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I finally did it. I broke $100k!
Thread poster: Michael Marcoux
Michael Marcoux
Michael Marcoux  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:11
Russian to English
+ ...
Feb 9, 2021

I never thought I would do it, but my tax returns from last year don't lie. Reading the forums here, you would get the idea that in today's day and age it's a fool's errand to attempt to make a living as a freelance translator. Honestly, if I could have gone into a different field I would have - I only started freelancing after I graduated in 2012 because no one was hiring recent graduates. As time went on, I started to concentrate in the medical field (which, let's be realistic, is a huge contr... See more
I never thought I would do it, but my tax returns from last year don't lie. Reading the forums here, you would get the idea that in today's day and age it's a fool's errand to attempt to make a living as a freelance translator. Honestly, if I could have gone into a different field I would have - I only started freelancing after I graduated in 2012 because no one was hiring recent graduates. As time went on, I started to concentrate in the medical field (which, let's be realistic, is a huge contributor to why I did so well last year - although I think I will continue to do well this year thanks to new business opportunities I am pursuing). Aside from having the luck of being in the right field at the right time, I thought I'd share a few things I did to get here. I rarely check these forums so if this advice is cliché, forgive me. For what it's worth, my primary languages are Norwegian and Russian into English.

- I created a comprehensive set of over 5,000 flash cards using Anki so I could recall complex terms off the top of my head. That way I could dictate my translations rather than type them. Huge time saver.
- I used free resources, mostly Khan Academy and YouTube, to learn everything I could about anatomy and physiology. From then on out I focused on taking work that centered around a handful of common conditions, like lower back pain or psychological trauma, to further specialize. Obviously Covid threw a monkey wrench in that, but I know enough to make it
- I shoot mostly for mid-tier clients - not those that demand every word pass 5 levels of quality control from editors who nit pick you to death, nor bottom-of-the-barrel agencies that care about nothing but cost. This is where my optimum speed-to-quality ratio is, and it's kept agencies happy and my pocketbook full, so everyone wins. The bulk of my work comes from 3 agencies.
- I ask questions when I don't know. Sometimes dumb ones. Sometimes people even tell me they are dumb questions and ask why I asked them. But if I get an answer, I am always grateful. In the end, results are all that matter.

Things that didn't help so much:

- I joined the ATA and passed their translation test. I'm not sure how much I would say that helped me succeed, since most clients I won from them didn't become long-term and the continuing education time and money costs were more than I was willing to put up with.
- Networking in person never led to much either. It could work for others, and don't not try if you think it would be productive, but I could never make a good pitch.
- Taking on projects with super low rates never helped. I think we all know that though. But even when I started I was working for 9 cents a word, to say nothing of the silly 2-cent-a-word offers you see these days.


Hope this helps someone!
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Radmila Sobacic
Andrée Anne Tremblay
texjax DDS PhD
Kevin Fulton
Elena Aclasto
Elena Feriani
Dan Lucas
 
Dylan J Hartmann
Dylan J Hartmann  Identity Verified
Australia
Member (2014)
Thai to English
+ ...

MODERATOR
Congrats! Things will only get better Feb 9, 2021

Congratulations!!

I thought 100k would be the ceiling but got surprised when things kept getting better. Stick with it when you're on a roll... next year you can double it easily with proper planning and time management!

Things to prioritise: family, exercise, sleep

While it might not make sense to switch off when your inbox is filling up in front of your eyes, rest and recuperation will allow you to make sure this innings doesn't stop too suddenly (avoid b
... See more
Congratulations!!

I thought 100k would be the ceiling but got surprised when things kept getting better. Stick with it when you're on a roll... next year you can double it easily with proper planning and time management!

Things to prioritise: family, exercise, sleep

While it might not make sense to switch off when your inbox is filling up in front of your eyes, rest and recuperation will allow you to make sure this innings doesn't stop too suddenly (avoid burnout).

Keep it up!
DJH
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Andrée Anne Tremblay
Josephine Cassar
Dan Lucas
Christopher Schröder
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
Morano El-Kholy
 
The Misha
The Misha
Local time: 14:11
Russian to English
+ ...
Bravo! Feb 10, 2021

Here's a great story of how starting with yourself works where whining and pretending everybody owes you doesn't. Now go use some of your spoils to buy bitcoin:)

Christopher Schröder
Katya Kesten
 
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Andrée Anne Tremblay
Canada
Local time: 14:11
English to French
Congrats! Feb 10, 2021

Dylan Jan Hartmann wrote:


While it might not make sense to switch off when your inbox is filling up in front of your eyes, rest and recuperation will allow you to make sure this innings doesn't stop too suddenly (avoid burnout).

Keep it up!
DJH


Couldn't agree more with this. Last month I was pleasantly surprised to see a 5k in earnings in a month, so I kept pushing and pushing until I was doing 10 hours a day 6 days a week. Now I don't know what everyone's rate is and what their workload "tolerance" is, but that was definitely too much for me and I'm currently recovering from a big burnout.

Take care of yourselves guys! Freelancing requires a lot of responsibility and time managing, which I learned the hard way.

PS: Congrats on 100k, I didn't mean to hijack your post to be a downer!! It sure is quite the accomplishment

Edit: Typos sorry

[Edited at 2021-02-10 00:47 GMT]


Christopher Schröder
Katya Kesten
Michael Wetzel
Dylan J Hartmann
 
Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 12:11
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
? Feb 10, 2021

$100K in 2020?

 
gayd (X)
gayd (X)
Good for you Feb 10, 2021

but if you've managed to earn 100 k dollars in Norwegian into English, I guess you would have earned only one fourth of this amount in a more competitive pair such as Spanish into English. And I would say that this kind of income is very low in the US nowadays as you have neither health coverage nor retirement benefits. By the way, you should update your profile and resume because they mention that your specialization is finance and politics.

