Post by habiba123820 on Nov 5, 2024 19:47:50 GMT -8
How much should a translator earn? The more the better, of course, but what are the factors that affect these translation rates ?
This article will explore some of them. In order for someone to remain in business and effectively provide translation services , the activity must be profitable enough to cover the individual’s living expenses, at a minimum. Thus, the individual’s living expenses determine the minimum translation rates.
So far, it would be simple enough, as you would just estimate your minimum wage and your monthly capacity, and voila, you would have a formula that determines your minimum rate. Of wordpress web design agency course, you also need to consider taxes and social security contributions, holidays and so on, but all of that is taken care of by the ProZ calculator here . However, this approach does not take into account the cost of living, and as a result, translators’ minimum rates vary from region to region, even from country to country.
Given that the translation industry is a global enterprise, meaning translation agencies can be established in any country, and these agencies can be providing services in any combination of languages, coupled with the fact that spoken languages are not strictly associated with cost of living regions, this issue is much more complicated than it seems. Agencies are very aware of these differences and will try to take advantage of them by finding the cheapest possible translators in the given language pair.
Average Monthly Income In Some Countries (USD)
As in most countries, translators aim for a bit more than the minimum wage, so I'm providing a chart showing the average income in the countries mentioned. You can find the full list here , this is just an extract to size up the differences. As in most countries, translators aim for a bit more than the minimum wage, so I'm providing a chart showing the average income in the countries mentioned. You can find the full list here, this is just an extract to size up the differences. [/caption] That said, "as cheap as possible" is a delicate balance between price and quality that each agency will strive for individually.
Some agencies will choose translators from areas with lower living costs, without considering the fact that most of these translators translate from B to B, meaning that both the source and target languages are their second language, and/or possibly using machine translation with poor post-editing. Other agencies will carefully select their translators and choose only those who are native speakers of the target language, with strict qualification requirements in both translation and specialization. And of course, anything goes in between.
To complicate matters further, agencies’ minimum margins are also affected by the cost of living or average salaries/rates, or the maximum amount they can charge their clients in the country in question. Of course, what companies charge is far from what they pay their translators, but common sense dictates that their rates and costs are correlated. Let me just add my personal experience here: for the same language pair (EN-HU), Hungarian agencies pay me about 50 percent less than their UK or Ireland-based counterparts. Whereas a low-cost Hungarian agency charges only three cents per word for EN-HU translations, while the same translation would cost 13 cents if done by a US agency.
This article will explore some of them. In order for someone to remain in business and effectively provide translation services , the activity must be profitable enough to cover the individual’s living expenses, at a minimum. Thus, the individual’s living expenses determine the minimum translation rates.
So far, it would be simple enough, as you would just estimate your minimum wage and your monthly capacity, and voila, you would have a formula that determines your minimum rate. Of wordpress web design agency course, you also need to consider taxes and social security contributions, holidays and so on, but all of that is taken care of by the ProZ calculator here . However, this approach does not take into account the cost of living, and as a result, translators’ minimum rates vary from region to region, even from country to country.
Given that the translation industry is a global enterprise, meaning translation agencies can be established in any country, and these agencies can be providing services in any combination of languages, coupled with the fact that spoken languages are not strictly associated with cost of living regions, this issue is much more complicated than it seems. Agencies are very aware of these differences and will try to take advantage of them by finding the cheapest possible translators in the given language pair.
Average Monthly Income In Some Countries (USD)
As in most countries, translators aim for a bit more than the minimum wage, so I'm providing a chart showing the average income in the countries mentioned. You can find the full list here , this is just an extract to size up the differences. As in most countries, translators aim for a bit more than the minimum wage, so I'm providing a chart showing the average income in the countries mentioned. You can find the full list here, this is just an extract to size up the differences. [/caption] That said, "as cheap as possible" is a delicate balance between price and quality that each agency will strive for individually.
Some agencies will choose translators from areas with lower living costs, without considering the fact that most of these translators translate from B to B, meaning that both the source and target languages are their second language, and/or possibly using machine translation with poor post-editing. Other agencies will carefully select their translators and choose only those who are native speakers of the target language, with strict qualification requirements in both translation and specialization. And of course, anything goes in between.
To complicate matters further, agencies’ minimum margins are also affected by the cost of living or average salaries/rates, or the maximum amount they can charge their clients in the country in question. Of course, what companies charge is far from what they pay their translators, but common sense dictates that their rates and costs are correlated. Let me just add my personal experience here: for the same language pair (EN-HU), Hungarian agencies pay me about 50 percent less than their UK or Ireland-based counterparts. Whereas a low-cost Hungarian agency charges only three cents per word for EN-HU translations, while the same translation would cost 13 cents if done by a US agency.