| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Is there any other line of business as good as freelance translation? Thread poster: SWEDISH-TRANSLATION.com - your Swedish translation partner (X)
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SWEDISH-TRANSLATION.com - your Swedish translation partner (X)
Local time: 06:56
Swedish to English
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I\'m just wondering - is there any line of business as good as freelance translation?
You have dozens of advantages when you\'re a freelance translator. Here are some:
1. You are your own boss.
2. You don\'t have to go to any boring job interviews.
3. You get paid from people you maybe even haven\'t talked with.
4. You can work when it suits YOU best.
5. You work from ho... See more I\'m just wondering - is there any line of business as good as freelance translation?
You have dozens of advantages when you\'re a freelance translator. Here are some:
1. You are your own boss.
2. You don\'t have to go to any boring job interviews.
3. You get paid from people you maybe even haven\'t talked with.
4. You can work when it suits YOU best.
5. You work from home, using nothing but an e-mail address and telephone.
So, is there any line of business that has all these advantages, and maybe more of them? I really like to know. Or is freelance translation the best profession in the world?
[addsig] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I've said it before, there are horses for courses.... | Mar 7, 2002 |
It depends what you\'re into, really.....
A friend of mine (US native also fluent in German) is about to go freelance as a nanotechnology consultant. He will be his own boss, set his own hours of work, etc. but I know from talking to him that he would never even dream of translating for a living - it\'s just not his cup of tea.
My sister is a herbal practitioner in the UK - she speaks a bit of German, but never really got the same kick out of the langua... See more It depends what you\'re into, really.....
A friend of mine (US native also fluent in German) is about to go freelance as a nanotechnology consultant. He will be his own boss, set his own hours of work, etc. but I know from talking to him that he would never even dream of translating for a living - it\'s just not his cup of tea.
My sister is a herbal practitioner in the UK - she speaks a bit of German, but never really got the same kick out of the language that I did. She loves helping people and \"messing about\" with plants and herbal potions to heal people with (and she\'s damn good at it too!) - but she\'d never be a translator.
My Dad\'s a chemistry professor, speaks pretty good French, but he loves his students, the university life and his NMR research - in fact, that\'s what he lives for. Nope, translating is not for him either.
If you\'re into translating, then being a translator is the best (I love the job!), but not all people are cut out to be translators..... 
Alison ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jacek Krankowski (X) 
English to Polish
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| in-house translation, IF: | Mar 7, 2002 |
1. You have a fairly independent position.
2. You have job security so there is no need for boring interviews.
3. Your don\'t even need to check whether and when your salary was sent to the bank because that date never changes. Chasing non-payers? Forget it!
4. You are on flexitime, plus YOU decide if and to what extent you want to contaminate your hearth and home with work during unsocial hours. (I suggest you don\'t for the sake of your sanity and well-being of ... See more 1. You have a fairly independent position.
2. You have job security so there is no need for boring interviews.
3. Your don\'t even need to check whether and when your salary was sent to the bank because that date never changes. Chasing non-payers? Forget it!
4. You are on flexitime, plus YOU decide if and to what extent you want to contaminate your hearth and home with work during unsocial hours. (I suggest you don\'t for the sake of your sanity and well-being of your family, if that\'s a factor.) Need extra money? Put in overtime if and when that suits you! But do not work from home!
5. You are around people in this profession that computers have virtually made a very lonely one. You work in a team on challenging assignments.
6. Your employer offers you various perks.
7. Depending on the local labour laws, your annual 100% paid leave can easily be 5 weeks; you can also qualify for maternity leave, etc.
8. No need to worry about recession or losing that important client. Just stay on the job! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | and what about... | Mar 7, 2002 |
pressing deadlines, clients who won\'t pay or pay late, loneliness, neck and eye strain, technology investments, keeping up to date, recessions, job insecurity...
GG
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| In house translation | Mar 7, 2002 |
Hi Jacek!
Your experiences of in-house translation are very different to mine! I spent 18 months working in house as a translator, but I can\'t agree with you that we
- were independent (you did what the boss said, or else...)
- enjoyed job security
- didn\'t have to chase up pay checks (in our case we spent weeks fighting for the bonus we had been promised...)
- flexitime would have been a dream
- paid overtime - you\'re joking, right... See more Hi Jacek!
Your experiences of in-house translation are very different to mine! I spent 18 months working in house as a translator, but I can\'t agree with you that we
- were independent (you did what the boss said, or else...)
- enjoyed job security
- didn\'t have to chase up pay checks (in our case we spent weeks fighting for the bonus we had been promised...)
- flexitime would have been a dream
- paid overtime - you\'re joking, right (they said we could take time off in lieu - but then only the hours we had worked - no time and a half or double time - but when it came down to it there was almost invariably too much work on to let the translators take time off)
- okay, the people I worked with were some of the greatest I have ever met, the assignments were challenging, but now I get to pick my own friends and assignments
- you could forget the perks - there weren\'t any
- 24 days of paid leave is below the German average, but okay, they did offer maternity leave
- a serious recession would certainly have been a worry .... 
