Poll: How would you rate your computer skills?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Jun 6, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How would you rate your computer skills?".

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Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 07:21
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Definitions, please Jun 6, 2017

I have good mastery of the entire MS Office suite and MS Publisher, plus intermediate mastery of AutoCAD. I can solve most problems without getting frustrated and throwing a fit. That might be above average for my age bracket and possibly for the general population, but probably not for the translator population. Most translators seem to have a high level of computer skills.

 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:21
Czech to French
+ ...
Average of? Jun 6, 2017

Above average among translators of my generation that I know, which, unfortunately, is not difficult. Close to zero as compared to today's young people. It is interesting to see that most people consider themselves "above average", which also poses certain questions as to what the average is.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Average Jun 6, 2017

I'm not computer savvy at all that’s why I've got an excellent IT service provider (the same for years)!

[Edited at 2017-06-06 08:31 GMT]


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:21
French to English
youngsters are overrated Jun 6, 2017

I manage to do what I need to do. I find my way aroung CAT tools when necessary. I adapt to each new version of whatever.

Youngsters are good at sharing photos on whatever the latest app is, but they don't know stuff like track changes and other very useful features on Word. They sometimes have very surprising, even frightening, gaps in their knowledge.
Far too many people are totally ignorant of how to produce a table in Word, with the result that glossaries and such like a
... See more
I manage to do what I need to do. I find my way aroung CAT tools when necessary. I adapt to each new version of whatever.

Youngsters are good at sharing photos on whatever the latest app is, but they don't know stuff like track changes and other very useful features on Word. They sometimes have very surprising, even frightening, gaps in their knowledge.
Far too many people are totally ignorant of how to produce a table in Word, with the result that glossaries and such like are produced in Excel, even if there is no need whatsoever for any other features peculiar to spreadsheets.
I find it very disheartening to have to explain to bright young things that Excel is not translation-friendly and that you have to send me a Word file if you want me to translate at my normal rate and speed. I even have to spell out that Word has a spell-check.

So while I may not be a bright young thing, I'm fully proficient. I clicked on "average" but I'm starting to think I should have clicked on "above average"...
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Rebecca Garber
Rebecca Garber  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:21
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
Compared with whom? Jun 6, 2017

A highschooler? My mother-in-law? My code-writing friends? Other translators whom I've never met?

My skills are appropriate for what I need to accomplish daily.
Above average like so many claimed? I have a cousin who designs chips and a friends who writes software. They are my average.


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 23:21
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
I manage pretty well Jun 6, 2017

With hardware and software, especially OS-related stuff.

However, there is really nerdy 'if you mess with this, your computer will cause a meltdown' kind of stuff I will not handle. So I pop down (OK, I'll fess up, it's a short taxi ride) to my local computer shop which is manned by people nerdier than anyone can imagine and who will do wonders if you cross their palms with a small amount of silver.
I always make a point of taking some local Japanese cakes down to them to soft
... See more
With hardware and software, especially OS-related stuff.

However, there is really nerdy 'if you mess with this, your computer will cause a meltdown' kind of stuff I will not handle. So I pop down (OK, I'll fess up, it's a short taxi ride) to my local computer shop which is manned by people nerdier than anyone can imagine and who will do wonders if you cross their palms with a small amount of silver.
I always make a point of taking some local Japanese cakes down to them to soften them up. It seems that even supernerds have a soft spot for sweet things for which they will willingly do double backflips.
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Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:21
French to English
. Jun 6, 2017

I can do what I need to do, but no doubt there is a lot more I could learn.

 
Hege Jakobsen Lepri
Hege Jakobsen Lepri  Identity Verified
Norway
Local time: 15:21
Member (2002)
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Better than average... Jun 6, 2017

Both for my age group, and even better than my young adult daughters when it comes to doing something productive with my skills (they beat me, however, at face-swapping and meme-making and other fun, but not very marketable, skills)

I was an early adopter, even before I started my translating career, and when I'm stuck, I find it amazing what Youtube can teach you...


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
I'm never average Jun 6, 2017

To narrow it down further, I'd say they're better than my lion-taming skills but not as good as my pole-dancing skills.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:21
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
A way to measure this Jun 7, 2017

One way to measure the expertise is: If you have ever formatted your computer when you were not able to resolve a problem, you are not above average for sure. Experts are the ones who can really detect the issue and resolve it without help. Above average are the ones who can solve most issues, but sometimes ask for the help of a technician, but do not allow them to format the PC. Average is formatting your computer at least once a year or when youhave a serious bug, or allowing the "technician" ... See more
One way to measure the expertise is: If you have ever formatted your computer when you were not able to resolve a problem, you are not above average for sure. Experts are the ones who can really detect the issue and resolve it without help. Above average are the ones who can solve most issues, but sometimes ask for the help of a technician, but do not allow them to format the PC. Average is formatting your computer at least once a year or when youhave a serious bug, or allowing the "technician" to do so.Collapse


 


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Poll: How would you rate your computer skills?






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