| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Poll: Which demand most often excludes you from jobs for which you would otherwise qualify? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Dinny 
Greece
Local time: 11:14
Italian to Danish
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| Payment Terms | Jun 6, 2012 |
Many Southern European agencies still insist on payment terms like end-of-month + 60 days (if not even longer), so when I insist on payment max. 30 days from delivery, I often do not get the job.
I am also loosing some jobs because I am fed up with being met with a demand to use Trados. I have it, but I hate using it. Today I was actually contemplating adding 10% to my rates, if my clients demand use of Trados. I never figured out, anyway, how buying an expensive CAT tool would lea... See more Many Southern European agencies still insist on payment terms like end-of-month + 60 days (if not even longer), so when I insist on payment max. 30 days from delivery, I often do not get the job.
I am also loosing some jobs because I am fed up with being met with a demand to use Trados. I have it, but I hate using it. Today I was actually contemplating adding 10% to my rates, if my clients demand use of Trados. I never figured out, anyway, how buying an expensive CAT tool would lead to demands for discounts! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Clara Chassany
Finland
Local time: 11:14
Member (2012)
Finnish to French
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| Price and deadline goes without saying | Jun 6, 2012 |
A translation project paid let's say 0.01USD/word (I don't exaggerate I have seen offers like this) is something I take as a joke, the same goes for impossible deadlines.
Localisation is also a demand which makes me exclude a job, as it usually would be to expensive to travel there.
| | | | Isabelle F. BRUCHER (X)
Belgium
Local time: 10:14
English to French
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Other
The price/budget, of course... The other day an Indian was asking a translation at (are you seated?) 0.02 EUR / sw - without laughing, very seriously ! Worst offer I have ever seen. Unbelievable...
And CAT tools make it worse worldwide, of course...
The economic crisis is a temporary cause for translators' revenues going down (companies closed / decreased all budgets), but CAT tool producers make intermediaries believe their software will cost them ... See more Other
The price/budget, of course... The other day an Indian was asking a translation at (are you seated?) 0.02 EUR / sw - without laughing, very seriously ! Worst offer I have ever seen. Unbelievable...
And CAT tools make it worse worldwide, of course...
The economic crisis is a temporary cause for translators' revenues going down (companies closed / decreased all budgets), but CAT tool producers make intermediaries believe their software will cost them nothing since they will be able to boldly request their due of supposed time gains due to repetitions: who has ever proved that working with a CAT tool was a time gain on the whole???
The link between "repetitions" and "time gain" is a pure supposition, not taking into account all the time translators lose with CAT tools.
For example, in MS Word, I have very quick access to 2 CD-Rom dictionaries with buttons in my toolbars.
No CAT tool can offer quick access to our sources of information, which is the only thing a translator really needs.
And I find some online publicity scorning translators who are "still using MS Word to translate" most offending and I am herewith officially proz.com authorities to remove that sort of stupid and offending publicity immediately and never to allow such offending publicity again. Thank you very much.
Autocorrect is the best CAT tool a translator can use and it's for free! I have made huge profits with Autocorrect/MS Word in the last 7-8 years and at least I am not dependent on a CAT tool producer.
And more and more documents are in pdf form, so they cannot be used with CAT tools.
And I do not intend to enter my vocabulary twice, once in Autocorrect and once in MultiTerm or the like.
And in MultiTerm, you have to enter one target word at a time: very time consuming, impossible to meet the ever shorter deadlines, as so many translators mention here!
If translators paid their dues, Proz.com would not be financially owned by CAT tool producers.
But if their revenues were not diminished by CAT tools, they would have the money to pay their dues.
So, let's stop the vicious circle right now - and get free from people who know nothing about translation.
Thank you. Pfff... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'd rephrase that question... | Jun 6, 2012 |
... into:
Which demand most often precludes you from bidding on jobs for which you would otherwise qualify?
If it's about rates, deadlines, and/or payment terms that you consider unacceptable, you deliberately exclude yourself from serving that kind of clients. Translation is a free, deregulated market in most cases.
My intent was to survey the requirements imposed by the client that would rule out otherwise perfectly qualified professionals from bidding.
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 01:14
English to German
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In memoriam | Off topic: Clara | Jun 6, 2012 |
Clara Chassany wrote:
Localisation is also a demand which makes me exclude a job, as it usually would be to expensive to travel there.
What exactly does localization have to do with travel? You most certainly don't have to hand-deliver your translation.
Edited for typo
[Edited at 2012-06-06 10:32 GMT]
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 10:14
Member (2006)
German to English
Mary Worby wrote: David Wright wrote:
The deadline.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Time
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 17:14
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| I'd clarify that question... | Jun 6, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
My intent was to survey the requirements imposed by the client that would rule out otherwise perfectly qualified professionals from bidding.
Are you asking -- "Have you ever been discriminated against in bidding for projects in spite of your being sufficiently qualified? And how?"
This was my first thought when I read the question.
| | | | | Imposed by client: certification, then location | Jun 6, 2012 |
If certification doesn't mean P badge.
Some agencies require translators to have "credentials" or to live in a given country (France most often in my case).
@Nicole: Clara means location for in-house assignments I assume. In FR, "localisation" is a faux-ami and means geographic position(ing).
Philippe
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| A side remark | Jun 6, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
My intent was to survey the requirements imposed by the client that would rule out otherwise perfectly qualified professionals from bidding.
Dear José Henrique,
I hardly can figure out a deregulated market bidding about digging a pit with a specific shovel. Usual client's requirements are size, time, price, the quality being the function of above. If a client puts forward more detailed requirements, it's not a job but rather an experiment, imho.
Maybe, it would be more productive and realistic to ask: Being a highly qualified professional and trying to win a bid, how often do you experiment with / feel discriminated by: CAT, location, certification, native language ( ), file format, work record, security clearance. Other tricks?
Sincerely,
Gennady
[Edited at 2012-06-06 11:28 GMT]
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or impossible deadline, subject matter or rate.
| | | | XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:14
Portuguese to English
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| "for which you would otherwise qualify" | Jun 6, 2012 |
José, can you please clarify what you mean by that?
| | | | | other possibility | Jun 6, 2012 |
usually the element that often excludes us are the ridiculous rates some clients keep on proposing...
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Paul Adie (X)
Germany
Spanish to English
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I'm not willing to work for a pittance and get screwed over by greedy agencies who want to skim off a fat profit for doing nothing.
Problem?
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:14
Hebrew to English
Isabelle Brucher wrote:
And I find some online publicity scorning translators who are "still using MS Word to translate" most offending
Yes, I noticed a comment on yesterday's poll discussion which practically said the same as this - which I also found a bit offensive.
The problem with "Crados" is the hype and the fact that its users actually believe in it, like people believe in various deities...which is fine - but as with any and all religion I don't want it shoved down my throat or to be proselytized to.
To answer the question, and presuming I understand the question, then CAT-tools.
[Edited at 2012-06-06 11:22 GMT]
| | | | | definitely rates and deadline | Jun 6, 2012 |
As nearly everyone has said ...
I didn't mind investing in an expensive CAT tool, I do a lot of technical manuals that are just rehashed from one version to another and it has saved me a lot of time.
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