low payment

[masscheleyn-veer]

Hi fellow translators

is it me or are the job offers for translations appalling? Some clients pay as low as 0,0125 per source word! And above all, there are so called translators who actually work for these prices, spoiling the market for everybody. If 'entry level' is based on that rate, then you can't be shocked if clients think experienced translators should be paid 0,03 per source word!This is very disturbing.

Above all these so called translators who work for very low wages just use machine translators, google translate etc. and apparently clients are not disturbed when they receive a poorly executed translation. Some of them send the file to a proofreader who they pay even less but ends up doing most of the work (if he or she is even serious about his/her job). 
It doesn't make sense. When a client posts a job offer paid on an hourly base, he or she can not pay less than 4,99 USD per hour (if I'm correct), but those fixed prices are not even checked! 

What happened to being proud of one's work? To dedication? 

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on it. 

Have a nice day.
Sincerely

Veerle

[masscheleyn-veer · Accepted solution]

 I've just finished writing this message and again a client posts a job offer: translation of 750 words for a fee of 25 USD and clients dares to call this a payment for expert level!!!

How can this be possible? Who sets those standards? No professional, no experts would even consider working for such a low wage!

[lditomasso]

Translation seekers do specify - what is your rate per word.

Seekers never did request for sentences to be edited accordingly since I saw they are seeking also proofreaders and editing. 

Whatever rate is fine when word count is requested. Go to Google and just google translate word per word style and send it to him and the owners of UPWork - at least you and I get to speak directly to the owners of this website and the seekers of word rates not TRANSLATE and EDIT to make it sound French, Spanish or whatever second language of their choices would be. 

[birgit-udras]

Veerle, 

You read my mind. I just wanted to post a thread asking exactly the same thing. Translation market is totally screwed up and rates offered are ridiculous. I just got offered 0,028-0.035€ for technical translation (automotive field). It`s very offensive. Part that I absolutely can`t understand is that how can they say that these are good rates and people work for these rates. I am seriously considering quitting a job as a translator, it`s not worth it anymore. 

Next thing I can`t understand and what is totally new for me is the CAT-tool matches, they want discounts. Sorry there are no such tool that is doing it`s job properly. It`s a again a greedy business people invention to make money not to make translators life easier. For example my language is only spoken by 1,4 million people and the client compared it to Arabic. Sorry but Arabic is spoken in 23 countries and it`s not the same thing.  I am absolutely discusted about all that. 

[masscheleyn-veer]

Hi Birgit U

thanks for reacting. That's an outrageous offer that you've received for that technical document. 
I was once asked on Upwork by a client to even do a test translation of 900 words! That's ridiculous. A test translation should be 150 words maximum and it should even be unnecessary when you have good reviews. I have obtained the highest score of the English - Dutch upwork test, out of all 5044 people who did it and still the client feels I should do it a test. Why? What's the use of the Upwork test then? 

Regarding those CAT tools, I have exactly the same sentiment. This week, I proofread a translation (not on Upwork) done by a translator who used a CAT-tool. Very poorly! I ended up doing the translator's work. The whole concept of a CAT tool is that the translator creates a translation memory while translating, but when you have a bad translator, you end up with a bad translation memory. It's as simple as that. And pay should definitely not be cut because you are obliged to use a CAT tool. 

It's going in the wrong direction.

[masscheleyn-veer]

A CAT tool does not replace a translator. 

[jmlaidlaw]

Just saw a job posting for a medical journal article (.pdf file included). French-to-English translation.

Without including the references, the article runs to about 3,000 words -- obviously very technical/specialized in nature. The client says he/she is looking for "Expert" "$$$."  Yeah, right -- at $100.  Um, no--no, you are NOT looking for an expert. You are looking for someone from a francophone country who dabbles in translation, but who has no idea what the medical terms mean. Or else you are looking for someone who can type into "Google Translate."

[masscheleyn-veer]

It's raining posts like this today. To be honest, it's rarely someone does know how to pay a translator :-((((

[prestonhunter]

Supply and demand.

[colettelewis]

I have already said my piece about people who ask for translations of sensitive, particularly medical, material. It is shockingly unethical to publicly display patients' names, and even worse to accept translators whose offerings could have an extremely detrimental impact on the patient.

