| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] | Is there a way to prevent the decline in translation rates? Thread poster: Erwin S. Fernandez
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Tom in London wrote:
Yes- maximising THEIR profits by getting us to work for less. No thanks.
You should always aim at maximising your profits. Agencies do that too, but they often use "us" to achieve their goal, because it's easier than charging their clients a higher premium. They don't want to lose them, but they can afford losing us. Unfortunately, they don't realise that we are not just a commodity, we are an important part - probably the most important part of the process. Without us, they are nothing. That said, the market is very much saturated, so they get away with it for millions of different reasons, including translators that accept silly working conditions.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:09
Member (2008)
Italian to English
OK but the original question was "Is there a way to prevent the decline in translation rates?"
Many of the contributions to this discussion describe how the decline is happening but not many suggest ways to prevent it.
| | | | | In my opinion... | Jun 23, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
OK but the original question was "Is there a way to prevent the decline in translation rates?"
Many of the contributions to this discussion describe how the decline is happening but not many suggest ways to prevent it.
There is no way to prevent the decline. Our profession in unregulated and translators work all over the world in different living and working conditions. Given the big discrepancy between supply and demand, a natural "flattening" towards the bottom is only natural. You also have to remember that it's not just the translators driving the rates down, but agencies too. Have you noticed the massive increase in these blood-sucking outfits?  We are competing amongst ourselves and they are too... Like you, I refuse to work more to earn less. Luckily, I'm fairly old, so I won't have to put up with this nonsense for much longer.
| | | | Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 22:09
Member
English to Turkish
| There is only one way | Jun 23, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
Many of the contributions to this discussion describe how the decline is happening but not many suggest ways to prevent it.
The second poster on this thread said it years ago, I don't there is any other way or anything more to add to her argument.
Sandra B. wrote:
The only way is translators stop to accept these rates, as long as there are “colleagues” (well, I should probably say enemies, as these people behavior is actually harming all of us) willing to work for peanuts these rates will be in the market.
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| Her argument... | Jun 24, 2021 |
Baran Keki wrote: The second poster on this thread said it years ago, I don't there is any other way or anything more to add to her argument. Sandra B. wrote:
The only way is translators stop to accept these rates, as long as there are “colleagues” (well, I should probably say enemies, as these people behavior is actually harming all of us) willing to work for peanuts these rates will be in the market.
ignores all the sociological, physiological, geographical and financial aspects of our job. It's not just matter of "not accepting rates". In theory, everybody should be in the position to enjoy a good standard of living. Without that, there is no solution. For some, $0,02 is a fortune.
| | | | | What decline in rates? | Jun 24, 2021 |
My rates haven’t gone down.
It’s supply and demand, the same as any line of work. Do something few people can do and/or do something better than most.
| | | | Abba Storgen (X)
United States
Local time: 14:09
Greek to English
+ ...
| No, there isn't | Jun 25, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
OK but the original question was "Is there a way to prevent the decline in translation rates?"
Currently no. General rates will keep going down, until they hit the minimum level that anyone involved is willing to accept.
If economies expand, lots of translators will leave this business, thus rate reduction will stop.
If economies contract or the "working from home" trend accelerates, more people working from home will enter the industry and rates will keep going down until they hit a certain level. Since most translators are part-timers, this level may be about half of what it is now.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:09
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Eleftherios Kritikakis wrote: Tom in London wrote:
OK but the original question was "Is there a way to prevent the decline in translation rates?"
Currently no. General rates will keep going down, until they hit the minimum level that anyone involved is willing to accept. If economies expand, lots of translators will leave this business, thus rate reduction will stop. If economies contract or the "working from home" trend accelerates, more people working from home will enter the industry and rates will keep going down until they hit a certain level. Since most translators are part-timers, this level may be about half of what it is now.
I think I can see signs of this already beginning to happen. If an agency keeps on forcing its translators to work for less and less, eventually there will be a loss of quality. At that point the agency will begin paying more. I think that turning point is coming quite soon.
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| Turning point | Jun 26, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
If an agency keeps on forcing its translators to work for less and less, eventually there will be a loss of quality. At that point the agency will begin paying more. I think that turning point is coming quite soon.
While I'm not as hopeful as you are (I firmly believe that without clear regulations on agencies and clients, rates will never stop their decline), I've seen things like that happen lately. There is that one agency that's always proposing poor rates for deadlines that cram three days worth of work into one. Generally I ignore the requests or propose fairer rates and deadlines, thinking "Why do I keep doing that, they'll just find someone willing to do it anyway."
But lately, more and more of their requests see a follow-up email a few hours after that, with extended deadlines and meagerly increased rates. One coordinator even confessed "We have a "shortage" of French linguists", implying that they have plenty of translators, but actually not a lot willing to accept their terms.
If stuff like that happen everywhere, maybe we'll see this turning point.
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