| Էջերը այս նյութում: [1 2 3] > | Poll: The way we work is changing fast. How does that make you feel? (pick which best describes you) Շարքի հրապարակողը: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "The way we work is changing fast. How does that make you feel? (pick which best describes you)".
This poll was originally submitted by Jared Tabor. View the poll results »
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Բելգիա
Local time: 20:41
Անդամ (2020)
ֆրանսերենից հոլանդերեն
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Objectively spoken I have nothing to worry about yet: my workflow continues to be really good, January and February combined were better than last year which was my second best year ever, my customers are still there etcetera etcetera.
However, reading these forums is bad for my mental health. It makes me feel like I'm on a battlefield being continuously shot at while everybody around me is dying and I remain standing for now.
My frustration is that it's virtually impos... See more Objectively spoken I have nothing to worry about yet: my workflow continues to be really good, January and February combined were better than last year which was my second best year ever, my customers are still there etcetera etcetera.
However, reading these forums is bad for my mental health. It makes me feel like I'm on a battlefield being continuously shot at while everybody around me is dying and I remain standing for now.
My frustration is that it's virtually impossible to know exactly why so many colleagues are having a hard time. Translators speaking out leads inevitably to more translators speaking out, which might give a distorted picture. We know nothing about the quality that they deliver or don't deliver, the rates that they apply (I bet more than one colleague is having a hard time because their rates are objectively too high), their willingness or unwillingness to adapt to the changing environment, the efficiency of their work processes etcetera etcetera.
A controversial statement, perhaps, but here I go: machine translation is fierce competition to moderate to bad translators who don't care enough about quality. I can tell you that I prefer editing machine translation over editing badly translated human documents every day.
The only thing I'm pretty sure of is that adapting is key. And then I'm not only talking about embracing machine translation, but also about optimizing processes and enhancing efficiency for every possible aspect of freelancing. It's something I have constantly been doing since the beginning of Covid and I can't say it didn't work out well today.
[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-26 08:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sandra Boca
Իտալիա
Local time: 20:41
Անդամ (2024)
անգլերենից իտալերեն
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| It has spurred me into action, so I am... | Feb 26 |
I think that it's just another technical innovation, like so many in the past. I'm not scared, I'm trying to keep ahead of it studying, following webinars and courses...CPD as usual.
There was a time when translation was done on paper, only with paper dictionaries, and delivered by (slow) mail. We, as translators, have adapted to PCs and the Internet, so why should we be scared of this new innovation?
| | | | Kay Denney 
Ֆրանսիա
Local time: 20:41
ֆրանսերենից անգլերեն
I'm just hanging on, only a couple of years to go before retirement and I don't depend entirely on translation for my income. I have a few faithful clients I will continue with for as long as they want me to.
If I had more years left I'd be retraining in something else, because proofreading machine translations and tinkering with AI drivel is not translation as I know and love it.
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| I'll just continue with business as usual... | Feb 26 |
I have a bunch of very loyal customers, who don’t send as much work as they used to, but I’m not scared, I’m old and I don’t depend on what I make from freelancing as I receive a retirement pension from the EU institution where I worked for 20 years. Anyway, I’m adaptable and I love learning, but I agree with Kay «proofreading machine translations and tinkering with AI drivel is not translation as I know and love it».
| | | | | The answer is not so simple... | Feb 26 |
I agree that we all have to adapt to the new (harsh) reality.
But let me tell you a true story: my main client started to use MTPE last year – more than 10 years of partnership, so it seems that they were happy with my work. Initially, they asked me to lower my rate, because from then on I would be an "editor" and they would be able to send me more work.
Long story short: this year they're sending me less than 50% of work compared to 2024. And yesterday they told me ... See more I agree that we all have to adapt to the new (harsh) reality.
But let me tell you a true story: my main client started to use MTPE last year – more than 10 years of partnership, so it seems that they were happy with my work. Initially, they asked me to lower my rate, because from then on I would be an "editor" and they would be able to send me more work.
Long story short: this year they're sending me less than 50% of work compared to 2024. And yesterday they told me that "unfortunately, they anticipate a decrease in available work".
