| Σελίδες για το θέμα: < [1 2 3 4] > | finding work in 2025 Αποστολέας σε συζήτηση: edward o loughlin
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| You can’t stop progress | May 2 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
Ultimately I guess that translators who don't use MTPE will be like those who don't use CAT - the work will dry up to a trickle except in very specific niches
I’ve just remembered a topic here as far back as early 2000, with one older British translator stating that he would never replace his typewriter with a PC. By the way, he used to deliver his translations by riding a bike. I don’t think he could get any international clients with his business setup.
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Βοσνία και Ερζεγοβίνη
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Κροατικά
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
Dan Lucas wrote:
Ultimately I guess that translators who don't use MTPE will be like those who don't use CAT - the work will dry up to a trickle except in very specific niches
I’ve just remembered a topic here as far back as early 2000, with one older British translator stating that he would never replace his typewriter with a PC. By the way, he used to deliver his translations by riding a bike. I don’t think he could get any international clients with his business setup.
Yes, but this progress is not always linear. It’s a curve, labyrinth, call it whatever. If the rate is dramatically reduced, for me it’s not a progress, it may be for the client though, but certainly not for me.
Dan Lucas wrote:
A few months ago Jensen Huang made a statement along the lines "AI won't take your job, but somebody using AI will" (he is not the first person to make this observation). A lot of people got excited and wrote a lot of text about how this was simplistic and so on, but I think he is essentially correct. In many applications AI is a force multiplier, and those applications undoubtedly include some types of translation.
Ultimately I guess that translators who don't use MTPE will be like those who don't use CAT - the work will dry up to a trickle except in very specific niches. I have not been asked to do MTPE by my main clients but I am prepared to give it a go.
Regards,
Dan
People taking on MTPE projcts will see their work dry up soon too. There was one translator here almost labeling us subhumans for not using MTPE (it’s the future, take it or leave it, bla bla). He came here a while ago saying how all of his MTPE clients simply vanished and he’s wondering why. Well, I know why, but too lengthy to explain here.
[Edited at 2025-05-02 09:40 GMT]
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Lingua 5B wrote:
... this progress is not always linear. It’s a curve, labyrinth, call it whatever. If the rate is dramatically reduced, for me it’s not a progress, it may be for the client though, but certainly not for me.
...
People taking on MTPE projcts will see their work dry up soon too. There was one translator here almost labeling us subhumans for not using MTPE (it’s the future, take it or leave it, bla bla).
This is what I call progress, whether I like it or not. You just need to decide whether you want to keep up with the times.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Βοσνία και Ερζεγοβίνη
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Κροατικά
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
Lingua 5B wrote:
... this progress is not always linear. It’s a curve, labyrinth, call it whatever. If the rate is dramatically reduced, for me it’s not a progress, it may be for the client though, but certainly not for me.
...
People taking on MTPE projcts will see their work dry up soon too. There was one translator here almost labeling us subhumans for not using MTPE (it’s the future, take it or leave it, bla bla).
This is what I call progress, whether I like it or not. You just need to decide whether you want to keep up with the times.
I won’t as it’s not financially feasible. There are other places where my work is actually valued.
You may call it *progress* as much as you want.
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Lieven Malaise
Βέλγιο
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2020
Γαλλικά σε Ολλανδικά
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
People taking on MTPE projcts will see their work dry up soon too.
Based on what? Your gut feeling? Please stay in line, there are a zillion doomers and gloomers before you "predicting" the end of the world for years and even decades now. If you wait long enough you will probably be right some day. I'll give you that.
Lingua 5B wrote:
There was one translator here almost labeling us subhumans for not using MTPE (it’s the future, take it or leave it, bla bla). He came here a while ago saying how all of his clients simply vanished.
If I'm not mistaken he mentioned that the large majority of his customers were direct clients. If that's the case then he probably used machine translation for his own benefit, without the customers necessarily asking for it. That would mean there's correlation, but no causation, making your point invalid.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Βέλγιο
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2020
Γαλλικά σε Ολλανδικά
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
I won’t as it’s not financially feasible.
Great point. Now try to understand that there are translators out there that do know how to make a profitable earning from quality MTPE.
| | | | | Classic translation and MTPE | May 2 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
Lingua 5B wrote:
... this progress is not always linear. It’s a curve, labyrinth, call it whatever. If the rate is dramatically reduced, for me it’s not a progress, it may be for the client though, but certainly not for me.
...
People taking on MTPE projcts will see their work dry up soon too. There was one translator here almost labeling us subhumans for not using MTPE (it’s the future, take it or leave it, bla bla).