[Modifié le 2021-02-10 05:16 GMT]


Jorge Payan
Mohamad Alayoubi
Eric Azevedo
 
katzurki
katzurki
Russian to English
+ ...
Wanted to share a related insight of a few years ago Feb 10, 2021

Congratulations, topic starter!

I think I want to add something here. For me, the breakthrough came when I realized that a day only has 24 hours. Am I a good translator? Hell yes, one of the best. But the key to success was not to up my rate / do more work, for me, but rather to capitalize on scale, to write a few highly specialized programs and charge a percentage of the money they made my users, and while at first it was a trickle of the odd donation now and then, now it's a stead
... See more
Congratulations, topic starter!

I think I want to add something here. For me, the breakthrough came when I realized that a day only has 24 hours. Am I a good translator? Hell yes, one of the best. But the key to success was not to up my rate / do more work, for me, but rather to capitalize on scale, to write a few highly specialized programs and charge a percentage of the money they made my users, and while at first it was a trickle of the odd donation now and then, now it's a steady flow for _work that I have already done_. Now it just continues to pay off, and off, and off, and therein, I believe, lies financial success: To get paid in perpetuity for work done once.
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Dylan J Hartmann
Katya Kesten
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:11
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Congratulations Feb 10, 2021

Well done OP!

For once on these forums, I would have liked to see everybody just celebrating success instead of delivering backhanded compliments qualified with "but", followed by the usual negativity. It was not to be. I find it grimly amusing to think that these posters would - had you asked them back in 2012 - almost certainly have told you then that what you actually achieved in 2020 is impossible.

"Your pairs are too small a market to get decent flows of work", the
... See more
Well done OP!

For once on these forums, I would have liked to see everybody just celebrating success instead of delivering backhanded compliments qualified with "but", followed by the usual negativity. It was not to be. I find it grimly amusing to think that these posters would - had you asked them back in 2012 - almost certainly have told you then that what you actually achieved in 2020 is impossible.

"Your pairs are too small a market to get decent flows of work", they would likely have commented. "Better give up now", they would have said. Now of course it's the old "You're only doing well because of your language pair" and somehow the issue of your pairs being relatively small markets is conveniently forgotten...

In the end, it's the individual that matters. This is entirely your victory, Michael. You've positioned yourself adroitly so as to be able to take the opportunities that have come along (this is what some people call "luck"). You've worked like a dog. You've reaped the benefits. Yes, USD $100k is entirely doable right here, today.

Be prepared for fluctuations in both directions going forward - it's unlikely your revenue will simply move sideways.

Regards,
Dan
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Christopher Schröder
Liviu-Lee Roth
Rachel Waddington
Angie Garbarino
Matthias Brombach
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Emanuele Vacca
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Balance Feb 10, 2021

David GAY wrote:
but if you've managed to earn 100 k dollars in Norwegian into English, I guess you would have earned only one fourth of this amount in a more competitive pair such as Spanish into English.


Norwegian is nowhere near that lucrative. But it is available to all to learn.

Well done, Marcel. It goes to show that a decent income is entirely possible in this business (for the right person).

But I do agree with Dylan about priorities. Don’t work yourself to the bone! Personally I can’t see the point of making that much money. Apart from a couple of years when we bought our house, I’ve always preferred to take time off to do other things instead.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Dan Lucas
Michele Fauble
 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:11
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
100K turnover or net after taxes? Feb 10, 2021

Just a question, in both cases congratulations!

 
gayd (X)
gayd (X)
Why? Feb 10, 2021

Chris S wrote:
Norwegian is nowhere near that lucrative.

Are you sure it's not more lucrative than Spanish, which is spoken in Latin America and also very widespread in the United States,
which is a huge drag on prices


[Modifié le 2021-02-10 09:02 GMT]


 
Matthias Brombach
Matthias Brombach  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 19:11
Member (2007)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Congratulations! Feb 10, 2021

The only point I would have to criticize on your CV is not to publish it here, to attract all the scammers, who may now use it to abuse your success for their purposes.

Rachel Waddington
 
gayd (X)
gayd (X)
Don't get me wrong Feb 10, 2021

Dan Lucas wrote:


For once on these forums, I would have liked to see everybody just celebrating success instead of delivering backhanded compliments qualified with "but", followed by the usual negativity.

I don't criticize the fact that the OP's pair is quite rare. On the contrary, I think it's much more difficult to learn Norwegian or Thai than Spanish, which is one of the reasons why Spanish into English is overcrowded


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
@David Feb 10, 2021

David GAY wrote:
Are you sure it's not more lucrative than Spanish


Norwegian pays better than Spanish, but not four times more.

It is also an easy language to learn if you already have another Germanic language.

As such, it could well be an easier and more lucrative form of specialisation than medicine or law.

[Edited at 2021-02-10 09:37 GMT]


 
gayd (X)
gayd (X)
Answer Feb 10, 2021

Chris S wrote:

David GAY wrote:
Are you sure it's not more lucrative than Spanish


Norwegian pays better than Spanish, but not four times more.

It is also an easy language to learn if you already have another Germanic language.

As such, it could well be an easier and more lucrative form of specialisation than medicine or law.

[Edited at 2021-02-10 09:37 GMT]


I agree that it's not 4 times but the difference would be the volume of work for each translator as there are too many translators and the demand for Spanish comes from a lot of countries which have a low or very low income per capita.

For the rest it helps to know German or Dutch but even though I know these languages, I really cannot understand a text in Norwegian. On the contrary I can understand a text in Spanish even though I've never studied this language



[Modifié le 2021-02-10 09:52 GMT]

[Modifié le 2021-02-10 09:52 GMT]


 
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I finally did it. I broke $100k!







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