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Rate advice pls - almost 3 full days interpreting alone!
Thread poster: zenoby
zenoby
zenoby
United States
Local time: 03:56
Spanish to English
+ ...
Oct 16, 2009

Hi, everyone.

I've just joined ProZ since I'm just restarting in the field of translation and interpreting. I'm a bit rusty about the business side of things, plus this is the first time I'm aiming to make this a full-time, long-term thing.

So, here is the first assignment request I got. I know it's jumping into the deep end, but it's the way it worked out with timing:

I've been asked to do Spanish English interpreting for one participant in a global sympo
... See more
Hi, everyone.

I've just joined ProZ since I'm just restarting in the field of translation and interpreting. I'm a bit rusty about the business side of things, plus this is the first time I'm aiming to make this a full-time, long-term thing.

So, here is the first assignment request I got. I know it's jumping into the deep end, but it's the way it worked out with timing:

I've been asked to do Spanish English interpreting for one participant in a global symposium in the field of education and microfinance. I'm trying to figure out what rates to propose, and in what format/breakdown.

I am currently in India, and this is where the symposium will take place. However, the client/organization sponsoring it is an American private operating foundation, working in the education space (the symposium includes members from around the world, and the person for whom I'm interpreting is from the Dominican Republic).

It is a very intensive job, escorting and performing two-way interpretation for one of the panel speakers:

3 days (approx. 7 hours + 14-15hrs + 10hrs) + 1 day to transcribe and translate notes.
(working meetings, table discussions, panel, networking dinners and school visits)

They cannot find anybody else, so I will be doing this completely alone. The person I'll be interpreting for is supposed to have a very good command of written English, and should therefore be able to understand spoken English a bit (I haven't met him yet), but says he cannot communicate or express himself speaking.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ADVICE!
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Déesse
Déesse
Local time: 08:56
French to Dutch
+ ...
Alone? Oct 16, 2009

Intepreting a whole day while being alone is a big no-no, unless you get a break whenever you want to.

 
Edward Vreeburg
Edward Vreeburg  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 08:56
Member (2008)
English to Dutch
+ ...
astronomical amount? Oct 16, 2009

Looks like you've landed a really big job, with lots of hours on a very important level..
Baiscally a lot will depend on your skills - if it where in Europe, an agency would cost about 800 - 1000 euros a (8 hour work with a 2nd interpreter) + hotel + food + transport, etc.,...

I guess in India it will be a whole lot cheaper....

Good luck!
Ed


 
Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:56
Flemish to English
+ ...
Refuse Oct 16, 2009

I'd refuse. You are going to run a marathon with the entire symposium depending upon you.
What happens if you get ill or your voice is getting tired.
Don't know whether it is in a booth. If you are "lucky" you might encounter an AVE (Spanish bullet train speaker). If you fail, you will get the blame for screwing up this symposium.
In Europe, the average price would be between 600-850 euros per day.

BTW: Should you decide to go ahead : do "Grameen bank" and "Mo
... See more
I'd refuse. You are going to run a marathon with the entire symposium depending upon you.
What happens if you get ill or your voice is getting tired.
Don't know whether it is in a booth. If you are "lucky" you might encounter an AVE (Spanish bullet train speaker). If you fail, you will get the blame for screwing up this symposium.
In Europe, the average price would be between 600-850 euros per day.

BTW: Should you decide to go ahead : do "Grameen bank" and "Mohammed Yunos" ring a bell?
Where did I put that Sfr-transmission about Mr.Yunus, Sind Sie ein Banker (are you a banker) and the lecture at the ULB by J.Murdoch?.
If you want it, I'll upload it.
Also have a look at smava.de and googlebook,
The Economics of Microfinance‎ - Pagina 16
by Beatriz Armendariz de Aghion, Beatriz Armendáriz, Jonathan Morduch - 2007 - 346 pages
There are some interesting webpages on microfinance too.

Wanted to make a graduation paper about the subject, but found a classical financial subject more interesting.



[Edited at 2009-10-16 18:47 GMT]
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Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)  Identity Verified
Romania
Local time: 09:56
Romanian to English
+ ...
average rates in Europe for interpreting Oct 16, 2009

A question, Williamson, if I may: 600 EUR per day per interpreter, for a 8 hour work day ? Any differentiation between the rate for consecutive and the rate for simultaneous ? Thanks !

