Tricks of the trade Thread poster: traductorchile
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When I went to the US in a students exchange program my foster parents showed me an encyclopaedia that said that Chile was a country full of Indians running around in loincloth, and they were surprised I talked such good English.
Apparently that encyclopaedia hasn't been updated.
A US agency has published today a call for translators from Chile for a large project. As the fee offered in one part of the job post is USD 0.15 per word and in another part is USD 0.015 I wr... See more When I went to the US in a students exchange program my foster parents showed me an encyclopaedia that said that Chile was a country full of Indians running around in loincloth, and they were surprised I talked such good English.
Apparently that encyclopaedia hasn't been updated.
A US agency has published today a call for translators from Chile for a large project. As the fee offered in one part of the job post is USD 0.15 per word and in another part is USD 0.015 I wrote asking for an explanation. The following came back:
"$0.015USD per target word is the offered rate. We are paying per target word rather than the usual per source word, which makes a difference because there is a 25% language expansion when translating from English into Spanish. Additionally, you will be working via our custom software called WebCATT which builds a memory of terminology used by all translators working on the system, allowing for up to 50% of the content to be translated for you, yet we do not apply a discount for word matches. This allows our translators to work at a very fast pace and translate more words in a shorter amount of time. We are seeking translators who are able to dedicate a good amount of time to this project, ideally translating 50,000 words within the next 30 calendar days. This is a very large project and we guarantee a constant workflow for at least a couple of months, plus addition to our database for future projects once these are over."
Analysing this and putting it down in numbers I came up with the following:
for each 1500 source wds/day that I translate, I can charge 2000 target wds/day (25% expansion)
for each 3000 source wds/day that I translate, 1500 will be pretranslated by someone else (50% TM)
in summary:
for every 3000 source wds/day that I translate, I can charge 4000 target wds/day
at a fee of 0.015 offered compared to a low fee of USD 0.07
I would be paid USD 60 instead of USD 105 that would be the usual for translating 1500 words.
But still, that would only be possible if there are some guarantees (in writting):
1) 25% language expansion, if not guaranteed, makes the “smart” translator write more, artificially, without real gain.
2) 50% pre-translated (either 100% match or 20% fuzzy), without doing any changes or corrections. 3) The agency should be responsable for inconsistencies and errors.
For me this is tricky business, not only low fees. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 05:29
Member (2007)
English
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| Only one thing to do | Jun 29, 2011 |
Faced with such an absurd offer, you can only reach for the "x" button. If only everybody did that, perhaps things would start to look up.
| | | | traductorchile
Chile
Local time: 00:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER
What do you call the X button?
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I guess it's the Delete button?
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David Russi
United States
Local time: 22:29
English to Spanish
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| X closes the email window | Jun 29, 2011 |
You've done the math... why would you even entertain the thought of it?
| | | | traductorchile
Chile
Local time: 00:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Because knowledge protects others | Jun 29, 2011 |
David Russi.
Why give it a thought? Well, clearly most of us would stay clear of an offer limited to 0.015 USD.
But if that offer says, that you'll only have to do half of the work, then that fee goes up to 0.03, and if it includes other options that fee might "seem" better.
And as we know that in proz there are many translators that offer their services to job posts that state fees as low as that, we must advise them to be careful because there is a catch.
... See more David Russi.
Why give it a thought? Well, clearly most of us would stay clear of an offer limited to 0.015 USD.
But if that offer says, that you'll only have to do half of the work, then that fee goes up to 0.03, and if it includes other options that fee might "seem" better.
And as we know that in proz there are many translators that offer their services to job posts that state fees as low as that, we must advise them to be careful because there is a catch.
In fact, due to this post, I just got a letter from a, presumably, translator (staff member?) that works for that agency saying how good it works out for her.
Quote:
I just saw your post on Proz.com and I think I know what company you are referring to (XXXXXX?). I would say you could just give them a try and see if it is worth it for you. They seem to be a very reliable company (see their BB rating). I've worked for them for a while. I translate into English and admittedly, the rates they offer seem to be lower than average, but the documents are usually VERY easy to translate (I think you can easily translate more than 4000 words a day; I sometimes translate 5,000 or more and on my projects we don't use someone else's translations, i.e. the TM, so the 50% pre-translation doesn't even apply) They offer a constant flow of work, so I work for them when I have no other projects. It has worked great for me. Just my two cents.