I won't even go into the rates

[jmlaidlaw]

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@Preston H wrote:

Supply and demand.

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This is apt to an extent, Preston. The issue I was raising is this: the true "supply" of translators qualified to do a high-quality job on a French-to-English translation of a medical-journal article (of the type I read today) is limited. That supply remains limited in size--such that those skilled and specialist translators can (and do) demand rates starting at $.12 (a bargain!) per word. Rates go up from there.

A client who hires someone to do the job I described above at $100 is NOT hiring from the "supply" of qualified translators (unless one of them has had a brain freeze or is having a lark), Such a client has a "demand," but he or she will not truly have that demand met. 

There are just only so many truffles harvested from the woods each season. You can demand a truffle for the price of a portobello mushroom, but you aren't going to open your market basket and find a real truffle inside.

[tlsanders]

I'm by no means suggesting that this accounts for the bulk of the problem--I'm sure Janean's example is very common--but I do wonder how often this might come into play in translation through a site like this. In the professional world, I've occasionally run into content I need "translated," but not really. What I really need is to know what it says. I don't need a professional translator. I need someone who can read and write both languages at a servicable level. 

I've always been able to find someone within my network when this arises, but I wonder whether this type of need might account for some of the one-off "translation" jobs posted here.

[colettelewis]

Tiffany, you are right, but if one just wants to get the gist of a text, then Google, and now many others, can occasionally do a sufficient job. And for the most part, these are free - so why pay the sort of freelancer who will do a Google translate anyway?

I have certainly been in a position when editing a text, translated from a language I can just about say "hello" in, where if I hadn't had the original text, Google, and a dictionary, I would not have been able to complete the work. I returned it to my client with a disclaimer.

[lditomasso]

If it is legit this request, that is.  It could be a translator that got a lot of work. Will pay someone less and pocket the rest without doing more than proofreading the translation.  It is legit. He makes money and the translator well, got 80$ instead of $100.  I can't confirm this but I was told by some recruiters from India and Philippinos. Maybe there is more. They team up.. A few asked for teaming up then I heard nothing from them. They are found in - we are looking for translators and other outlets I.T. articles - I never heard back. I apply at all times. 

[colettelewis]

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@Lisa D wrote:

If it is legit this request, that is.  It could be a translator that got a lot of work. Will pay someone less and pocket the rest without doing more than proofreading the translation.  It is legit. He makes money and the translator well, got 80$ instead of $100.  I can't confirm this but I was told by some recruiters from India and Philippinos. Maybe there is more. They team up.. A few asked for teaming up then I heard nothing from them. They are found in - we are looking for translators and other outlets I.T. articles - I never heard back. I apply at all times. 

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 _______________________________

What on earth are you talking about? 

A translator will charge for translating, but will also try to deliver  error-free copy. For longer, or literary works, as for all writing, it is better to hire a proofreader. However, for most translated works proofreading means just that. It does not mean editing.

[blancanieve]

Birgit and Veerle, 

I absolutely agree with both of you regarding the low rates. My absolute "highlight" happened yesterday, when I was asked to translate a csv file containing about 100.000 words for $200! I was truly speechless, especially since that client had obviously found people who actually did that job (into other languages) for that price. If I would depend on Upwork only, I would probably starve to death.

But I have to defend the infamous CAT tools a bit. I use Trados, and I have to say, it speeds up the translation process considerably, especially when you have a lot of repetitions in the text. It mainly helps me with technical translations and to ensure consistency, and once you have built a decent translation memory, it is really a benefit. It is also quite handy for handling extensive glossaries.

But of course, CAT tools cannot replace a professional translator and the availability of those tools makes gives translation agencies an excuse to take advantage of freelancers. Personally, I rarely give discounts for fuzzy matches, except they allow me to raise my base rate. I didn't buy an expensive software to lower the costs of translation agencies, but to work in a more efficient way.

[fasttranslations]

I'm affraid that lower rates are exactly what clients are looking to find on Upwork in the first place 😞

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?

[petra_r]

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@Petra T wrote:

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?

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 Absolutly!

[blancanieve]

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@fasttranslations wrote:

I'm affraid that lower rates are exactly what clients are looking to find on Upwork in the first place 😞

Do you even bother bidding a higher price than suggested?

