Translation Rates

[kansas52]

Hi

I have recently started translating for an american agency that uses mainly argentina-based translators and I wanted to know if I am being paid a fair per word rate. The rate is $0.06 dollars. I think it's low compared to Europe/US rates and I wanted to hear from other freelance translators working for agencies about what they charge...

Thanks

 

[Rich One]

Hi

I have recently started translating for an american agency that uses mainly argentina-based translators and I wanted to know if I am being paid a fair per word rate. The rate is $0.06 dollars. I think it's low compared to Europe/US rates and I wanted to hear from other freelance translators working for agencies about what they charge...

Thanks

6 cents per word English to Spanish ?

 

[el rubio]

In the UK it's between GBP65 and GPB100 per thousand words, for Spanish, depending on the subject matter and the size of the job. Minimum charge of GBP30 for small jobs.

The rate you quote equates to about GBP40 per thousand.

 

[French jurist]

I'd say it's more or less standard (if it's ENG>SPA, then it's a common pair, Scandinavian pairs pay much more for instance).
Other things to consider: flexibility you have saying no to a job, if the fuzzies are paid for a decreased rate, quality of the other translators if you do editing, etc.

For complex Legal or Financial jobs, in order to deliver a good quality translation (means = 100% accurate, maybe 1 typo/mistake per 5.000 words), then it should rather be 0.11 USD.

Highest I ever got paid was 0.16 USD: translating a short film about two gays adopting a kid. They examined my translation and even forwarded special thanks to me through the agency.

Once I translated a whole sex/webcam site. I had to browse it extensively and got an account I could use for hours, lol.

 

[French jurist]

In the UK it's between GBP65 and GPB100 per thousand words, for Spanish, depending on the subject matter and the size of the job. Minimum charge of GBP30 for small jobs.

The rate you quote equates to about GBP40 per thousand.

If you have +10 years experience, background, positive feedback, etc.

 

[Girino]

That is a very low rate by US/EU standard, but it doesn't surprise me as an Argentinian rate. Indeed, many Argentine translators omit to live in Argentina because it is like saying "living in India" and thus they are offered only low paying job. Also, many translation agencies have their HQ in the US (because it adds to their reputation) but then they have operative offices in Central-South America (or Eastern Europe if based in the EU) to keep costs low... guess how much they are willing to pay their freelance linguists...
Google for "trabajo traducción" in Buenos Aires and you'll see job ads for translators/PMs at 4000 ARS per month. :huh: <_<

Anyway, your rate should depend on the complexity of the subject, your experience, your language pair, etc. *You* should be the one setting the rates, not them. There is plenty of agencies throughout the world. Some are low end, others stay in the middle, and just a few are top notch. For freelancers it is very hard to stand out in the global crowd. There are good translators working for peanuts, agencies exploiting them, etc.

Avoid like a plague those "online agencies" where you register and bid for a job. They are looking for cheap translators, exclusively.
Don't fall for traps such as endless test translations, or agencies "forcing" you to accept low rates in exchange for a "preferential" treatment over other linguists.

Some agencies hire also a proofreader afterward, so your rate should reflect this. In case you are dealing with direct clients, it is advisable to hire yourself a proofreader to ensure a flawless job. In this case, quote considering the proofreader's rate, as well.

Set your rate based on the amount of words you are able to translate per day, consider that it is unlikely that you will be working 8 hours a day, Mon-Fri, especially at the beginning.
On average, translators can translate 2000-2500 words per day. How much do you need to earn to live comfortable in a month? Divide by the working hours you are able to work in a month and that's your hourly rate. Test yourself and calculate how many words per hour you can translate.

I have different rates according to the kind of agency - do they take care of proofreading as well? - is the text very technical? - what is the turnaround requested?
However USD 0.06/source word is very low by any means. Try to start from USD0.09/source word as a minimum for very basic stuff (like greeting letters).
Almost all agencies will try to rebate your rate, so don't tell first USD0.09 or you'll settle for less than that - let them think they are getting a good deal!

