2023: Bad or good for translation industries? Thread poster: Mohd Hamzah
|
|---|
Mohd Hamzah 
Malaysia
Local time: 17:32
Member
English to Malay
+ ...
Hi
I read in the media that 2023 will be very slow economically. How can be foreseen next year for this industry? Appreciate a lot your opinion. Thank you.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 11:32
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Mohd Hamzah wrote:
I read in the media that 2023 will be very slow economically.
Fortunately, we work in a global market, so the economic woes of one part of the world are often offset by economic bloom in another. Just make sure you don't have clients only in that one part of the world where it is forecasted to be a bad year.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
My crystal balls said it's gonna be the same old same old.
| | | |
I have been translating for over 40 years and, unless when I’m dealing with a huge project carried over from one year to the next, I am always unable to predict what the future will bring. Even when there is a crisis not all fields are affected the same way (thank goodness), suffice to see what happened with the global pandemic Covid-19, work decreased dramatically in certain sectors but increased noticeably in others: medicine, e-learning, e-commerce…
[Edited at 2022-10-05 18:31 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 05:32
German to English
| The best of years, the worst of years | Oct 5, 2022 |
That is, no improvement
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 10:32
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Fearmongering? | Oct 5, 2022 |
Media always like to scare the public with everything.
News changes the way we think and behave, but we need to change that.
Our profession is undoubtedly a unique adventure! It can be stable yet unpredictable, allows us to work alone or not, makes us learning more about the world around us, requires attention to the client’s needs among many other things.
Loyal and varied customers can allow us a long-term relationship and predicting reasonable financial resources.
F... See more Media always like to scare the public with everything.
News changes the way we think and behave, but we need to change that.
Our profession is undoubtedly a unique adventure! It can be stable yet unpredictable, allows us to work alone or not, makes us learning more about the world around us, requires attention to the client’s needs among many other things.
Loyal and varied customers can allow us a long-term relationship and predicting reasonable financial resources.
Focus on this and don't let your eyeballs be glued to the screen.
[Edited at 2022-10-05 14:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:32
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mr. Satan wrote:
My crystal balls said it's gonna be the same old same old.
You're transparently endowed. I hope they're not breakable.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Tom in London wrote:
I hope they're not breakable.
They are insured. So, no biggie.
| | |
|
|
|
Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:32
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Not optimistic | Oct 6, 2022 |
Mohd Hamzah wrote:
I read in the media that 2023 will be very slow economically. How can be foreseen next year for this industry?
As others have pointed out, though not in so many words, forecasting any complex system is tremendously difficult and very few economic forecasters can point to a consistently good track record.
Having said that, the consensus is that we're headed for a global recession - indeed, most data suggest it has already begun. The key issue from this point is how deep it goes and how long it lasts. I'm hoping it won't be as bad as 2008-2010 (which I experienced while working in the stock market; the first few months of that were genuinely frightening), but things are not looking good.
I take Samuel's point about certain areas of the economy always remaining strong while others weaken, but in a proper recession there is very little that isn't affected. Bankruptcy lawyers, possibly.
In terms of tactics, although I was hoping to deliberately reduce my workload in the second half of 2022, that's no longer looking like a good idea and I'm taking on as much work as I can reasonably handle. In a few months I may be glad that I did so.
Regards,
Dan
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 05:32
Japanese to English
+ ...
| 2023: good or bad? | Oct 6, 2022 |
I see consolidation in the industry with large agencies hoovering up smaller agencies. Clients will most likely demand lower fees thereby impacting translators who are already working for slave ages. Agencies in India and China will most likely not be severely affected as their client fees are low and the rates they pay translators are rubbish. I may start demanding 50 % of payment in advance should things get dodgy. I did this recently with a company in Argentina and they complied. 45/day and 6... See more I see consolidation in the industry with large agencies hoovering up smaller agencies. Clients will most likely demand lower fees thereby impacting translators who are already working for slave ages. Agencies in India and China will most likely not be severely affected as their client fees are low and the rates they pay translators are rubbish. I may start demanding 50 % of payment in advance should things get dodgy. I did this recently with a company in Argentina and they complied. 45/day and 60/day payment agencies should be avoided as a lot can happen in that time-frame. ▲ Collapse
| | | | matt robinson
Spain
Local time: 11:32
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
Mr. Satan wrote:
My crystal balls said it's gonna be the same old same old.
I have never seen a vas deferens from one year to the next.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 11:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
The financial crisis in 2008 didn't affect me and the COVID crisis actually made me streamlining the way I work with the consequence I never earned more money than the past 2 and a half years (and currently heading again for a new record).
Of course every crisis is different and the crisis ahead seems to be even more disruptive than 2008 or COVID. I mean, we have inflation, a food crisis, a war crisis, an energy crisis and an ongoing environmental crisis ... That's a lot to no te be... See more The financial crisis in 2008 didn't affect me and the COVID crisis actually made me streamlining the way I work with the consequence I never earned more money than the past 2 and a half years (and currently heading again for a new record).
Of course every crisis is different and the crisis ahead seems to be even more disruptive than 2008 or COVID. I mean, we have inflation, a food crisis, a war crisis, an energy crisis and an ongoing environmental crisis ... That's a lot to no te be afraid of personal economical consequences.
But who knows? ▲ Collapse
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » 2023: Bad or good for translation industries? | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