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 Yes, I do that quite frequently, because budgets are often just placeholders. I prefer looking at the average hourly rate and how much the client has paid for past projects.

[ludy_f]

See what's actually behind the rate offered. Take a look at the text requiring translation. Often, it's not as complicated as it seems at first sight. Sometimes there are repeat parts which you only have to translate once anyway, occasionally with minor adjustments. Some jobs require hardly any research, or even none at all, containing vocabulary you are well familiar with. How long does it take you to type 750 words? 15 minutes? 20 perhaps? Add to that 10 minutes to reread it, and you're already done.

In the end you may have produced a 750 word translation for "only" $25, but consider the actual work and time involved: $50/hour. I see that the OP's hourly rate is way lower than that, so instead of always dismissing "cheap jobs", take the time to see what they really are. They're not all as bad as they look. 

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@Nadine D wrote:

Yes, I do that quite frequently, because budgets are often just placeholders. I prefer looking at the average hourly rate and how much the client has paid for past projects.

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I too bid higher. If the customer thinks me too expensive, so be it. Then he'll get what he deserves. If he's a skinflint wanting make himself a laughing stock, it's not my problem.

Sometimes, when I bid higher, the customer realizes their offer was too low in the first place.

And there are those rare gems who actually expect you to bid higher, so they see proof that you are indeed a professional.

[blancanieve]

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@Ludy F wrote:

See what's actually behind the rate offered. Take a look at the text requiring translation. Often, it's not as complicated as it seems at first sight. Sometimes there are repeat parts which you only have to translate once anyway, occasionally with minor adjustments. Some jobs require hardly any research, or even none at all, containing vocabulary you are well familiar with. How long does it take you to type 750 words? 15 minutes? 20 perhaps? Add to that 10 minutes to reread it, and you're already done.

In the end you may have produced a 750 word translation for "only" $25, but consider the actual work and time involved: $50/hour. I see that the OP's hourly rate is way lower than that, so instead of always dismissing "cheap jobs", take the time to see what they really are. They're not all as bad as they look. 

While it is certainly true that the time required depends heavily on the source text, it is quite unrealistic (at least for me) to translate 750 words in 20 min without producing any typos. On average, this takes about 90 min, which make the $25 ridiculous.

[e_luneborg]

I do both translations and content writing and I have found that translatons pay way less than content work. Both because there are fewer well paid jobs available for translations, and because this takes longer then creating the content myself.

For content I can write for between 0,05 and 0,07 USD per word, depending on what kind of content it is, and still have an hourly rate of at least 50USD, but for translations I would have to charge at least 0,1 USD to get the same hourly rate, and very few clients are willing to pay that.

That's why I'm going to remove translations from my profile, and just focus on content from now on. Translations are just not worth it anymore. 

[fr_guerrab]

I think there is a reason behind all these low payments: Ignorance.

Since clients do not know anything about translation and cannot speak the target language either, they have no way to know if the translation has a high quality or not.

They believe that it takes us only 1 or 2 minutes to copy and paste it in Google Translate and then modify some words and give the proper format again. They are unaware of all the process.

You might think that they will get what they paid for, but since they have no idea to know what they got, then they will be just happy to see "weird words and weird characters" on their papers.

This doesn't happen when the target language is their native language. Take my word for it.

[inspire77]

1- Some clients tend to dramatically lower the price.

2- Some freelancers (lowballers) don't mind to do a back-breaking job (translation) for next to nothing.

This is damaging clients more than freelancers. A client wants a translation of 4000 words for 20$!

I don't just get it! There is only one obvious thing I can see here, it's that they don't care about quality at all. All they want is to have their work done at few cents! And how the hell does some freelancers accept such "torture"?!

And one more thing, do these clients really check the freelancers' portfolios? I doubt it. I once bid for a translation job and didn't get hired. I checked the portfolio of the freelancer who got hired and.....WHAT? No way! Mistakes here and there in a translated document of about 500 words.

That's alarming!

[tlsanders]

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@Lahcen S wrote:

That's alarming!

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 What exactly are you alarmed about? The fact that some freelancers make different choices than you do about what is a worthwhile rate? Or that clients who are careless in hiring and prioritize bargain basement rates get the low-quality work they're paying for? 

I'm having difficulty identifying the cause for alarm.