Try to reach specialized agencies (i.e. legal, medical, technical, creative) depending on your skills/background, they usually value good translators more than regular agencies.
Know your assets and your limits, learn to use CATs for your own good, don't fall for cheap agencies playing tricks to lower your fee (odd discounts for fuzzy matches, false fuzzy matches against a TM not relevant for you job, excessive demands for little money in exchange, etc.), avoid agencies in India, China, Italy, Africa, etc.

The last one I heard was: "You will be paid at 60 days, but we can pay you at 30 days, instead, by deducting 3.5% of your invoice".


Good luck!

 

[French jurist]

Re: Serafina

I know I'm likely too cheap (and passive... Should search for new clients, charge more, work less), but how would a novice translator find a 0.09$ job?
- ProZ = very unlikely
- Contacting directely online agencies = very tricky with no XP
- Contacting B&M agencies = sounds tricky too
- With Studio 2011, if the source text is quite well handled by the suggestion engine, then I can reach 700/800 words per hour (or 4500/5000 words per day working for a reasonable period of time).

AFAIK, EN->SP is a very common pair with a lot of competition.

Agreed = beware of not getting paid, check well how serious the agency is

But again, I likely don't charge enough (4 years studying Law, 3 years studying History of Art, various other experiences in my profile, lived in UK+US, very good spelling, etc.)

 

[Girino]

But again, I likely don't charge enough (4 years studying Law, 3 years studying History of Art, various other experiences in my profile, lived in UK+US, very good spelling, etc.)

 

[Girino]

Frenchie, you do look like the sweetest gal on earth... but you should definitely get a grip and try to improve your situation. Worst case scenario, you will keep working the way you do.

Not all beginners are the same... a young graduate in language, with 0 translating experience, is the worst possible scenario. And they crowd the bidding sites, where the cheaper wins (lack experience is not an issue where the client only looks at the cheapest option). I suppose the OP is not 20 y.o. and already has some working experience.

When you work for agencies you are just a small wheel, you get no feedback (unless is bad and they don't want to pay you), you get no praise, you have nobody senior to look at as a reference, you can't really double your rates with the same client... you will stay in that limbo forever. The only growth you can achieve is by getting direct clients or highly specialized agencies who value your work.

It is also a matter of luck. All of the success stories I heard, are about translators who found clients *locally*. Argentina is an unfortunate country where to find clients.. they are likely to pay next to nothing. But if the OP has some connections outside from here (let's say the US), he should try to reach businesses there.
It might sound odd that in the digital age it is still so important to put a face to a name, but if you don't, you are just a nickname in the sea of the internet.

I don't know my clients, I never met with any of them, I have been working through agencies, only. I used to think I suck and that eventually I came to term with my own limits (being a translator was not my purpose in life and I know it) and charged little for *years*. Then I was contacted by some agencies working for high profile clients and it got better, but I am still in the middle. Do you know that there are translators working regularly for €0.15-0.20/source word?

Also, the world often looks at freelance jobs like "anybody's job" because if you taught yourself a job, anybody could do the same. It happens to designers (can you make me a website?), to translators (can you translate me a book for my thesis?) to copywriters (what can I write to my bf? I want to look original), etc.


I happened to meet only a couple of persons who respected my current job, without giving me the loser-sad eyes. The others, indeed, made it clear that I was doing anybody's job.

Stay at home mum who said "Well, now that the kids are grown up I could translate something... I did a translation once for my father when I was at the university, but it was hard!", my MIL who says "I could translate, I studied here, had a master there, lived in Italy for many years" and then cannot type accented letters, the friend who wrote to know about "magic websites" where his gf could make some money because she was jobless and bored, the elder who said "oh the school is so bad nowadays, there are mistakes all over!" and then cannot spell berenjena, etc.

It is pretty frustrating, because if you say "I studied law" nobody replies with the tone "oh well, I could have made a great lawyer, I helped a friend in trouble and he won the case", and when I say I am an engineer I always get "oooh" in admiration and nobody tells me "Well, now that the kids are grown up, I could open an engineering consultancy firm".


You don't need to make USD 6,000 a month to live in Argentina, you can say NO to low paying jobs. Every low paying job takes you further from better paying job. Invest that time in doing some serious marketing and contacting potential customers!

 

[miferran]

[email protected] His name is Joseph. He is american and does translations. I have no idea what he charges but he did work in the States for many years.