State of the industry: Freelance translators in 2010
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State of the industry:
Freelance translators in 2010
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Introduction
Translation is no longer a “cottage industry”.
“Computerisation has changed translation from an amateur pursuit into
a cottage industry and now, into an industrial process. IT has in fact
encouraged and probably induced the industrialisation of the translation
profession by (a) significantly increasing the volumes of translatable
material, (b) providing the tools needed to process such large volumes
and (c) accelerating the implementation of standardised procedures.”
- Daniel Gouadec, Translation as a profession
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Outline
1. Efficiency2. Collaboration3. Specialization, Quality, Rates4. Direct contact with clients5. Diversification6. Demand
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1. Efficiency
Then:book hunting, making the rounds to meet/get clients,
translation tests by postal mail, manually counting words
Now:the web, email, invoicing, online terms and research
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1. Efficiency
Translation Memories (TMs)
TMs are now a given.
Translators use them. Companies use them.
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1. Efficiency
MT is on the uptake.
30% in the community are using it.
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1. Efficiency
On MT:
“For simple sentences, it goes faster than typing the whole thing. Sometimes, only minor changes are required.”
“MT saves me 20% of my time on my projects.”
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1. Efficiency
Efficiency is up. It is up for translators, and up for agencies.
You may not even realize your productivity is going up (or how much it is going up).
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2. Collaboration
Collaboration is up.
Even when you get stuck, you are not stuck for long (or don’t need to be).
Around 25% of the community is collaborating more now than they were just two years ago.
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
There is interplay among specialization, quality, and rates, and these are also affecting, and being affected by, the trends mentioned.
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
80% of the community has chosen to specialize.
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
Quality is going up.
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
On quality:
“Quality is an outcome of expertise in specific fields.”
“Each day things are turning narrower in the sense that they are getting more specialized, and we of course cannot cover everything, but we need to improve our specialties in order to render better quality to customers’ 100% satisfaction.”
“Quality needs to be considered with respect to time and financial constraints and treated separately for each field (of expertise).”
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
Rates are flat.
Or maybe down?
What about incomes?
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3. Specialization, quality, rates
On quality and rates:
“Dearth of qualified, experienced translators (I'm overbooked at above-market rates) and abundance of
unqualified and inexperienced people offering translation services. Unfortunately these trends are self-perpetuating since the more unqualified people flood the market, the less prestige translators have, the less people choose to pursue translation as a full time career, the more there is a vacuum leading to the need to use unqualified people
for translation work.”
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4. Direct contact with clients
Around 12% work almost exclusively with end clients.
Nearly 40% say that end clients are the source of at least 20% of their income.
More direct contact has been made possible by technologies (Translation Management Systems, for example).
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4. Direct contact with clients
What needs to happen for this rise in direct contact to occur?
How does the role of the translation company change when this happens?
What additional skills will translators need?
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Side note!
Crowdsourcing:
It is beginning to happen. Some translators are doing it (6% of members have participated in some way), for example in translations for non-profit organizations.
No clear indication that higher quality levels are being achieved yet in mass collaboration. There is still some disagreement as to what constitutes “crowdsourcing”.
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5. Diversification
Some translators are unable to keep up the pace, or find the changes in the industry not to their liking. These translators are diversifying outside of the translation industry.
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5. Diversification
Translators are beginning to offer other value-added services related to translation:
• proofreading
• editing
• interpreting
• DTP
• PM work
• teaching/training in their languages/fields
• etc!
Just over 40% in the community are diversifying. Another 15% have not yet, but are considering it.
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6. Demand
As of 2010 [...] the language services market is growing at an annual rate of 13.15%.
- Common Sense Advisory
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6. Demand
Demand is up.
Not a surprise, in a more efficient industry and a smaller world.
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What to do?
1. Be good.
2. Differentiate yourself.
3. Be confident.
4. Charge accordingly.
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ProZ.com membership
http://www.proz.com/membership
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CPN
The ProZ.com Certified PRO Network: an initiative of the ProZ.com community to identify qualified translators in various language pairs, and provide them with the option of networking and collaborating in an environment consisting entirely of screened professionals.
Participating in the ProZ.com Certified PRO Network will provide a powerful new means for top professionals to distinguish themselves as such, through not only demonstration of their unique capabilities but also through peer/client/supplier review.
This network will provide an easier way for top professionals and top companies to meet and do work, particularly when that work has to be done right and is paid accordingly.
http://www.proz.com/cpn
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2. Efficiency
Thank you!
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2. Efficiency
Comments or questions?