 
Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:56
Flemish to English
+ ...
Depends. Oct 16, 2009

Depends upon you. Whether people here like it or not : graduates from top-notch interpreter schools will ask decents rates. Compare it a graduate from a university and a graduate from Insead, Harvard, Stanford biz.schools. 600 is for sim, 850 is for consec. It is a freelance world and it is up to the interpreter to negotiate.

 
Parrot
Parrot  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 08:56
Spanish to English
+ ...
Careful Oct 16, 2009

MARIA-LETITIA CHICULITA wrote:

a 8 hour work day ?


For interpreters, it's never 8 hours of interpreting, but rather, of presence. That's what partners are for.


 
Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)
Maria-Letitia Chiculita (X)  Identity Verified
Romania
Local time: 09:56
Romanian to English
+ ...
rates Oct 16, 2009

Parrot wrote:

MARIA-LETITIA CHICULITA wrote:

a 8 hour work day ?


For interpreters, it's never 8 hours of interpreting, but rather, of presence. That's what partners are for.


This is what I referred to, presence. I know we have partners for that. I was interested to know if you considered that 600 EUR your share.


 
Jessica Noyes
Jessica Noyes  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:56
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
The impossible takes a little longer Oct 16, 2009

You can do it, or at least I have done exactly this sort of thing at conferences. (Here in the state of Vermont, Spanish-English interpreters are thin on the ground.) So if you want to do it, and the money is acceptable, go for it! If there is no one else in your city who can do this, then having you is better than there being no interpreter at all. Be sure to explain to the people who hire you that you are going to be very tired at times and that you can't guarantee perfection, and in fact may... See more
You can do it, or at least I have done exactly this sort of thing at conferences. (Here in the state of Vermont, Spanish-English interpreters are thin on the ground.) So if you want to do it, and the money is acceptable, go for it! If there is no one else in your city who can do this, then having you is better than there being no interpreter at all. Be sure to explain to the people who hire you that you are going to be very tired at times and that you can't guarantee perfection, and in fact may slip up now and then. Make sure they agree to this, and get a contract. You will of course study up on the vocabulary of microfinance, etc. and ask your person for a copy of his presentation ahead of time and prepare it. Google the person ahead of time to find out what he/she writes about. . (Also tell him or her what your situation is. Often they can help you with arcane terms.) You will read the synopses of the other presentations, so you are as ready as can be.
Since your person understands some English, rest during the PowerPoint and other simple presentations. You may even notice that he or she really isn't interested in certain aspects of the event, like the thank yous and so on. If this is the case, and he or she is busy checking e-mail or something, just sum up quickly. Don't worry if you're not working up to the standard you can achieve in more normal situation. Doctors work well over 16 hour shifts and so can you. Drink lots of water, and, if you are a caffeine person, caffeine. If not, run on adrenaline. I say, do your best to prepare, and go for it!
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Parrot
Parrot  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 08:56
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Oct 16, 2009

MARIA-LETITIA CHICULITA wrote:

if you considered that 600 EUR your share.


In fact, the rate is different if you are the only interpreter on a full schedule. (I.e., under doable circumstances for experienced professionals, like a long break between their morning and afternoon sessions).


 
Geraldine Oudin
Geraldine Oudin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Japanese to French
+ ...
Don't charge less... Oct 17, 2009

...because you are in India!

As you said, "the symposium includes members from around the world", and "the client/organization sponsoring it is an American private operating foundation".

Interpreters fly in all the time to this kind of events, at the expense of the client.

Considering the mental strain of working alone, charge what you deserve.

After all, this is no NGO.

Good luc
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...because you are in India!

As you said, "the symposium includes members from around the world", and "the client/organization sponsoring it is an American private operating foundation".

Interpreters fly in all the time to this kind of events, at the expense of the client.

Considering the mental strain of working alone, charge what you deserve.

After all, this is no NGO.

Good luck/

*****
http://geraldineoudin.com
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zenoby
zenoby
United States
Local time: 03:56
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
What would US rates be? And what's "full day"? Oct 17, 2009

Thank you, everyone!!! Great input. Wonderful to have found such a supportive online community.

