Totally agree with your narrative of how the translation business has declined.
And a vendor manager in one of those companies just told me UDS15 per hour is a decent rate. And that so many vendors are so happy working these jobs.
And still people saying in this thread that 25 is low. Well, it is, only lucky you if there are clients who pay you more.
Abba: Investing in yourself? You mean, maybe getting a degree in a different field?
Abba Storgen (X) wrote:
My advice would be to seek professional training and/or degrees in a different field that has a future.
Translations used to be a good field for a short period of time, when the formation of the EU and the opening of global markets created a huge demand.
Even people with good social skills in the USA gave up their potential in the traditional markets back then, and started translating, because it was paying well: 12+ cents per word translation, 4-5 cents per word editing, $30 minimum charge etc, $30 per hour of formatting, 30% additional fee for weekend work, double the rate for "rush" projects - that was just 15 years ago. I even remember one project manager who asked me Friday morning if I could take this project at normal rate (12 cents per word) with a deadline of Tuesday, because she wanted to avoid the weekend surcharge. This was in 2009.
Inflation-adjusted, we should be today at least 16-18 cents per word and $45/hour minimum.
Instead, the "standard" rate nowadays, as imposed unilaterally by the large agencies, is 4-6 cents translation (3 if it's post-machine) and $15-20 minimum/hourly fee and $0 formatting. Automation + too many people in the field.
Of course there are agencies that pay more, but the large ones hold 90% of the market, so they are the ones really setting your average rate at the end of the day. From this amount, you have to pay high taxes and your own insurance and expenses, and forget vacations etc.
Those who boast that their "business is doing just fine" in here, are people with good income from other sources, roaming around the forums 24/7 to show off how relaxed they are. Numerically I could also say the same, that I'm fine and have been fine for 24 years, but I prefer being honest and on the side of the worker: life-wise and prospect-wise and health-wife it sucks like you wouldn't believe, and on top of it it's also falling down fast (price per work hour). It always sucked, and it's insanely boring too, but we were paid well for it.
Don't kill your future by becoming a low-paid 14-hour-work-per-day hermit. You'll start by chasing jobs and you'll trap yourself in this daily adrenaline-pumping chasing and working, but without building any resume for the future, or any business equity, until you become unemployable, and obsolete by the machine.
My advice is to invest in yourself, instead of becoming the eternal remote no-benefits worker for someone else's business.
[Edited at 2021-09-17 15:04 GMT]
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