| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | Please tell me why you work for .04 a word... Thread poster: Jeff Whittaker
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sarahl (X)
Local time: 01:51
English to French
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| Agree with Rosa Maria | Jun 30, 2005 |
cendrine marrouat wrote:
I can only accept my own rates now because I have another job on the side that allows me to live decently.
I think you found the best answer here. One problem with accepting low rates is that it's very hard to move to a better, higher-paying market once you've established yourself as a 3 cents translator. We certainly need to take lower-than-we-would-like rates occasionally to pay our bills, but I, like Rosa Maria, have an absolute threshold.
FWIW
Sarah
| | | | | Obsessive perfectionism may become an handicap | Jul 1, 2005 |
We Germans are very proud of our typical high German quality, but we are losing the battle with the cheap low-quality tenders. We are too expensive, our Quality / Price ratio is not competitive in the Global Market.
As you see, the things are not as simple, as they seem to be.
Obsessive perfectionism may become an handicap.
| | | | Aleksandr Okunev (X)
Local time: 11:51
English to Russian
| Tide will turn (?) | Jul 1, 2005 |
Arthur Allmendinger wrote: Germans are crazy about their German high quality, but they cannot compete with the cheap production of Indochina, though this production lacks quality.
Here people prefer to buy a used German washing machine instead of a new Italian one, even if the price is the same. Five years ago it was not like this, but now some brain is involved in the process of decision-making.
The trend for the translation rates to go down is going to stay around for a while but I suspect we will see it reverse, because otherwise translation consumers will have to be more stupid than an average Belarussian consumer of home appliances.
Stay well
Alex
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| | | | | Working poor in the US | Jul 1, 2005 |
Like Edward, I'm going to play devil's advocate here.
Jeff Whittaker wrote:
I would like to hear from translators living in the U.S. who have been able to live comfortably on .04 a word.
One fairly straightforward answer is that it's not people living in the US who bid on those jobs/work for those wages. Without naming specific countries, there are a lot of places around the world where the cost/standard of living is such that one can live quite well from that wage. I know this is obvious to everyone, so let's move on to my next point
There are tons of people in the US already working for the equivalent of 4 cents per word: the barrista who makes you your frappacino, the maid who cleans your hotel room, the waiter who brings your lunch. They're called the working poor. No one is sure about the exact numbers, but here are some estimates:
http://www.cbc.ca/paidtobepoor/
"The study, which used data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, showed that in December 1996, nearly one-third of Canadian workers, or about 1.7 million people, were in low-paying jobs."
(I know, I know, they're talking about Canada, not the US...)
http://www.socialistworker.org/2004-1/502/502_02_WorkingPoor.shtml
"According to a recent report by the Russell Sage and Rockefeller Foundations, some 34 million workers--more than a quarter of the U.S. workforce--earn less than $8.70 an hour."
Assuming you could translate 3000 words everyday in eight hours, at $23,400 you would only be making $11.25 an hour without any benefits.
How much do you think someone in the restaurant/service industry is earning, typically without benefits? I realize the pool of people working in such service jobs does not necessarily overlap with translators, but to give an example: Starbuck's in Seattle offers $8 per hour w/o benefits. I would certainly much rather sit in front of a computer, in the comfort of my own apartment, work on a computer and be able to keep an eye on my kids, than say do drudge work in an industrial laundry or wash dishes.
Before everyone flames me, let me make it clear that I don't think this is good. I think it's *awful* that people have to work 2 jobs to put food on the table. I understand your outrage: I think $0.03-0.04 is a *terrible* rate for translations. But the reality is that a good portion of the US workforce could only dream of working as a translator for 4 cents a word.
[Edited at 2005-07-01 13:28]
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Marc P (X) 
Local time: 10:51
German to English
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| Return on 2 Kopeks | Jul 1, 2005 |
Aleksandr Okunev wrote: You've read that far??? My Lord, I've got a reader!!
Yes, and one who agrees with you, too.
On the other hand, I am less sure about this:
The trend for the translation rates to go down is going to stay around for a while but I suspect we will see it reverse
This is an oversimplification. It is not that rates are going down; it is that the gap between professional translation and pseudo-translation is widening. The latter is going to get cheaper and cheaper. At the same time, it will get worse and worse, until it is no longer distinguishable from machine translation, which is already free.
Prices for professional-quality translation are not dropping, at least not in all markets and in the order of magnitude being talked about here.
Marc
[Edited at 2005-07-01 11:47]
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"There is no nearly fresh sturgeon" (meaning that it is either sturgeon or waste).
Exactly, however in some parts of the world nearly fresh sturgeon is sold as the only type sturgeon available.
My Lord, I've got a reader!!
Sure do!
| | | | | German companies have learned their lesson | Jul 1, 2005 |
Aleksandr Okunev wrote:
...Here people prefer to buy a used German washing machine instead of a new Italian one, even if the price is the same.
I also prefer to keep my old German washing machine (Miele, 15 years old) and I am reluctant to buy a new one with the same trademark, because new German washing machines are not as good, as the good old German quality models.
German companies have learned their lesson: they stopped producing machines that can be used for a period of 20 years.
Guess why?
: - )
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Aleksandr Okunev (X)
Local time: 11:51
English to Russian
| On sturgeon and laundry ;) | Jul 1, 2005 |
Like Edward, I'm going to play devil's advocate here.
