| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators? Thread poster: Chiara Deaglio
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Hi all!
I have just come across the site of a new US agency, which is currently recruiting new translator also here in one of my language combinations (EN-IT).
I read from their website that they "charge [their] customers $.06/source word to keep [their] prices competitive and pay you $.05 per source word!", adding that "if you find another translation agency that offers such a great deal to customers to help guarantee you work flow, while also paying you such a fair am... See more Hi all!
I have just come across the site of a new US agency, which is currently recruiting new translator also here in one of my language combinations (EN-IT).
I read from their website that they "charge [their] customers $.06/source word to keep [their] prices competitive and pay you $.05 per source word!", adding that "if you find another translation agency that offers such a great deal to customers to help guarantee you work flow, while also paying you such a fair amount, please let us know".
Based on your experience (I am relatively new to the translation business), are telling the truth?
Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?
[Edited at 2014-09-15 16:23 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 21:36
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| It's on the low end of the scale | Sep 15, 2014 |
Chiara Deaglio wrote:
...if you find another translation agency that offers such a great deal to customers to help guarantee you work flow, while also paying you such a fair amount, please let us know
Is $ 0.06 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?
The normal US rate is between USD 0.10 and USD 0.15, in my experience. USD 0.08 is a low rate in the US. A rate of USD 0.06 or USD 0.05 per word is very low, in the US, but some large agencies now pay that much (where previously they paid normal rates).
| | | | | | Tim Friese
United States
Local time: 14:36
Member (2013)
Arabic to English
+ ...
Serious translators I know in the US in various language pairs charge around double that or more. I know a total newbie who is working at $.08 (and finding a decent amount of work) to gain experience before he raises his rates.
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| Not in western Europe | Sep 15, 2014 |
Maybe in the third world or developing countries.
| | | | | It would certainly be | Sep 15, 2014 |
Chiara Deaglio wrote:
Is $ 0.05 per source word a "fair amount" for translators?
compared to the price they allegedly charge their customers, but then, which kind of service can they offer for 0,01$? No proofreading, I am sure, and so what quality do the customers get for their money? Most probably, in case of errors, the agency will not pay the translator shorthand whilst a serious agency would have proofread the translation and in case notified the translator asking to review it. So not only, he/she has worked for a very low rate, but risks to get nothing at the end.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:36
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| It's the way to come to grief | Sep 15, 2014 |
Christel Zipfel wrote:
which kind of service can they offer for 0,01$? No proofreading, I am sure, and so what quality do the customers get for their money? Most probably, in case of errors, the agency will not pay the translator shorthand whilst a serious agency would have proofread the translation and in case notified the translator asking to review it. So not only, he/she has worked for a very low rate, but risks to get nothing at the end.
They will probably go out of business before very long and take some of your earnings with them. The only way they can survive is by massive volumes, selling a mixture of rubbish and some surprisingly good translations to unsuspecting clients who are in no position to judge the quality.
They probably think they're doing us a favour (in fact I think I remember this agency being set up and claiming just that), but they're just dragging themselves through the dirt along with their poor suppliers. That's not solidarity; it's stupidity.
| | | | | Not a bottom | Sep 15, 2014 |
Actually, there is no bottom price in the industry. I know local (Ukrainian) agency with excellent reputation on BlueBoard here, offering translators as low as $0.015 per word. And this is not a bottom too. I believe it's not because they are located in Ukraine, as any industries are global today, and it's especially true for the translation indusrty. But there are a lot of brokers (I cannot call them agencies) who cope to bid even lower, regardless where they are located. The lowest is only zer... See more Actually, there is no bottom price in the industry. I know local (Ukrainian) agency with excellent reputation on BlueBoard here, offering translators as low as $0.015 per word. And this is not a bottom too. I believe it's not because they are located in Ukraine, as any industries are global today, and it's especially true for the translation indusrty. But there are a lot of brokers (I cannot call them agencies) who cope to bid even lower, regardless where they are located. The lowest is only zero.
A value for money is one more long talk.
This is business. Like in any business, it is only up to you to decide whether to accept an offer or not. A client can try to bargain, why not. But only you as a seller (service provider) is the party who dictates the rate and not the market and not a client, of course.
Likewise there is no bottom for rates, it seems there is no ceiling, too. "A dollar per word" is not just an allegory. Once I was happy to have such an assignment ($10 for 12 words). And I guess there are some colleagues that specialize on that kind of small orders, just charging their minimal charge (which very often is higher then $10). A legal translation for "glamorous" consulting companies with their extremely sophisticated cases might be one more segment of sky rates.
So, it depends on you what client/segment you are targeted for.
[Редактировалось 2014-09-15 17:49 GMT]
[Редактировалось 2014-09-15 17:51 GMT]
[Редактировалось 2014-09-15 17:58 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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ipv
Local time: 21:36
Member (2015)
English to Croatian
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| Well, what is | Sep 15, 2014 |
Platon Danilov wrote:
Actually, there is no bottom price in the industry. I know local (Ukrainian) agency with excellent reputation on BlueBoard here, offering translators as low as $0.015 per word. And this is not a bottom too.
a bottom price if $0.015 per word isn't?! 
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:36
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| What does "excellent" mean here? | Sep 15, 2014 |
Platon Danilov wrote:
Actually, there is no bottom price in the industry. I know local (Ukrainian) agency with excellent reputation on BlueBoard here, offering translators as low as $0.015 per word.
That doesn't mean they are an excellent company to collaborate with; nor does it mean that their translators are actually making an income they can live on. It just means that the agency pay their peanuts on time, and these people who will accept $0.015 in the first case will accept it again.
| | | | | it means only rating | Sep 15, 2014 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
What does "excellent" mean here?
It only means "5" LWA rating of 22 entries, nothing more.
Sorry, but I cannot disclose their name here because of ethical reasons.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 15:36
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
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| What are they doing for this .01 a word... | Sep 15, 2014 |
..that you cannot do on your own?
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Quentina Chan
Malaysia
Local time: 03:36
Member (2015)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| I am not a newbie anymore | Sep 15, 2014 |
Tim Friese wrote:
Serious translators I know in the US in various language pairs charge around double that or more. I know a total newbie who is working at $.08 (and finding a decent amount of work) to gain experience before he raises his rates.
....but recently a company offers me a rate at range from $.02-$.04....
| | | | | in EN>IT... I don't think so | Sep 15, 2014 |
I've never heard of an agency running on a 16.7% margin.
Let me guess, they also expect you to translate up to 6000 words per day? And they use squashed down CAT rates?
They will not have you proofed, but YOU will be responsible for any fault in the translation, avoid like the plague...
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:36
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
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| IMO $0.05 is unsustainable | Sep 15, 2014 |
Hi Chiara,
No, that is very low.
I do Dutch>English, and charge in £ or €, so let me see ... $0.05 is around €0.04. I charge between $0.14 and $0.19, which is obviously quite a bit more.
Or think about it another way: how many words would you need to translate a day for $0.05 to be enough to live on ... comfortably?
(1) Decide what you need/want to earn a day
(2) Figure out how many words you can realistically do in a day (and keep up) in a 4-day, 5-day, 6-day, etc. week…
(3) Use this to calculate your own personal rate per word
Some of us are fast and some of us are slow. I fall into the latter category, so I need to make sure I am getting paid higher than some of my colleagues. Others who are faster might not need to charge that much. I also charged a lot less when I was just starting out. In short: everyone is different and we all need to find a rate that we are comfortable with personally.
Michael
[Edited at 2014-09-16 00:01 GMT]
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