Apr 16, 2018 09:06:08 AM by Julia P
Hello Everybody! I am new in up work and I got an offer to translate for 1,5 € / 100 words. The person said that there are around 600-1200 words every day and normally you need to traduce 30-40 minutes. Please, somebody could tell me what you think about the offer and information?
Thank you very much for helping me. Yours Julia
Solved! Go to Solution.
Apr 16, 2018 12:13:27 PM Edited Apr 17, 2018 11:26:37 AM by Nichola L
@Julia P wrote:Hello Everybody! I am new in up work and I got an offer to translate for 1,5 € / 100 words. The person said that there are around 600-1200 words every day and normally you need to traduce 30-40 minutes. Please, somebody could tell me what you think about the offer and information?
Thank you very much for helping me. Yours Julia
_____________________________
Julia,
Payment is not made in euros on Upwork, so 1,5 euros per 100 words doesn't make sense - but it's very low if you convert it to dollars. I wouldn't even spend the time reading to the end of an offer like this.
Nobody can give a you a ballpark figure on how long a translation can take. It depends on content, subject, how understandable the source language is - there are so many factors. You need to see the work and to figure out how long you think it would take you. However, the amount offered is extremely low. If you were to take one hour to do 1600 words you would be paid about $16.00 (less after Upwork charges, tax and exchange rates) which is quite a lot less than your hourly rate.
People do do translations for this sum, but it is not a realistic amount for anyone living in the West and your client's estimated time is equally unrealistic. From what I have seen on Upwork a better quote would be for $0.04 to $0.05 per word. Experienced translators ask for considerably more.
You should work out a basic business model for yourself. You need to assess your own skills, know what your rates will be, and know exactly how much your take-home amount will be after deductions (Upwork fees, tax and exchange rates). 600 words would net you about $3 to $4. So if you were to take longer than ten minutes on the translation you would be working at a considerable loss (on an hourly basis).
The low offer apart, the client does not sound very professional. I avoid clients who say things like, "this is an easy job", "shouldn't take longer than an hour max," etc.
This is a bit long, but I hope it has helped.
Apr 16, 2018 09:38:34 AM by Aron H
It unclear to me what you expect the response to be. Shall we tell you to take the job?
Apr 16, 2018 11:22:10 AM by Julia P
smileyhappy:? You need max. 40 min. to translate 600 words to 1200 words.? :
Apr 16, 2018 12:13:27 PM Edited Apr 17, 2018 11:26:37 AM by Nichola L
@Julia P wrote:Hello Everybody! I am new in up work and I got an offer to translate for 1,5 € / 100 words. The person said that there are around 600-1200 words every day and normally you need to traduce 30-40 minutes. Please, somebody could tell me what you think about the offer and information?
Thank you very much for helping me. Yours Julia
_____________________________
Julia,
Payment is not made in euros on Upwork, so 1,5 euros per 100 words doesn't make sense - but it's very low if you convert it to dollars. I wouldn't even spend the time reading to the end of an offer like this.
Nobody can give a you a ballpark figure on how long a translation can take. It depends on content, subject, how understandable the source language is - there are so many factors. You need to see the work and to figure out how long you think it would take you. However, the amount offered is extremely low. If you were to take one hour to do 1600 words you would be paid about $16.00 (less after Upwork charges, tax and exchange rates) which is quite a lot less than your hourly rate.
People do do translations for this sum, but it is not a realistic amount for anyone living in the West and your client's estimated time is equally unrealistic. From what I have seen on Upwork a better quote would be for $0.04 to $0.05 per word. Experienced translators ask for considerably more.
You should work out a basic business model for yourself. You need to assess your own skills, know what your rates will be, and know exactly how much your take-home amount will be after deductions (Upwork fees, tax and exchange rates). 600 words would net you about $3 to $4. So if you were to take longer than ten minutes on the translation you would be working at a considerable loss (on an hourly basis).
The low offer apart, the client does not sound very professional. I avoid clients who say things like, "this is an easy job", "shouldn't take longer than an hour max," etc.
This is a bit long, but I hope it has helped.
Apr 17, 2018 10:03:12 AM by Petra R
Julia, what do you usually charge for translations?
Can you really translate 600 to 1200 words in thirty to 40 minutes?