I like freelancing much better
Alison ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jacek Krankowski (X)
English to Polish
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| Fully agree with Alison: It all depends | Mar 7, 2002 |
Ask a doctor whether s/he prefers to work in a hospital or run private practice at home. It all depends!
J.
| | | | | the loneliness of this job... | Mar 7, 2002 |
Jacek mentioned the loneliness of this job and he is right. I have tried to name it differently and call it \"isolation\" rather than loneliness.
I myself suffer from great isolation although I am not a loner by nature.
First off, ProZ is a great tool against it.
Now, let me give you my little reco\'s to combat isolation:
- forming part of as many different activity groups as you can: biking groups, cinema and literary... See more
Jacek mentioned the loneliness of this job and he is right. I have tried to name it differently and call it \"isolation\" rather than loneliness.
I myself suffer from great isolation although I am not a loner by nature.
First off, ProZ is a great tool against it.
Now, let me give you my little reco\'s to combat isolation:
- forming part of as many different activity groups as you can: biking groups, cinema and literary debates, eating out with friends.
- going to the bank and to the supermarket myself, instead of banking or doing the shopping via internet.
- chucking my slippers and jogging suit and wearing decent clothes before I sit at the PC. Our job is not for depression-prone people. I\'ve made it a habit dressing up before I sit at the PC. I match the colors, I have my nails painted, I makeup, even with lipstick and a touch of perfume before I start work at home. It peps me up because it gives me the feeling that I am working in an office with other people.
- And Music, music, music, of all sorts!!!
These are my little reco\'s. You can have your own solutions for isolation.
Good luck! Hope ▲ Collapse
| | | | Egmont
Spain
Local time: 06:56
Afrikaans to Spanish
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| as you like... | Mar 7, 2002 |
Freelance work is to be free from others... from time to time...
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Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Local time: 00:56
German to English
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| This topic should have been posted elsewhere | Mar 7, 2002 |
Comparison Shopping, which deals with CAT, etc. is not the right place for this topic.
Perhaps one of the moderators could move the topic to \"Being Independent\" - you would certainly get more responses that way.
[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-03-07 14:10 ]
| | | | | It really depends of what you want | Mar 7, 2002 |
Hi!
I am actually working both: as a free lancer and in a company and I must confess that both situations bring me a lot of pleasures and hapiness.
as working in a company,
- I have a salary which comes every month to my bank account.
- I have colleagues, friends, and two very nice bosses!
- I have holidays...
as working in my house:
- I feel I get paid for my job and its quality
- I am indeed my own boss
... See more Hi!
I am actually working both: as a free lancer and in a company and I must confess that both situations bring me a lot of pleasures and hapiness.
as working in a company,
- I have a salary which comes every month to my bank account.
- I have colleagues, friends, and two very nice bosses!
- I have holidays...
as working in my house:
- I feel I get paid for my job and its quality
- I am indeed my own boss
- I can manage my work as I want
In fact, I feel really realised with this kind of situation, and I couldn\'t choose one of them!
And as a conclusion, I have a friend who decided to go free lance. She works in her house but:
- she\'s always chasing non payers,
- I do not see her anymore \'cause she\'s always working very hard...
It is just a question be aware of what you really want!
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| | | | Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Local time: 10:26
English to Spanish
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Free lance translating is OK if you some other source of income. I clearly remember having read years ago that translators never made a living.
| | | | | This is a great job! :)) | Mar 7, 2002 |
I disagree with Jacek
quote
Ask a doctor whether s/he prefers to work in a hospital or run private practice at home. It all depends!
end of quote
___________________
A doctor MUST see his patients personally. A translator can do a good job without ever seeing the client and that\'s great!
I do think the job of a freelance translator working from home has lots of advantages and I like it!  ... See more I disagree with Jacek
quote
Ask a doctor whether s/he prefers to work in a hospital or run private practice at home. It all depends!
end of quote
___________________
A doctor MUST see his patients personally. A translator can do a good job without ever seeing the client and that\'s great!
I do think the job of a freelance translator working from home has lots of advantages and I like it!
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| I'm not an emigrant - I'm a freelance translator | Mar 7, 2002 |
Being a freelance translator is just the best job I could ever think of.
I live in Sardinia, the \"capital\" of unemployment. There are no companies looking for inhouse translators...and there are just few companies that need translations. I love this region, its beautiful countryside, its wonderful crystal-clear waters, and its people, and I love my family and my friends. Working as a freelance translator allowed me to live here!
| | | | MERod
Spain
Local time: 06:56
English to Spanish
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| I want to be translator in Sweden | Mar 7, 2002 |
No comment
[addsig]
| | | | Dyran Altenburg (X)
United States
Local time: 00:56
English to Spanish
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| Those who charge peanuts certainly can't | Mar 13, 2002 |
But if you charge as much as the market will bear, you can certainly make a pretty good living out of freelance translation.
I do, and it\'s my only source of income.
Quote:
On 2002-03-07 14:15, telef wrote:
Free lance translating is OK if you some other source of income. I clearly remember having read years ago that translators never made a living.
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