This person must be a student or someone very badly off, because no one can live of such meagre fees. ▲ Collapse
| | | | tabor
Poland
Local time: 06:29
English to Polish
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Quote: '(...) Just my two cents'.
Sigh.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 00:29
Spanish to English
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| These types of agencies will disappear | Jun 29, 2011 |
as soon as the average customer figures out that:
"We have a vast network of qualified professional translators with decades of experience at our disposal to translate your important documents..."
really means:
"We will take your important confidential documents and chop them up into hundreds of little pieces and send each piece out to hundreds of people we do not even know (in fact the cheapest and least professional people we can find) and then put all those pie... See more as soon as the average customer figures out that:
"We have a vast network of qualified professional translators with decades of experience at our disposal to translate your important documents..."
really means:
"We will take your important confidential documents and chop them up into hundreds of little pieces and send each piece out to hundreds of people we do not even know (in fact the cheapest and least professional people we can find) and then put all those pieces together, keep most of your money for ourselves and hope that you will not notice the garbage you are getting."
Once companies become wise to this behavior, they will demand to know exactly WHO is translating their important and sensitive materials. (See the article in the recent ATA Chronicle about signing your work)
I also think that if companies knew that their projects were divided up like this, many of them would prefer to wait for a better product.
[Edited at 2011-06-29 19:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Krzysztof Kajetanowicz (X)
Poland
Local time: 06:29
English to Polish
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Well, if you can do 5 thousand a day at 0.015 USD/word, it's 75 U.S. dollars a day.
I have no idea what the going rates are in the language pair/geography, or how much an educated person can make in Chile. However, many educated people in developing countries would call $75/day very good pay, even if you deduct expenses et al.
Many of us are fortunate not to have to work at rates like these, or anything close. Me included. But you have to be careful with judgments, and ... See more Well, if you can do 5 thousand a day at 0.015 USD/word, it's 75 U.S. dollars a day.
I have no idea what the going rates are in the language pair/geography, or how much an educated person can make in Chile. However, many educated people in developing countries would call $75/day very good pay, even if you deduct expenses et al.
Many of us are fortunate not to have to work at rates like these, or anything close. Me included. But you have to be careful with judgments, and drop the "global market" fantasy. ▲ Collapse
| | | | traductorchile
Chile
Local time: 00:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | Once I tied myself up with something near acceptable | Jun 30, 2011 |
to later find out it was near unacceptable.
My Dear Krzysztof
I would read that quote with care. To me it souds like an Ad.
The Job posted offers, at best 50.000 wds a month (for two months), that is 2000 wds a day with 1 day's rest per week. That is 750 USD per month.
At the present currency exchange in Chile that would be CLP$ 355.000, cut off PayPal or Bank expenses, and one would probably be getting $300.000. That is a very low salary in Chi... See more to later find out it was near unacceptable.
My Dear Krzysztof
I would read that quote with care. To me it souds like an Ad.
The Job posted offers, at best 50.000 wds a month (for two months), that is 2000 wds a day with 1 day's rest per week. That is 750 USD per month.
At the present currency exchange in Chile that would be CLP$ 355.000, cut off PayPal or Bank expenses, and one would probably be getting $300.000. That is a very low salary in Chile, but as a salary it should get other benefits. As a freelancer's income it is far below low. Of course if you'r about to loose your house, the baby is blue with hunger, or anything else, sure, go for it. But that doesn't mean it's reasonable.
If it's a very easy text you can do more than 2000 wds a day? But who guarantees it is a very easy text. Let me see the text then I'll give you my quote.
Jeff:
Thanks for the info, I'll look for it. Maybe you can post the link. ▲ Collapse
| | | | traductorchile
Chile
Local time: 00:29
English to Spanish
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TOPIC STARTER | The Misha
Local time: 00:29
Russian to English
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| Just tell these !@#@#$$% to take a hike! | Jun 30, 2011 |
In a great country such as yours, why do you even need that kind of aggravation?
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John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 00:29
Member (2008)
French to English
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Thanks, very interesting.
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