I do not take it that way, neither Edward's nor your opinion advocate low translation rates.
Without naming specific countries, there are a lot of places around the world where the cost/standard of living is such that one can live quite well from that wage.
I would not say so. In Belarus a family of 3 lives on about USD 150 a month, but I need a lot more because: a) I am not translating all the time; b) my lifestyle implies much greater expenses, starting from Internet connection to not growing my own potatoes in a vegetable garden but buying frozen veggies in the nearest grocery store. A lot of people survive here through subsistence farming, they have old folks in villages who keep a vegetable garden, a couple of pigs and so on. The effectiveness of this is extremely low, but this is probably the only chance they have to survive. There is the capital, of course. BMWs and stuff, but this is not the whole of Belarus, and interpreters in Minsk may charge more than the ones in London because most of the things easily available in UK are harder to get here.
But the reality is that a good portion of the US workforce could only dream of working as a translator for 4 cents a word.
No problem about that. Spend 5 years in a Uni, then a year in Mozambique and 2 years in Pakistan in a colony in the middle of a desert. Buy a PC, Trados, learn it the hard way, be unpaid a couple of times, etc., etc. Sounds not as sweet as the rates calculation. Michele, you miss one thing: I am never going to accept such rates because anyone with my social status and life experience can easily find an alternative source of income, from representing a Western company here to publishing English self-study books (from USD3000 a month, no sweat, but you mast pass this initial stage again). AND anyone accepting very low rates is not capable to fill the void I am going to leave, because his/her product is not a translation.
Prices for professional-quality translation are not dropping, at least not in all markets and in the order
of magnitude being talked about here.
Marc
A good point, I agree. Do you think we are going to have the same situation as in fashion: Boutiques selling stuff whose outrageous price is 99% label and sweatshops in Ukraine, Belarus and China selling a kids overalls for 25 cents by the truckload? I cannot see myself in either stratum, honestly, have neither abilities nor desire.
A question: Does anybody agree with me that translators' organizations and decent agencies are harming themselves by trying 'not to notice' 'Florida folks'? Do you think that something else can be done besides patient client education?
Stay well
Aleksandr
P.S. I have a top-loaded 12-year-old Siemens. One of the few things I trust in life.
| | | | | Do you charge $0.05 per source word? | Jul 1, 2005 |
Aleksandr Okunev wrote:
I am never going to accept such rates...
What rates are you talking about? $0,04 per word? This price was mentioned in this topic.
You offer in your homepage translations for $0.05 per source word. Do you really think that $0,01 per word makes such a big difference that it is worth to be discussed?
| | | | Aleksandr Okunev (X)
Local time: 11:51
English to Russian
| Well, if you really want to know... | Jul 1, 2005 |
Arthur Allmendinger wrote: You offer in your homepage translations for $0.05 per source word.
I thought only my compatriots cannot avoid getting personal during a discussion of a general topic. Joy and relief - it's the same all over the world.
Speaking to the point - my rates are from 8 to 12 US cents a word, a bit more with direct clients, and the 5 cents are there because I'm still a newbie freelancer and stole this rate as the prevailing one from the profiles of other Russian translators.
I do hope I satisfied your curiosity, Arthur.
No hard feelings, I simply expected some interesting ideas from you, and not this question.
Stay well, everyone
Aleksandr
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| | | | | Are you serious? | Jul 1, 2005 |
Aleksandr Okunev wrote:
In Belarus a family of 3 lives on about USD 150 a month, but I need a lot more...
Are you serious? Or there is another Belarus that I am not aware of? I guess everyone in Belarus "needs a lot more".
Just to stress: It's NOT a personal attack, but an expression of genuine surprise caused by the facts and figures about the same country where I have been living for 45 years.
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Aleksandr Okunev (X)
Local time: 11:51
English to Russian
| Yes and yes and what the heck? | Jul 1, 2005 |
Yuri Smirnov wrote:Are you serious? Or there is another Belarus that I am not aware of? Yes, Yury. You do live in another Belarus. And I know that you know it. I guess everyone in Belarus "needs a lot more". Yes, but if you drive 150 kilometers South to Bobruisk and see a village near which WWII vets grow their potatoes you may well change your opinion. Just to stress: It's NOT a personal attack, but an expression of genuine surprise caused by the facts and figures about the same country where I have been living for 45 years. Just to stress: This thread is about money matters and translation business, not my rates or standard of living in Bobruisk.
Cheers
Aleksandr
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 04:51
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
[Edited at 2005-07-01 22:05]
| | | | | High productivity - made in Germany | Jul 1, 2005 |
Arthur Allmendinger wrote:
We Germans are very proud of our typical high German quality, but we are losing the battle with the cheap low-quality tenders. We are too expensive, our Quality / Price ratio is not competitive in the Global Market.
???
Germany is the major export country in the world.
Wages are not too high in relation to the output.
Don't forget education, infrastructure,etc.
If you are loosing a battle as a translator in Germany, maybe its time to think about your marketing strategies.
An agency in Austria told met they couldn't pay more than 6 cents because of the global thing ehem competition.
Well, if they choose to be the cheapest agency in Austria, and it doesnt matter for them that they are in Austria, there will always be someone in the world who is still cheaper.
But if they choose to convince clients with their quality, they are not replaceable.
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