Advice for a newbie: is using Trados (opposed to using other CAT tools) "essential"? Thread poster: giulia1
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giulia1
Italy
Local time: 17:57
Chinese to Italian
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From what I saw during my internship in a translation agency earlier this year and in some Proz job postings, too, working with Trados seems a mandatory requirement for lots of companies/jobs. Is it true? Would using another CAT tool be detrimental for my carreer and/or my first steps in the sector?
My university is providing students with a free 1-year MemoQ licence and/or a 20% discount on any Trados licences - including a lifelong one - and I'm considering which one to get.
... See more From what I saw during my internship in a translation agency earlier this year and in some Proz job postings, too, working with Trados seems a mandatory requirement for lots of companies/jobs. Is it true? Would using another CAT tool be detrimental for my carreer and/or my first steps in the sector?
My university is providing students with a free 1-year MemoQ licence and/or a 20% discount on any Trados licences - including a lifelong one - and I'm considering which one to get.
Thank you! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It's just a choice | Oct 30 |
I only use MemoQ and it's not detrimental. In most cases where outsourcers require Trados, it's good enough to have a CAT tool that can handle sdlppx (Trados packages) properly (MemoQ can). In a few cases it isn't. But you can't be everything to everyone.
I consider it more important to use a user interface I feel at ease with, and Trados just isn't my cup of tea. Others will say the opposite, so it's a question of which environment you feel more comfortable with.
MemoQ... See more I only use MemoQ and it's not detrimental. In most cases where outsourcers require Trados, it's good enough to have a CAT tool that can handle sdlppx (Trados packages) properly (MemoQ can). In a few cases it isn't. But you can't be everything to everyone.
I consider it more important to use a user interface I feel at ease with, and Trados just isn't my cup of tea. Others will say the opposite, so it's a question of which environment you feel more comfortable with.
MemoQ has its own quirks, and I wish the developers could be more reactive, but perfection is difficult to find. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 17:57
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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giulia1 wrote:
My university is providing students with a free 1-year MemoQ licence and/or a 20% discount on any Trados licences - including a lifelong one - and I'm considering which one to get.
I suspect the MemoQ licence is an educational licence, since normal people (i.e. us) can't buy a 1-year licence for MemoQ. We can only buy a lifelong MemoQ license, and it costs €620. However, "lifelong" can be misleading. It does not include free upgrades to the latest version. The same applies to Trados -- all Trados licences that we can buy, are "lifelong" licences. But there will come a point at which the version of MemoQ or Trados that you have a "lifelong" licence for is so old that you can no longer use it (I estimate this will take about 10 years).
Some CAT tools do not have lifelong licences. For example, a Wordfast licence is a 3-year licence. At the end of 3 years, you have to pay the upgrade fee (which is half of the full price).
A 20% discount on Trados is not a big discount. You can often get much bigger discounts via ProZ.com's TGB feature, if you're willing to wait a few months.
giulia1 wrote:
From what I saw during my internship in a translation agency earlier this year and in some ProZ.com job postings, working with Trados seems mandatory for lots of companies/jobs. Is it true?
No, it depends on the agency. Some agencies use MemoQ exclusively, some use Wordfast, some use Trados, some use an online system, some don't really care as long as you can work with their files, etc. If you buy Trados, then naturally you may end up starting to work for more agencies that require Trados.
Would using another CAT tool be detrimental for my career and/or my first steps in the sector?
At the beginning of your career, it is impossible to know what types of clients you're going to get. You may end up getting clients who don't use Trados at all. If you want to buy a CAT tool, then I suggest that you buy one that you're most familiar with. Your initial success will not depend on the CAT tool, but on how professional you behave and how well you market yourself. In fact, you can safely use a free CAT tool at first.
[Edited at 2019-10-30 21:16 GMT]
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Preview each CAT tool using their respective free trials and decide which one you prefer. The major tools all handle trados files, so there is no big problem.
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