Poll: Where would you put yourself in your freelance career?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Feb 20, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Where would you put yourself in your freelance career?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:46
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Feb 20, 2019

Somewhere between experienced and veteran...

 
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:46
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Experienced Feb 20, 2019

Veteran makes it sound like you are past your prime.

The industry is changing at light speed so it behooves us to continually update our experience.


Ana Begashvili
neilmac
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:46
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I do agree... Feb 20, 2019

Edward Potter wrote:

Veteran makes it sound like you are past your prime.


That's exactly why I said that I'm in between: I'm getting old but I'm not old yet...


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:46
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Veteran? Feb 20, 2019

Considering "veteran" as the next category after "experienced", as its original meaning in Latin suggests, not the adopted meaning in English, above all because of soldiers that are no longer in service after a war. Veteran does not mean one is beyond their time. It actually means very experienced or expert, IMO. But I learned the word in Portuguese, not in English. To me it sounds like very experienced or an expert. In PT we call students "veteranos" in their junior and senior years. How could ... See more
Considering "veteran" as the next category after "experienced", as its original meaning in Latin suggests, not the adopted meaning in English, above all because of soldiers that are no longer in service after a war. Veteran does not mean one is beyond their time. It actually means very experienced or expert, IMO. But I learned the word in Portuguese, not in English. To me it sounds like very experienced or an expert. In PT we call students "veteranos" in their junior and senior years. How could they be byond any time?

Anyway, there is no standard for this "classification". The number of years is not a parameter, because the person may work as a translator only part-time, like I did for almost 20 years, and these years would represent 20% of a full-time year, or so. The numbers of words translated could also be a criterion. But there are others to consider as well.

[Edited at 2019-02-20 21:40 GMT]
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Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:46
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Veteran Feb 21, 2019

It has been 26 years since I left my in-house translation job. Between my in-house and freelance careers, I have had many wise mentors and colleagues along the way and have learned a lot from them. As long as my clients call me back and pay good rates, I'm happy to continue. But I have no desire to learn CAT tools or reduce my rates just to stay in the business, so in that sense I am definitely a veteran.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:46
Czech to French
+ ...
Veteran Feb 21, 2019

within the original meaning of the word - past my prime and cannot wait to retire.

 
Ana Vozone
Ana Vozone  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:46
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Veteran... and other Feb 21, 2019

... and celebrating this year 40 years as a full-time freelance translator working from my native Portugal, although I started to do freelance work while studying at ISLA (Lisbon) in 1973...

However, I have to say that I am now required to learn and adapt (more than ever before) to new platforms, new techniques, new software, new spelling rules, new types of work and invoicing, which I sometimes complain about but which, in fact, keep me on my toes and in "love" with what I do... See more
... and celebrating this year 40 years as a full-time freelance translator working from my native Portugal, although I started to do freelance work while studying at ISLA (Lisbon) in 1973...

However, I have to say that I am now required to learn and adapt (more than ever before) to new platforms, new techniques, new software, new spelling rules, new types of work and invoicing, which I sometimes complain about but which, in fact, keep me on my toes and in "love" with what I do

[Edited at 2019-02-21 08:27 GMT]
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Tanja Oresnik
Tanja Oresnik  Identity Verified
Slovenia
Local time: 10:46
French to Slovenian
+ ...
Experienced Feb 21, 2019

Experienced, compared to fellow members who posted their years of experience here, as I have worked in the profession since 2002, and as a freelancer since 2007, and perhaps a veteran in automotive industry, as this is the field in which I started my career and am still very active.

 


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Poll: Where would you put yourself in your freelance career?






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