Two follow-up questions:

(1) Jessica (& anyone else): so, what do you usually charge in Vermont in these situations, as the only interpreter in a marathon situation? Since this is an American organization I'd like to make a case based on what US market rates would be, at least under "normal" circumstances.

(2) Williamson, and everyone: So,
(a) is a ful
... See more
Thank you, everyone!!! Great input. Wonderful to have found such a supportive online community.

Two follow-up questions:

(1) Jessica (& anyone else): so, what do you usually charge in Vermont in these situations, as the only interpreter in a marathon situation? Since this is an American organization I'd like to make a case based on what US market rates would be, at least under "normal" circumstances.

(2) Williamson, and everyone: So,
(a) is a full day 6, 7 or 8 hours?
(b) do most of you agree with the principle of charging 150% of the equivalent hourly rate of your fee for every hour after that in a single day?
(c) and, for future reference, and to Maria-Letitia's question, if there is a partner, is the fee for each interpreter present (I would have thought), or do you share??

I will definitely make sure to point out and clarify all these constraints to my client and the person I'm interpreting for.

Unfortunately I do not have a whole lot of time to prepare, since this was a bit last minute and the symposium is next week, but I'm sure I will manage to do a good enough job for it to be better than if they had not had anyone!

Williamson, to your question, no, I'm not a banker, but would definitely be interested in the material you mentioned. I am interested in education, capacity building, development and community building (among other things), and microfinance obviously keeps coming up.

Thanks again!
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zenoby
zenoby
United States
Local time: 03:56
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
PS - max time alone? Oct 17, 2009

PS, again for future reference, what do you usually consider the maximum acceptable/optimum time to interpret alone?

I know at least some of you will differentiate based on the situation, especially how many people are involved, etc. (e.g. one person to a group, anyone/everyone in a group, one-on-one)

Thanks


 
FarkasAndras
FarkasAndras  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:56
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Working alone Oct 17, 2009

... is considered the default setup for jobs like this here. This is not sim, it is not an interminable string of lectures, it is not even continuous work without breaks. There will be breaks in the program, there will be a lunch, there will be school visits etc.

If I were you, I'd ask for the details of the programme (is your guy holding lectures? how many, about what? how technical will the discussions be? are they planning on lots of chouchoutage or can you get away with consecut
... See more
... is considered the default setup for jobs like this here. This is not sim, it is not an interminable string of lectures, it is not even continuous work without breaks. There will be breaks in the program, there will be a lunch, there will be school visits etc.

If I were you, I'd ask for the details of the programme (is your guy holding lectures? how many, about what? how technical will the discussions be? are they planning on lots of chouchoutage or can you get away with consecutive? does the client understand English well enough not to need interpretation for some of the time?) and if it doesn't look very scary, I'd take it. I'm guessing you've already decided to take it and hope it goes well...

As to rates, you can probably ask for a lot more than what Indian interpreters get on the domestic market, but I don't know the US and Inidan markets so I'm not going to guess at numbers.

[Edited at 2009-10-17 10:12 GMT]
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Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:56
Flemish to English
+ ...
Grameen bank. Oct 17, 2009

The way, you put it, I understood it to be a full day without breaks.
Normally, there are coffee breaks and lunch.
I don't charge extra, but use the after hours for networking. I know it is against the Proz.com rules (adhere to them partially, because I don't agree with the "parrot" role of the interpreter). Getting to know the VIPs might come handy later.
If I am invited for a night on the town all expenses paid, I will not refuse (unless too tired).

Professor M
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The way, you put it, I understood it to be a full day without breaks.
Normally, there are coffee breaks and lunch.
I don't charge extra, but use the after hours for networking. I know it is against the Proz.com rules (adhere to them partially, because I don't agree with the "parrot" role of the interpreter). Getting to know the VIPs might come handy later.
If I am invited for a night on the town all expenses paid, I will not refuse (unless too tired).

Professor Mohammed Yunus (do you have the same name?). is the president of the Grameen bank and the "Founder of microfinance".

The fee is for each interpreter present. Guess it depends on the market where you are active.
If the conference is next week: google : "Grameen bank".
If you don't know who Yunus is and the Grameen initiatives are on a conference about microfinance... If you do not know that women are the beneficiaries of those microcredits, not men..

See if I can find that video. If I do, I'll let you know through your profile.
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Rate advice pls - almost 3 full days interpreting alone!







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