This is what I call progress, whether I like it or not. You just need to decide whether you want to keep up with the times.
I won’t as it’s not financially feasible. There are other places where my work is actually valued.
You may call it *progress* as much as you want.
The demand for the English-Russian pair dropped dramatically. The international law firms in Moscow valued my work. Regretfully, they exited Russia after February 2022. Their former Russian clients are toxic now because of the international sanctions. Over 450 foreign companies have withdrawn from Russia since 2022, and about 1,200 companies either scaled back or suspended their operations in Russia. In this situation, you just need to survive. I worked for an agency client that used an AI-powered translation platform in the early 2020s (it differed from MTPE per se). They paid per hour for editing the suggested output, and I could earn handsomely.
I know from experience and from other colleagues that some of our direct clients are switching to AI translators. One of my clients laid off the entire translation department in favor of AI a year ago. That's how things stand now.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Βοσνία και Ερζεγοβίνη
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Κροατικά
+ ...
Obviously, not standing too good.
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roeland
Ολλανδία
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2008
Γερμανικά σε Ολλανδικά
+ ...
| It's not only AI to blame | May 2 |
edward o loughlin wrote:
Having sent out numerous cvs , in german and english, over the past 5 months I have not received a single reply , not to mention any job offers. I am based in Vienna Austria. Could it be that the reputed xenophobia of Austria is at work here ? Or perhaps it is AI replacing human translations...
Last year I received offers not only from Proz adverts but also by cold calling agencies. I believe my work is of high quality so I don't see why things are different now.
Can anyone enlighten me please....
Sounds familiar. I used to get regular work from the same agencies without asking over the last 25 years, this has more or less dried up so I started sending out CV'as well and the one thing I noticed in the replies (if any): new agencies, specifically in Germany, are obsessed with ISO certification which is completely pointless for freelancers. Apart from that, I see that some of my regular end-clients have switched to AI and given the quality of the translations, I trust that they will return in time  .
| | | | Zea_Mays
Ιταλία
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Γερμανικά
+ ...
for details on what content is translated using only AI tools by the clients of some posters here.
Anyway, I'd suggest to do some client education. Just go and check the translation quality if the results are online, or offer a free review of the stuff, and then tell them all bigger and smaller flaws you've found.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Ιταλία
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Γερμανικά
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
One of my clients laid off the entire translation department in favor of AI a year ago. That's how things stand now.
How does this work exactly? Do their employees just put copy into ChatGPT and the like, and then use the output without any checking? What type of content is this? Blog articles?
| | | | Zea_Mays
Ιταλία
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Γερμανικά
+ ...
Lingua 5B wrote:
I won’t as it’s not financially feasible.
This depends on the clients you are working with.
With honest agencies, good MT output of suitable content and good translation skills (this is what matters most), you can earn much more than by translating from scratch. Right now I am working on an assignment that will earn me a month's target income in two working weeks.
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| How do the end clients use AI translators? Need to check. | May 2 |
Zea_Mays wrote:
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
One of my clients laid off the entire translation department in favor of AI a year ago.
How does this work exactly? Do their employees just put copy into ChatGPT and the like, and then use the output without any checking? What type of content is this? Blog articles?
It's a large nonprofit catering to the needs of children and young people without parental care or at risk of losing it. I assume they mostly need to translate guidance materials for their field offices in different countries.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Βοσνία και Ερζεγοβίνη
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Κροατικά
+ ...
| Globally, non-specific | May 2 |
Zea_Mays wrote:
Lingua 5B wrote:
I won’t as it’s not financially feasible.
This depends on the clients you are working with.
With honest agencies, good MT output of suitable content and good translation skills (this is what matters most), you can earn much more than by translating from scratch. Right now I am working on an assignment that will earn me a month's target income in two working weeks.
You are talking too globally and generally. There are no such clients in my language pair and market. In yours, there may be.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Βοσνία και Ερζεγοβίνη
Local time: 22:10
Μέλος από 2009
Αγγλικά σε Κροατικά
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
Zea_Mays wrote:
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
One of my clients laid off the entire translation department in favor of AI a year ago.
How does this work exactly? Do their employees just put copy into ChatGPT and the like, and then use the output without any checking? What type of content is this? Blog articles?
It's a large nonprofit catering to the needs of children and young people without parental care or at risk of losing it. I assume they mostly need to translate guidance materials for their field offices in different countries.
Yes, and also the budget you mentioned earlier. They do get a budget allocated, but that budget goes into someone’s hands, not for translation. Instead, they opt for GPT, revision by a distant cousin, and hope for the best/that nobody will notice anything.
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