Good luck to the colleagues who were not impacted, but the truth is: IA "translation" is garbage, but if the market decides it's good, we're done. We're only numbers. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Is the way we work changing fast? | Feb 26 |
I wonder if the way we work has been changing faster now than during the 40 years I have been translating. I’ve seen a lot of changes during my life as a translator. I started out in the early 1980s with a manual typewriter. I used to write my first draft by hand, and then type it up very carefully. Those were the days when correcting the slightest mistake seemed like an almost insuperable task: re-typing all over again (before the age of the correction tape and the correcting fluid). What a c... See more I wonder if the way we work has been changing faster now than during the 40 years I have been translating. I’ve seen a lot of changes during my life as a translator. I started out in the early 1980s with a manual typewriter. I used to write my first draft by hand, and then type it up very carefully. Those were the days when correcting the slightest mistake seemed like an almost insuperable task: re-typing all over again (before the age of the correction tape and the correcting fluid). What a change we “oldies” have witnessed… and enjoyed! ▲ Collapse
| | | | IrinaN
Միացյալ Նահանգներ
Local time: 14:41
անգլերենից ռուսերեն
+ ...
Lieven,
For some, the issue at hand is not about having or losing work. For me, MTPE is NOT translation and my profession as I knew and loved it has been taken away from me. For me adapting to current ways is the same as adapting to welding, real estate selling, burger flipping etc – in other words, it equals changing the trade completely rather than adapting to something that is a boring, dull, restrained office work, not exciting for 1 second. In fact, I find it demeaning. it’... See more Lieven,
For some, the issue at hand is not about having or losing work. For me, MTPE is NOT translation and my profession as I knew and loved it has been taken away from me. For me adapting to current ways is the same as adapting to welding, real estate selling, burger flipping etc – in other words, it equals changing the trade completely rather than adapting to something that is a boring, dull, restrained office work, not exciting for 1 second. In fact, I find it demeaning. it’s just monotonous labor I didn’t bargain for. Sorry, not interested. Thankfully, I still have the interpretation part and could afford sending something that makes me nauseous packing… actually, much farther as Russian is perfectly suited for the occasion😊. Nearing the end of my career and having reasonable assurance that I’ll still have my interpretation work for 1.5 – 2 years that I plan to work and store a bit more fat before full retirement, I do not have to search desperately for the income source, but were those changes presenting itself so aggressively as little as 10-15 years ago, I’d definitely be looking for new paths to make a living and enjoy what I’m doing. I still do occasional translations – the original, a blank page in Word, and me, dearest, populating it with my own creation, however modestly talented it may be. The minimum rate is $.12 for a full word count, no discounts - yes, it still exists. Then I feel that I do indeed miss translation but regardless of the rate, the current workflow under the same conditions will not be enough to feed my cats. ▲ Collapse
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Dan Lucas
Մեծ Բրիտանիա
Local time: 19:41
Անդամ (2014)
ճապոներենից անգլերեն
| A history of change | Feb 26 |
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
I wonder if the way we work has been changing faster now than during the 40 years I have been translating.
Handwriting. Typing. Early word processors (like the Amstrad in the UK). Early personal computers, not all of which were able to properly display or print the source language in the case of CJK. Faxes. More sophisticated personal computers. Cheap laser printers. Email (albeit often very costly). The internet! CAT tools. Relatively cheap scanners and OCR. Electronic dictionaries. Software dictionaries. More sophisticated CAT tools. An explosion of utilities and software. Machine translation tools for those who can use them. LLMs to polish the language of those who can't write well in the target.
What next, I wonder?
Dan
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Sandra Boca wrote:
I think that it's just another technical innovation, like so many in the past. I'm not scared, I'm trying to keep ahead of it studying, following webinars and courses...CPD as usual.
There was a time when translation was done on paper, only with paper dictionaries, and delivered by (slow) mail. We, as translators, have adapted to PCs and the Internet, so why should we be scared of this new innovation?
It is not about being scared... But also it is not JUST a new innovation... we are replaced slowly... How many of you have been forced to lower your rates because of AI? I am asked about this constantly... This is completely unfair... My human work is checked with AI! How idiotic that is?
Some of the clients started to change their terms and conditions (two of them only in the last two weeks, and started to impose penalties - in all the contracts, not only for my languages), etc... also established lower rates... Established... without asking us!
