No peanuts for translators

Camilla Aldini wrote:

Dear fellow translators,

I am relatively new here, but I would like to take advantage of this space to share my frustration with you.

I have only recently entered this world, but it seems that, in order to work, I have to be willing to accept ridiculous conditions (I guess you know what I am referring to). I have applied (through this and other marketplaces) to take part in various projects, but with no response or, perhaps given my lack of experience, with "indecent proposals". I have also applied as a pro bono translator, but it seems that my language pairs have little market.

I feel stuck in a dead-end situation, or maybe I should just be more patient....Am I the only one? Would you like to share with me your first steps into the world of translation?

Thank you for listening to me...

CroPro wrote:

And all of a sudden, you have two more working pairs (English > Spanish, English > Italian), both of which are in much higher demand. Here's a little nugget of truth you might, or you might not know about. Huge amount of material of all sorts is first translated into English just for the sake of making the whole process of finding translator easier. Because, Chinese > whateverlanguage translators are very rare, if you catch my drift. Thank me later

CroPro wrote:

And all of a sudden, you have two more working pairs (English > Spanish, English > Italian), both of which are in much higher demand. Here's a little nugget of truth you might, or you might not know about. Huge amount of material of all sorts is first translated into English just for the sake of making the whole process of finding translator easier. Because, Chinese > whateverlanguage translators are very rare, if you catch my drift. Thank me later

I have only recently entered this world, but it seems that, in order to work, I have to be willing to accept ridiculous conditions (I guess you know what I am referring to). I have applied (through this and other marketplaces) to take part in various projects, but with no response or, perhaps given my lack of experience, with "indecent ...

Rachel Waddington wrote:

Don't limit yourself to agencies. You seem to be living in one of your source language countries so get out and network with tourism and hospitality companies who might be interested in attracting Italian customers. Use your contacts from your previous work if you can - let them know what you are doing. Build a social media presence so that you become a familiar name and people think of you when they need your services (or recommend you when someone else does). Join a translators network and meet other translators. Read some marketing books and apply what you read.

Don't expect it to be easy - you are in a highly competitive sector. You will probably need to do more than just send out applications and wait for the work to come in. But you do have the advantage of a background in your specialism so work that for all it's worth.

Also, don't waste your time venting about the ridiculous offers, it will only drag you down.

CroPro wrote:

And all of a sudden, you have two more working pairs (English > Spanish, English > Italian), both of which are in much higher demand. Here's a little nugget of truth you might, or you might not know about. Huge amount of material of all sorts is first translated into English just for the sake of making the whole process of finding translator easier. Because, Chinese > whateverlanguage translators are very rare, if you catch my drift. Thank me later