Apr 20, 2018 02:04:14 AM by Julia P
Hello Petra,
I cannot translate 600-1200 words in 30-40 minutes.
I thought that you perhaps can translate them. You are the professionals in the marketplace.
I am new as a Freelancer and new in Upwork. Upwork is my first marketplace.
In my private life, my translation price was not fixed. I was translating for my friends etc. whoever needed something, for the price they offered to pay ......
Now I want to be a professional Freelancer and to live from the money I earn.
Yours
Julia
Apr 20, 2018 08:25:51 AM Edited Apr 20, 2018 10:06:12 AM by Rene K
Julia, your profile reads:
I would like to translate for you Spanish, English and French to German and General translations to English, Spanish and French
I understand that you are beginning it the field of translation, but you cannot do this. You can only translate into your native language. You don't translate into your source language(s). I don't know about your French or your Spanish, but your English is not at a native level at all, which doesn't allow you to translate into this language. If you do, you will get in trouble with clients who are native speakers of English and your profile may take a serious hit as a consequence.
You're a native speaker of German, this is your (only) target language. It's great that you have more than one source language. It's a valuable asset.
Also, you need to rewrite your profile overview. Clients don't care about where you want to work and about your life. They want to know what you can do for them.
Apr 20, 2018 11:54:09 PM by Julia P
Hello Rene,
There must be a mistake . I am only translating to German.
I will change the mistake in my profil.
Thank you very much for telling me.
Kind regards
Julia
Apr 20, 2018 09:41:50 AM by Petra R
@Julia P wrote:
I cannot translate 600-1200 words in 30-40 minutes.
I thought that you perhaps can translate them.
No. I can not.
IF it is something I know really well and text I am very familiar with and I have a really good editor I can, on long stretches, get somewhere near the 1000 words an hour, but not always and not consistently. Nor would I want to rush like that. But yes, it may be "possible." But that means never having to work out a word, look something up and the editor will have their work cut out (and gets paid considerably more than what that client is offering for translation.
Rene is also right in what he said. Translating for friends as a favour is very different to translating for paying clients who expect flawless work.
We all have start somewhere but speaking more than one language alone does not make someone a translator any more than owning a scalpel makes someone a surgeon.
Apr 25, 2018 03:31:54 AM by Julia P
Hello Petra,
Thank you very much for your sincere answer!
You are right, only knowing languages doesn't mean that you can be a translator.
Kind regards
Julia
Apr 17, 2018 02:35:20 PM by Jennifer R
Julia,
this client has approached me as well. I reported them because they "offer ways for you to avoid the fees." Unfortunatelly that offer is not enough effidence that they offer to work outside UW.
Apr 17, 2018 02:40:04 PM by Nichola L
@Jennifer R wrote:Julia,
this client has approached me as well. I reported them because they "offer ways for you to avoid the fees." Unfortunatelly that offer is not enough effidence that they offer to work outside UW.
_______________________
That is really shocking! What sort of evidence does CS want? And I thought Upwork was so ferocious about working off site. I wonder how many freelancers that client has managed to persuade to circumvent the ToS.
Apr 19, 2018 10:20:18 PM by Julia P
Hello Jennifer,
When a client is trying to avoid the fees –in which section is it possible you inform UPWORK about it?
When a client wants to have directly your email to write you, is it normal?
If it is not ok, what is the best way to avoid it without being impolite ?
Thank you in advance for the information.
Kind Regards Julia
Apr 20, 2018 01:36:52 AM by Jennifer R
@Julia P wrote:Hello Jennifer,
When a client is trying to avoid the fees –in which section is it possible you inform UPWORK about it?
Go to the job description and select Flag as inappropriate then select Client is requesting to work outside of Upwork. Leave a message to UW to conatct you for the screenshots.
When a client wants to have directly your email to write you, is it normal?
Yes, I get a lot of google docs. So you need a google account. I suggest you have one in place just for this situations. Just make sure you have a contract before you start working and have a copy of the file you translate on your computer. Attach this copy to your payment request.
If it is not ok, what is the best way to avoid it without being impolite ?
You could say you prefer to keep all communication in one place. But there is no need for that. There are other plattforms that do not permit outside communication but that is not the case here.
Thank you in advance for the information.
Kind Regards Julia
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