| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Poll: Translation: a passion or just a job? (choose the closest to your feelings) Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:39
Member (2009)
English to French
| passion + job | Jul 24, 2011 |
I agree
too many translators accept low rates
| | | | isabelmurill (X)
Local time: 04:39
English to Spanish
+ ...
| a job that is a passion and a passion that is my job | Jul 24, 2011 |
I consider myself very lucky because I work in a job that is one of my passions and, in addition to that, I can earn my living with it!
| | | | Jorge Payan 
Colombia
Local time: 21:39
Member (2002)
German to Spanish
+ ...
| Technical translation is just a job | Jul 24, 2011 |
Technical translation is not an art, but a technique. Consequently, it can hardly be considered a passion.
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inkweaver wrote: Antonio Fajardo wrote:
P.S. Maybe the results of the poll are letting us understand better why rates are so low in some cases? How would you be able to deduce from the poll results why rates can be low? Are high rates and feeling passionate about translating mutually exclusive? I don't think so...
Not exclusive as "live VS death", but it could show a trend. If you consider translation as your job, you struggle to get acceptable rates. If 50% of us consider it a passion, it's maybe because a good bunch of them have another job and a stable salary, and this is their hobby. Of course, you can consider that your main job (translation) is your passion, but we all know very well that there are a lot of translators willing to accept low rates because "anyway, this is my hobby, I don't care about money".
I understand it, I would take you out one night completely free, teach you the constellations and show you the planets with my telescope. But I wouldn't do it if I had an enterprise organising astronomy nights.
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As with many good love affairs, I had an aversion to translating when I was first seriously faced with the proposition. I was good at French and German at school, and nobody seemed to know where I was going.
I was absolutely not interested in languages: I was going to be a doctor!
And as for reading law, as someone suggested, forget it!
Then I met this awful Dane on a summer job, and he drove everybody nuts... That was well over thirty years ago.
To c... See more As with many good love affairs, I had an aversion to translating when I was first seriously faced with the proposition. I was good at French and German at school, and nobody seemed to know where I was going.
I was absolutely not interested in languages: I was going to be a doctor!
And as for reading law, as someone suggested, forget it!
Then I met this awful Dane on a summer job, and he drove everybody nuts... That was well over thirty years ago.
To cut a long story short, I never got into medical school, but I ended up marrying the Dane and learning his language. I still don't always understand him, but never mind. There is so much in this world that I don't understand...
We can still croon together with Elvis on the radio, and my specialist subject areas are medicine and law.
It's a job, but I come from a long line of people who work for their passions and earn money any way they legally can. I have done my share of jobs that were simply a means of paying the bills. I have other passions besides translating. But this is like no other job I have ever tried, and I know it is an enormous privilege to be able to make a living from it.
[Edited at 2011-07-24 20:03 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | | daniel gwire
Ghana
Local time: 02:39
Member (2002)
Italian to English
+ ...
| Different kinds of translation | Jul 24, 2011 |
Commercial translation (legal, business, medical etc), while endlessly fascinating and challenging, is a job I do to pay my bills. Translating essays, novels and history is a passion or would be if I were given the opportunity.
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 22:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
Studying foreign languages and the law are my passions. For me, translation is a way for me to use my passions to earn a living, so to the extent translation overlaps with language learning and the law, it is a passion; where it does not, it is a job.
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Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 03:39
| Definitely a passion | Jul 24, 2011 |
The higher the rate, the more passionate I become.
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Allison Wright wrote: The higher the rate, the more passionate I become.
You have a point
| | | | | A passion, as long as I can pick my assignments | Jul 24, 2011 |
I love doing about 80% of the work that falls in my lap, but that's because I avoid curriculum vitae, academic transcripts, certificates, product manuals, insurance policies, and a number of other genres that don't interest me or I find too nit-picky. If I did that kind of work, I'd just call it a job.
From the jobs I get asked about, I have the impression that often the lowest rates are expected by people who want precisely the kind of work that I find "boring." So for me, I believ... See more I love doing about 80% of the work that falls in my lap, but that's because I avoid curriculum vitae, academic transcripts, certificates, product manuals, insurance policies, and a number of other genres that don't interest me or I find too nit-picky. If I did that kind of work, I'd just call it a job.
From the jobs I get asked about, I have the impression that often the lowest rates are expected by people who want precisely the kind of work that I find "boring." So for me, I believe that asking for higher rates has given me a richer source of material. Right now I'm doing a 96-page report on the effects of the 2007 earthquake in Peru. I find it fascinating and I'm enjoying every minute.
Sometimes when I'm plowing through some thick text that's hard to understand, I remind myself that once I capture the meaning, it will be available to a new audience. That's the part that gives me the biggest thrill. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Laureana Pavon
Uruguay
Local time: 23:39
Member (2007)
English to Spanish
+ ...
MODERATOR
I find it strange that the question of whether translation is a job or a passion keeps coming up over and over again.
I've never heard doctors or engineers discuss whether medicine or engineering are their job or their passion. Why is it that translators obsess so much about this? Are they seeking some sort of reassurance?
Honestly, this is not a rhetorical question. I would really like to know.
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Mami Yamaguchi
Japan
Local time: 11:39
Member (2008)
English to Japanese
+ ...
| a passion receiver | Jul 25, 2011 |
I am conscious of 'translator('s' work) as a side character working quietly behind the scenes. I just translate clients' passion towards their activities into their dreams.
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 04:39
French to German
+ ...
Williamson wrote: Antonio Fajardo wrote:
P.S. Maybe the results of the poll are letting us understand better why rates are so low in some cases? Too much passion and too little calculation of how much one wants to earn per day/month/annum. Translation is just a job.
Translation became just a job when I discovered that, given the right rates, it was actually possible to work less for the same amount of money. And I like Allison's reply in this perspective .
My real passion is for music anyway.
[Edited at 2011-07-25 05:05 GMT]
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 04:39
French to German
+ ...
| Not that strange! | Jul 25, 2011 |
Laureana Pavon wrote:
I find it strange that the question of whether translation is a job or a passion keeps coming up over and over again.
I've never heard doctors or engineers discuss whether medicine or engineering are their job or their passion. Why is it that translators obsess so much about this? Are they seeking some sort of reassurance?
Honestly, this is not a rhetorical question. I would really like to know.
The professions you mention are regulated in some way all around the world - translation is not.
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