking you to do the press release, then you should check with the company that accepting to do the press release does not breach a condition of your internship.
If someone within the company is asking you to do the press release, then check the conditions of your internship agreement. If you are doing a translation internship, it would seem normal that you be asked to do translations. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Unfair competition | Aug 30, 2017 |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:
I'm still having a problem understanding why unfair competition is involved.
IMO, what he meant is just that he doesn't want to undercut "professional translators" by asking low rates.
| | | |
Tom in London wrote:
After all, as an intern you are expected to work for nothing anyway (as Mirko suggested).
[Edited at 2017-08-30 10:33 GMT]
Not necessarily. Rules vary from country to country and are probably applied with varying degrees of rigour!
For example, in France, the leglisation on internships ("stages") was tightened in 2014 and there are circumstances in which an intern has to be paid, when a certain number of hours has been reached.
| | | |
If the translation is not part of your internship, you should charge the full rate.
You can see average rates for various language pairs here:
http://search.proz.com/?sp=pfe/rates
In freelancing, you do not start as the office junior and get promoted to a higher position with higher pay. You start by delivering a professional translation which is fit for purpose - anyt... See more If the translation is not part of your internship, you should charge the full rate.
You can see average rates for various language pairs here:
http://search.proz.com/?sp=pfe/rates
In freelancing, you do not start as the office junior and get promoted to a higher position with higher pay. You start by delivering a professional translation which is fit for purpose - anything else is useless to the client. So naturally, you charge the full rate. (If that answers your question about unfair competition.)
Beginners will not be able to take on work that really requires experience, and they will take longer on each job, so in fact it IS easier to earn more as time goes on. But each job has the same value for the client, no matter who did it.
Beginners sometimes have afresh approach, or have studied the latest developments in their specialist fields, so they can deliver excellent work. Believe me, those of us who have been in the business for some time have to work quite hard to keep up!
Be careful about translating into a non-native language. Some people regard it as a mortal sin, and you will never get anywhere discussing it with them.
It is always easier to translate into your native language, but being native in the target language does not guarantee that you will produce an accurate translation... I will stop before I get off topic!
I hope you enjoy your internship and benefit from it. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| I don't want to undercut professionals | Aug 30, 2017 |
Good afternoon
I prefer to write a comprehensive answer to all these posts.
I didn't have to write a press release of my own, I had to translate an existing one so that it could be published on the company's website. The topic was a general one: it was written to inform about the deadline to subscribe to the company's event (they organize a car race in my city)
Had it been something difficult with legal matter or so, I wouldn't have accepted, because I just... See more Good afternoon
I prefer to write a comprehensive answer to all these posts.
I didn't have to write a press release of my own, I had to translate an existing one so that it could be published on the company's website. The topic was a general one: it was written to inform about the deadline to subscribe to the company's event (they organize a car race in my city)
Had it been something difficult with legal matter or so, I wouldn't have accepted, because I just can't handle it. It was very simple, so I decided to accept.
I wouldn't accept to work into a language exept my native one for big works, but I did it because it was simple. I know it is a risk to translate into a tongue you don't master as a native speaker though and I respect your views.
I'm doing my internship in a 2 employee company and as I had been translating for them (simple press releases) for a month, they decided to give me a work because they recognized my way of working was good enough for them.
I just don't want to undercut "professional translators" by asking low rates, as was said as an answer to my post.
I thank you all very much for answering to my post. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 20:13
French to English
you should be paid the same as a professional, but ask for extra time, because you'll need to sweat a good bit over the text to produce something that's fit for purpose
| | | | | This is a good start! | Sep 1, 2017 |
Riccardo97 wrote:
I'm doing my internship in a 2 employee company and as I had been translating for them (simple press releases) for a month, they decided to give me a work because they recognized my way of working was good enough for them.
I just don't want to undercut "professional translators" by asking low rates, as was said as an answer to my post.
Good! If you have already proved the quality of your work you can charge a professional rate, as any of us.
Maybe asking for a little extra time is a good idea though.
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 20:13
Spanish to English
+ ...
| What about educating them? | Sep 2, 2017 |
In the first place, you should know we all work into native languages. Some of us are bilinguals, but native competence is the most important factor.
You could do your best, and then tell them to have it checked by a native speaker before going online. All parties win, since all will be learning from the experience.
| | |
|
|
|
| We should educate them | Sep 2, 2017 |
Parrot wrote:
In the first place, you should know we all work into native languages. Some of us are bilinguals, but native competence is the most important factor.
You could do your best, and then tell them to have it checked by a native speaker before going online. All parties win, since all will be learning from the experience.
I think you are right.
I don't want to go off topic, but I perceive that only few people know how interpreting and translation are really like among those who work in other fields.. But that's another story
Thank you for your kind answers
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » How much should I ask for a Translation as a Student? | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
