March 19th 2008 11:59 am
Freelance vs In-house Translator
Being a freelance translator sounds like a great thing and has some major benefits
- it’s more efficient to work from home than to transit to work every day
- you can take a leave when you deem it fit
- you don’t have to work on texts you don’t like
- you can move your working hours around other activities that matter to you
- you can have time to go back to school because you do not need to select courses that fit your job schedule
But there are some drawbacks too:
- freelancing requires lots of discipline
- you will be spending less time translating because you will need time to manage your business (contacting potential clients, promoting your services, handling your finances, etc.)
- your profits can be unstable as there is no guarantee you always have enough orders
What is your experience? Is freelancing the right thing for you or you prefer a stable job with a translation company?
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4 Comments »
Alex on 06 Oct 2008 at 2:10 pm #
For me I’d prefer freelancing.. Freelance translators frequently work on more than one job at once. And it’s not uncommon for those jobs to have a 24-hour turnaround. You can handle the workload in a couple of different ways. On the one hand, you can wing it, go without rest and food, and finish your tasks as best you can in an unstructured environment. Or, you can get a planner, establish regular hours for work, set up office space, and manage your time and your work efficiently. You may like this ebook http://www.tomedes.com/translator-make-it-happen.pdf you will learn a lot from this ebook.
International Marketing Review #24 on 01 Nov 2008 at 7:14 pm #
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Cindy King on 01 Nov 2008 at 7:27 pm #
Thanks for the useful post.
I find that most translations are done freelance, translation companies very often have more work than they can handle and farm the work out, but still claim that all work is done in-house. I suppose the in-house review counts as in-house translation.
I linked to it from a post today and I stumbled it.
Clint - Freelance translator on 02 Nov 2008 at 9:56 pm #
I’ve worked both in-house and as a freelancer, and I’d say that I prefer freelance translation work. Yes, it is harder to be a freelancer as it requires more discipline and you have less time to spend on actual translation, but for me, the ability to work wherever I want is a benefit that trumps all other negatives.