This idiotic AI is "EMPOWERING" the agencies to slowly impose new terms and conditions, and to actually EXPLOIT us (yes, indeed!), and make a lot of money out of it... because they require only us to reduce the rates... they DO NOT reduce theirs... And soon... Oh, I leave that surprise to you... aparently you have NO idea to what this slowly leads... unfortunately, I do... and when you will do, too... you will probably remember this conversation, and say: „OH... OH... Now I get it... how did this happen? Why did we allow this to happen?”
And what ProZ does not realize is that promoting so agressively this stupid AI they will soon lose their contributors... Probably AI will be paid better than us, and pay the membership fees instead of us.
[Editat la 2025-02-26 17:06 GMT]
| | | | | I was thinking about that, too... | Feb 26 |
Kay Denney wrote:
I'm just hanging on, only a couple of years to go before retirement and I don't depend entirely on translation for my income. I have a few faithful clients I will continue with for as long as they want me to.
If I had more years left I'd be retraining in something else, because proofreading machine translations and tinkering with AI drivel is not translation as I know and love it.
You are perfectly right... This AI stupidity just became too exhausting, and infuriating to deal with...
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Բելգիա
Local time: 20:41
Անդամ (2020)
ֆրանսերենից հոլանդերեն
+ ...
Agencies can't impose anything, unless you accept it.
None of my customers asked or forced (heaven forbid) me to lower my rates.
And that's the problem I was talking about. Every single translator's testimony is anecdotical. There is a terrible lack of hard data.
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| Really? Well, they actually do... | Feb 26 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Agencies can't impose anything, unless you accept it.
None of my customers asked or forced (heaven forbid) me to lower my rates.
And that's the problem I was talking about. Every single translator's testimony is anecdotical. There is a terrible lack of hard data.
I do not know how sought are your pairs... but in mines... they reduced the rates to 0.028 or 0.03 USD for MTPE (my standard rate has been 0.07 USD/0.06 EUR for the last 12 years), and they do not offer other types of jobs... now ONLY MTPE exists!... I told them I cannot accept the rates, so... they stopped giving me work! They can impose whatever they want... when they hold your nuts in their fists! So far I kept rejecting the new fees... But from 10 clients I came to have only 2! Also they modified the Trados grids to almost nothing... pretty soon we will work for peanuts!
Aparently, some of you are not affected... yet!
[Editat la 2025-02-26 17:26 GMT]
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Բելգիա
Local time: 20:41
Անդամ (2020)
ֆրանսերենից հոլանդերեն
+ ...
Reea-Silvia Podeanu wrote:
Aparently, some of you are not affected... yet!
It's perfectly possible and perhaps even likely that I will be affected sooner or later. But you don't want to know how many times these exact words have been thrown at my feet the past 5 years.
| | | | | Oh, this is just the begging... | Feb 26 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
However, reading these forums is bad for my mental health. It makes me feel like I'm on a battlefield being continuously shot at while everybody around me is dying and I remain standing for now.
My frustration is that it's virtually impossible to know exactly why so many colleagues are having a hard time. Translators speaking out leads inevitably to more translators speaking out, which might give a distorted picture. We know nothing about the quality that they deliver or don't deliver, the rates that they apply (I bet more than one colleague is having a hard time because their rates are objectively too high), their willingness or unwillingness to adapt to the changing environment, the efficiency of their work processes etcetera etcetera.
[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-26 08:53 GMT]
You are assuming too much. For example, I am an excellent translator, and all my clients were very happy with my dedication to excellence which I offer for over 18 years... But they decided that if AI translates good enough... why go the extra mile?
AI hurts me because I am normaly a very fast, and accurate translator, and correcting AI's stupid work takes me 3 to 5 times more work and time than translating from scratch.
AI translates badly into Romanian that is a very complex language with many nuances and subtleties. This is what I am trying to explain to my clients, but they will always find a hungry begginer who will work for peanuts... I have established, and honed my knowledge in years of work, and learning, and now AI just dismisses our efforts and reputations, and us as humans. We do not count anymore... Just the money the clients can get forcing us to lower our fees...
[Editat la 2025-02-26 17:45 GMT]
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