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One more example of crazy logic on the part of some translation agencies
Thread poster: Vladimir Pochinov
Korana Lasić
Korana Lasić  Identity Verified
Member
Serbian to English
+ ...
Actual translation rate vs editing one Jun 10, 2022

Vladimir Pochinov wrote:

Ice Scream wrote:

Plenty of translators on here offer a range of hourly rates. I've never been able to get my head around that.


Exactly. An hour of your time is just that ... one hour, regardless of how you spend it.

Per word rates may be different, but the resultant hourly pay should stay the same:

Translation: $0.10 per word @300 words per hour, i.e. you earn $30 per hour
Editing: $0.06 per word @500 words per hour = $30 per hour
Proofreading: $0.03 per word @1000 words per hour = $30 per hour



Can you please clarify if your translation rate is a flat one (you get 0.10 for every word) or does this include a fuzzy match discount grid, because, if you work for 0.10 +discounts you are really working for about 0.05 USD per word!

This then makes your editing rate higher than your translation rate. It also makes your actual translation rate 15 USD an hour.

[Edited at 2022-06-10 10:26 GMT]
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:33
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Quality Jun 10, 2022

Fiona Grace Peterson wrote:

Thayenga wrote:

I especially love the free tests... as if they could go to the gas station and get some free gas just to test its quality.



When we go to the gas station to get gas, we can be assured of its quality, no need to test it. If only the same were true of translators, given that anyone with a PC and an internet connection can call themselves a translator. That's why we go to the gas station and don't buy "gas" from a guy selling fuel of a dubious nature from jerry cans at a roadside stall.


I agree that not all who claim to be are real translators with the proper education. So naturally, it's the potential customer's prerogative to ask for a test.
However, no test should remain unpaid. There is always the option to pay half, or even a third, of a decent rate for a test. IMO it's a matter of showing respect.

Sadek_A
Becca Resnik
 
Lieven Malaise
Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 22:33
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
So it should be. Jun 10, 2022

Maciek Drobka wrote:


I have dealt with agencies who actually accept this approach.


And so it should be, because it is a good approach.

But many translation agencies do their utmost to pass on all possible costs to the translator. And that makes no sense, because, as intermediaries, they offer their clients a free test, so they should also bear the costs.

Christopher Schröder
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 23:33
Greek to English
Subjective time Jun 11, 2022

Tom in London wrote:

The volume of one hour of my time is 60 minutes, and does not change.


But the way you experience that hour does change, depending on what you spend it doing.

I'm happy to charge a bit less for an hour of stimulating mental exercise than for an hour of drudgery. And if that means I end up with more of the former kind of work than of the latter, then that's fine too.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christopher Schröder
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:33
Member (2008)
Italian to English
I know but Jun 11, 2022

Philip Lees wrote:

But the way you experience that hour does change, depending on what you spend it doing.


I know, but I don't want to get into a discussion about relativity and how time goes faster and slower.

[Edited at 2022-06-11 08:38 GMT]

Christopher Schröder
Jorge Payan
 
Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:33
Serbian to English
+ ...
Only in Mexico? Jun 14, 2022

Michael Newton wrote:

... coping with the chaos of life in Mexico. You must (1) realize that life is absurd and (2) have unlimited optimism.


Only in Mexico?

Variants of crazy logic can be found almost everywhere, but too many translation agencies seem to be very fervent practitioners of that particular art.
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Yawn Jun 14, 2022

Philip Lees wrote:
But the way you experience that hour does change, depending on what you spend it doing.

I'm happy to charge a bit less for an hour of stimulating mental exercise than for an hour of drudgery. And if that means I end up with more of the former kind of work than of the latter, then that's fine too.


Good point, although I prefer to approach it from the other side and charge a "boredom premium" rather than a "fun discount".

Baran Keki
Tom in London
Anton Konashenok
 
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One more example of crazy logic on the part of some translation agencies







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