| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Approximately How Much Can Translators Earn? Thread poster: Xtina77
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Xtina77
Local time: 22:28
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Many Thanks.... :D | Nov 25, 2007 |
Williamson wrote:
KoreanEnglish and Spanish is a market-niche with relatively few players.
According to the laws of supply and demand, you could command a higher than average rate.
EnglishSpanish is a saturated market.
Thank you Irene. I have been worried and thinking about spending our life savings on grad. school. It really worries me because I don't know how things will turn out. I will take your advice and start out slowly with a few translations. And as Samuel said, I will build a client base.
Thank you Gillian. I will check out the ebook you recommended. Thank you for your sound advice. I too am teaching part-time. I have been doing this for over 10 years. I feel that after all that time teaching, I have stood in one spot for too long. Of course, I learned many things while teaching...but I think I will learn so much more while translating. I think that every translation assignment I get, I will learn something new, or I will learn a new way to do something I used to do. I think that that is one of the benefits of translation which really appeals to me. And I do need the money too, but in the longrun, the learning and challenge is what will keep me motivated.
Thank you Samuel. I think your suggestion is great, but not for me. I do not feel confident to do Korean to English translations. It would take too long. BUT it is a great suggestion for my husband. I can't thank you enough. I've been so worried and have been focusing on one thing, that I wasn't able to broaden my perspectives, and also assist my husband to broaden his. Thank you~
Hello Heinrich. Thank you for your advice. Specialiaing is something I need to do. There are so many fields...it's hard to choose. I will try translating in different fields to see which best appeals to me and which I can do best. I will specialize in that field and eventually branch out. Does this sound like a good plan?
Thank you Williamson for you insight. Korean, English, and Spanish is a rare combination, unfortunately, I would not include Korean in my combination. I can speak fluently, but my written Korean is still suffering. Korean grammar is so complex. And just like Japanese, Korean has Chinese characters which take years to master. Most Korean adults cannot write the characters but can read them. There are so many and after high school, they are not required to write the characters, therefore, they forget how to write them.
| | | | Irene N
United States
Local time: 08:28
English to Russian
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| Please read the saga of The Little Translator! | Nov 25, 2007 |
by our distinguished colleage Mervyn Henderson. Start from Chapter 1.
http://www.proz.com/topic/84437
| | | | Williamson 
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:28
Flemish to English
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| The Spanish and Korean market-niche : From an economic point of view. | Nov 25, 2007 |
Nevertheless, if I were you, I would think on the long term and attempt to perfect my Korean. "Con algo hay que empezar"... were the first words I learned in Spanish many moons ago.
It would make you unique on the market with very few competitors and together with your colleagues would put you in an ologopolistic position where YOU and your colleagues in the same market-niche are the price-setters (determine the rate per word). This is in sharp contrast to the Spanish - English market, a ... See more Nevertheless, if I were you, I would think on the long term and attempt to perfect my Korean. "Con algo hay que empezar"... were the first words I learned in Spanish many moons ago.
It would make you unique on the market with very few competitors and together with your colleagues would put you in an ologopolistic position where YOU and your colleagues in the same market-niche are the price-setters (determine the rate per word). This is in sharp contrast to the Spanish - English market, a market with perfect competition with too many players grazing on the same meddow, some with years of experience. They are your competitors and in the latter case your customers determine the rate.
No hay que soñar: en el mundo hispano 0.05 eurocentimos por palabra ya es "mucho" en la combinación inglés - español. No es el caso en la combinación "coreano-inglés y vice-versa" y "español-coreano" y vice-versa. Aquí cabe una tarifa a partir de 0.20 eurocentimos por palabra.
I would not lose time on translation training either. It is better to specialise in a certain field and deepen the knowledge of a language at the same time. Why not in Korea? This would speed up thing a bit.
[Edited at 2007-11-25 18:34] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliana Brown
Israel
Local time: 09:28
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
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| What about Argentina ? | Nov 25, 2007 |
Williamson wrote:
KoreanEnglish and Spanish is a market-niche with relatively few players.
According to the laws of supply and demand, you could command a higher than average rate.
EnglishSpanish is a saturated market.
I know that in the past decade there has been a huge wave of immigration from Korea to Argentina (especially Buenos Aires), and there is a large Korean business community now, which might be another source of business while building up your client base...
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 07:28
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
Yes, since you have spent so much time mastering Korean, why not take those extra steps needed to perfect your knowledge. You are there, after all, and that would be better than going to some grad school and blowing all your money.
Korean and Spanish sounds like a good combination. Korea has a lot of trade with Latin America. I could see where that could be a very nice niche. You would do well to check it out.
Like everything we do, it will take a lot of work.
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I think it is really an excellent idea to investigate Korean as a source language. Even though you don't necessarily speak it at native level and have even more difficulty writing it, if it is used as a source language and not as a target language, the writing part is not even a preoccupation anymore. With that said, make sure your Korean is of great quality. The most important thing with source language is being able to make sense of what you read. If you are able to make sense of pretty much e... See more I think it is really an excellent idea to investigate Korean as a source language. Even though you don't necessarily speak it at native level and have even more difficulty writing it, if it is used as a source language and not as a target language, the writing part is not even a preoccupation anymore. With that said, make sure your Korean is of great quality. The most important thing with source language is being able to make sense of what you read. If you are able to make sense of pretty much everything, chances are you will still be able to use Korean as a source language.
It seems that you are willing to abandon Korean as a source language too easily. You shouldn't. Do a search in the ProZ directory for Korean to English and perhaps Korean to Spanish translators. See how many - or how few - they are. If there are not many people working in your language combination, that is excellent news - you will then be on a less competitive market, with most likely higher rates. You may not realize it now, but you possibly already have a very competitive edge. It really is worth investigating. Try to do a small market study involving Korean and do some research to find ways to polish your Korean. I am sure you will find some encouraging information along the way...
All the best!
Edit: I just wanted to add that I totally agree with Irene. Translation studies are but one of many paths leading to a successful career in freelance translation, and they definitely aren't a must. Language proficiency, professionalism, excellent knowledge of subject matter (specialization) are what distinguish a successful translator from one who has trouble paying rent. But the most important of all, as Irene says, is experience.
Do start freelancing now, to get experience, get money to pay those debts and build a client base. The golden rule is to make sure you don't accept translation work you are not qualified for (and qualification, once again, doesn't equal diplomas in translation studies). If you are unsure about translation studies and feel uncomfortable starting out without the studies, try to see if you have the possibility to do a minor or a major in translation or linguistics. These take less time, cost less money and usually let you acquire enough knowledge that, combined with specialized knowledge and experience, it will be sufficient. Another option that is very interesting is to have a combined bachelor's degree - we have BA in Art over here. It gives you the opportunity to study translation along with one or two other subject areas (specializations). You can for example take translation and law within the same program. This way, you get your translation studies and you also have credentials for your specialization(s).
[Edited at 2007-11-25 21:26] ▲ Collapse
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