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New freelancer: tips on buying CAT tools
Thread poster: Carla Hosnar
Carla Hosnar
Carla Hosnar  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:25
English to Italian
+ ...
May 14, 2003

Hallo,

I am starting up as freelance. At the moment I am mainly getting contacts (hopefully they will be followed by job offers), and I am thinking about buying TRADOS right now.



Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados?



I would opt for Trados both because I have already used it and, as far as I see, it is the most requested CAT tool.... See more
Hallo,

I am starting up as freelance. At the moment I am mainly getting contacts (hopefully they will be followed by job offers), and I am thinking about buying TRADOS right now.



Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados?



I would opt for Trados both because I have already used it and, as far as I see, it is the most requested CAT tool.



Thanks a lot for your help,

Carla





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Gillian Scheibelein
Gillian Scheibelein  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:25
German to English
+ ...
get it now, or advertise for second-hand May 14, 2003

If you are really serious about becoming a freelancer, then a CAT tool is very useful - having said that, I managed for 19 years without! However, they are becoming the accepted standard nowadays.



The main advantage of getting a CAT tool now is that you will be ready to go if a sudden job pops up - most jobs have tight deadlines and a delay of 2 days or so until you can install your copy may loose you the job. Another advantage is that you can improve your proficiency and u... See more
If you are really serious about becoming a freelancer, then a CAT tool is very useful - having said that, I managed for 19 years without! However, they are becoming the accepted standard nowadays.



The main advantage of getting a CAT tool now is that you will be ready to go if a sudden job pops up - most jobs have tight deadlines and a delay of 2 days or so until you can install your copy may loose you the job. Another advantage is that you can improve your proficiency and use the time to align your previous translations, set up glossaries for multiterm etc.



The question is, of course, which tool to get. There have already been plenty of discussions on this topic. Just search the forum, you\'ll be inundated with information!



good luck,

Jill ▲ Collapse
 
Valentina Pecchiar
Valentina Pecchiar  Identity Verified
Italy
English to Italian
+ ...
Check out Wordfast May 14, 2003

Quote:




Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados?







http://www.wordfast.net



If you\'re already familiar with Trados, it shouldn\'t take very long to figure it out (in many reagards, it ... See more
Quote:




Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados?







http://www.wordfast.net



If you\'re already familiar with Trados, it shouldn\'t take very long to figure it out (in many reagards, it is actually more intuitive).

Besides (especially if you are in the \"investements\" stage and look forward to your ROI , it\'s much cheaper (170 euros, if I remember well), offer great tech support (no extra charge required, vs. Trados), many translator-friendly features that Trados lacks (Trados gets fancy if you\'re a PM, but after working on wordfast, even TWB 5.5 seems limited to me!) and - last but not least - its trial version (very complete) will download in 5 min. on a slow dial-up connection like mine (vs. 90 MB!)



Best luck



PS http://www.proz.com/?sp=cat/index can offer great insights

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Carla Hosnar
Carla Hosnar  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:25
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! May 15, 2003


Thanks a lot for your suggestion,



Carla





Quote:


On 2003-05-14 13:44, JillSch wrote:

If you are really serious about becoming a freelancer, then a CAT tool is very useful - having said that, I managed for 19 years without! However, they are becoming the accepted standard nowadays.



The main advantage of getting a CAT tool now is that you will be ready to go... See more

Thanks a lot for your suggestion,



Carla





Quote:


On 2003-05-14 13:44, JillSch wrote:

If you are really serious about becoming a freelancer, then a CAT tool is very useful - having said that, I managed for 19 years without! However, they are becoming the accepted standard nowadays.



The main advantage of getting a CAT tool now is that you will be ready to go if a sudden job pops up - most jobs have tight deadlines and a delay of 2 days or so until you can install your copy may loose you the job. Another advantage is that you can improve your proficiency and use the time to align your previous translations, set up glossaries for multiterm etc.



The question is, of course, which tool to get. There have already been plenty of discussions on this topic. Just search the forum, you\'ll be inundated with information!



good luck,

Jill

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Carla Hosnar
Carla Hosnar  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:25
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Many thanks May 15, 2003


Thank you for your help,

Carla



Quote:


On 2003-05-14 15:42, Muja wrote:

Quote:




Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados? ... See more

Thank you for your help,

Carla



Quote:


On 2003-05-14 15:42, Muja wrote:

Quote:




Do you think I should buy it now (e.g. get the present TGB offer on TRADOS 6) or wait and buy later when I am actually asked by agencies to use Trados?







http://www.wordfast.net



If you\'re already familiar with Trados, it shouldn\'t take very long to figure it out (in many reagards, it is actually more intuitive).

Besides (especially if you are in the \"investements\" stage and look forward to your ROI , it\'s much cheaper (170 euros, if I remember well), offer great tech support (no extra charge required, vs. Trados), many translator-friendly features that Trados lacks (Trados gets fancy if you\'re a PM, but after working on wordfast, even TWB 5.5 seems limited to me!) and - last but not least - its trial version (very complete) will download in 5 min. on a slow dial-up connection like mine (vs. 90 MB!)



Best luck



PS http://www.proz.com/?sp=cat/index can offer great insights



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Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 13:25
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Trados shelved May 16, 2003

I bought Trados 5.5 last september and had no use for it so far. Wordfast ist easier to use.
 


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New freelancer: tips on buying CAT tools






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