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Poll: In terms of project length, what type of work do you prefer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "In terms of project length, what type of work do you prefer?".
This poll was originally submitted by tilakahuja. View the poll results »
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Petro Ebersöhn (X) 
Local time: 20:56
...as the short term projects are necessary to survive until the long term one is finished and its payment arrives. If the long term project consists of ongoing short jobs, it depends on the amount of money every job brings in, and of course how regular the jobs are.
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Vibeke Degn-P
Norway
Local time: 20:56
Member (2010)
English to Norwegian
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| Both, please | Nov 24, 2013 |
I have two (soon three) "projects" that run in the background all the time, with predictable deadlines throughout the year. They are my bread and butter, the income I can plan my economy around. But hey, that would be boring without the short ones, with new topics, different customers and fresh stuff to learn. The fun of beeing self employed is to be able to plan my day between short and long. Wouldn't want it any other way.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:56
Spanish to English
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| How to eat an elephant? | Nov 24, 2013 |
One chunk at a time.
An ominous project must be divided in smaller chunks, and milestones must be set. Otherwise there will be no way to tell whether the last piece of it will be delivered on time.
I like variety, anyway.
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Both, please! Like José Henrique, I like variety and, like Neil, in my book work is work... It all boils up to one thing: being organised and methodical!
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Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 03:56
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| Long-term projects | Nov 24, 2013 |
For the security
You know how much work -- and money -- is coming in and you can plan accordingly in advance. Very much like the automotive project I started 1 month ago that will keep yours truly busy and in clover until mid-February. 
Small or medium-sized jobs in the mean time also are welcome as extra icing on the cake.
@Petro2
With big jobs, you are entitled to negotiate for payment in ... See more For the security
You know how much work -- and money -- is coming in and you can plan accordingly in advance. Very much like the automotive project I started 1 month ago that will keep yours truly busy and in clover until mid-February.
Small or medium-sized jobs in the mean time also are welcome as extra icing on the cake.
@Petro2
With big jobs, you are entitled to negotiate for payment in equal instalments or payment for work delivered by a mutually agreed upon date each month. If a customer/client demands your full attention during a long-term project, monthly payments are expected as a retainer for your services. After all, you have a make a living. ▲ Collapse
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| Short projects, but... | Nov 24, 2013 |
... long-term co-operation.
Due to my main field, I usually work on short files (2000-7000 words), but they keep coming. I like it that way, maybe because I worked out my schedule for such projects and can be most productive when working this way.
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Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 20:56
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| long term... | Nov 24, 2013 |
... with a few short term projects for added spice.
It all boils up to one thing: being organised and methodical!
off topic: Thank you! Boiling up to something for me just makes so much more sense than boiling down to something!
Or maybe that is just my short term thinking versus being patient enough to watch anything boil down...
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My projects can be 2500 to 30K words and I am ok with any size. What I like is having the folders for the following months quite full of projects.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 20:56
Member (2009)
English to German
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| The perfect formular | Nov 24, 2013 |
M. Anna Kańduła wrote:
... long-term co-operation.
Due to my main field, I usually work on short files (2000-7000 words), but they keep coming. I like it that way, maybe because I worked out my schedule for such projects and can be most productive when working this way.
Projects of medium to short length, but long-term collaboration(s) are best. It's more interesting to have various shorter projects, even within the same speciality. The key point is to have plenty of work - either short, medium or long projects - for the months to come.
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Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 19:56
| It is so nice to see | Nov 24, 2013 |
So nice to see that regular contributors here all like to have their cake and eat it too! That's the way it should be!
Both, for me, because a bit of variety is important.
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 14:56
English to Spanish
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| Long projects as the main activity | Nov 24, 2013 |
With long-term projects, you can fill in the gaps with smaller projects and plan ahead, like some have already said.
I'm living the ideal situation for me: a long-term contract that keeps me busy 40 hours a week, with smaller jobs. But the downside is that I haven't had a full-day break in a while.
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| A good chunk | Nov 24, 2013 |
I would say my ideal job is between 2,000 - 10,000 words. Big enough to be a decent chunk of cash - small enough not to see a month of your life fading away... it's all a balance between subsistence and existence, after all!
Steve K.
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| Not really much more to add... | Nov 24, 2013 |
Only that I prefer larger projects so that my wife and I can work together on the translation, so we finish in half the time but still get paid the full amount. It's not perfect though. I've taken on two large and rather boring projects this month, but she's been busy with several smaller projects. Let's just say that I've been spending a lot of long and lonely days in the office while she watches tv and translates exciting and fun texts on her laptop.
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