| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: The new rates calculator announced at http://www.proz.com/topic/49020 is Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Very amateurish and inflexible (e.g., calculating on an hourly output, while a daily output would be much better).
To me it is not useful at all, and if I were a visitor to this site and saw it, would definitely give me the impression that this is a site for amateur translators, and not professionals, if they needed such feeble props.
Please remove it or replace it with something much better.
| | | | Reed James
Chile
Local time: 05:34
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
Anything that will help me set goals and plan better is worthwhile. What I like about ProZ is that it offers things that I might not have thought of otherwise.
Reed
| | | | Parrot 
Spain
Local time: 11:34
Spanish to English
+ ...
Riccardo Schiaffino wrote:
a daily output would be much better).
I learned to cost international conventions with thousands of attendees based on language ratios, language service workers necessary and man-hours. They're easier to patch up with when something goes wrong.
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Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 03:34
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
It' very useful. Indeed, it's just sums and multiplications but ...
...the important point here is to show the issues related to get a final tax: income, taxes, hardware, working hours.
If new translators learn how this calculator works, they'll love more our profession and defend it from low taxes agencies.
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I would appreciate more a tool that would help me convince agencies to pay me the rates I need to get paid to make my yearly goals....(Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!) =p
P.S. Everybody knows the money they SHOULD be making, the problem is HOW to make it....
| | | | | I find this tool very useful... | Jun 8, 2006 |
...particularly for the new translators who are forever asking us how much to charge. It helps to give them an idea of how much work they need to find in order to make a living, and so on.
However, it can be useful for anyone as a rough ready reckoner for calculating possible price increases for the following year, etc.
I am very pleased to see this new tool, as I think there are many translators, new and not so new, who can make use of it, as long as they know how it c... See more ...particularly for the new translators who are forever asking us how much to charge. It helps to give them an idea of how much work they need to find in order to make a living, and so on.
However, it can be useful for anyone as a rough ready reckoner for calculating possible price increases for the following year, etc.
I am very pleased to see this new tool, as I think there are many translators, new and not so new, who can make use of it, as long as they know how it can help them, and to what extent, and what its limitations are.
Astrid ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It doesn't take a calculator to figure out that our rates are far too low already | Jun 8, 2006 |
The best we can hope for is what the market will bear, and the market has not been very kind to us.
I realize that it's a no-no for associations to set rates, but just yesterday I was going through some old papers from a time when the issue was openly debated.
Here is the truth: Today's average rates, at least for my language combinations, based on the bell curve supplied by ProZ, are LOWER than rates being set by associations, asked by translators, and paid by clients ... See more The best we can hope for is what the market will bear, and the market has not been very kind to us.
I realize that it's a no-no for associations to set rates, but just yesterday I was going through some old papers from a time when the issue was openly debated.
Here is the truth: Today's average rates, at least for my language combinations, based on the bell curve supplied by ProZ, are LOWER than rates being set by associations, asked by translators, and paid by clients 16-20 years ago. And even the Easter bunny knows that the cost of living has gone up since then.
So what do we need a calculator for?
[Edited at 2006-06-08 07:01] ▲ Collapse
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| Somewhat useful | Jun 8, 2006 |
I think it can be a useful base for beginners to assess their costs and get an idea of their earnings but I guess some people will take it for granted and complain when they discover that it does not guarantee anything
After a few years in the business, I prefer calculating my goals on a daily or weekly basis and I know which percentage of my invoices actually go into my private pockets.
| | | | | no offence... | Jun 8, 2006 |
but I agree with Riccardo. It's a bit rubbish, really. If you are in this profession and you don't know this stuff, you'd better pack your case.
Giovanni
[Edited at 2006-06-08 09:14]
| | | | | Good and Simple | Jun 8, 2006 |
It gives you a nice overview what will happen when you change any parameters.
I think the corresponding tool for end clients would be even more interesting:
Expected turnover from the target market vs. business related costs to calculate the allowable costs for translation, proofreading, DTP, website extension, etc.
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Marie-Céline GEORG wrote: I think it can be a useful base for beginners to assess their costs and get an idea of their earnings but I guess some people will take it for granted and complain when they discover that it does not guarantee anything
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Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
If you are in this profession and you don't know this stuff, you'd better pack your case.
Giovanni
[Edited at 2006-06-08 09:14]
And what if someone starts and has no idea how much should charge to live off translations?
No one has to follow the results, but they might give some general idea to those, who have no idea yet.
Personally I find the calculator confusing. It would be more clear to me to give monthly costs, not yearly, as I'm completely not used to year income. I also don't know how many words I translate per hour, but I do know how many per working day (no, I cannot just multiply, bec it wouldn't be the same, I also have breaks for food and making another pottle of tea, and I don't always work the same amount of hours).
Maybe adding a choice (year income/month income, etc.) would make it less cofusing, so everyone can count their way.
Anni
| | | | Voloshka
Local time: 12:34
English to Russian
+ ...
| I have a dream, | Jun 8, 2006 |
a wonderful dream...
| | | | Silvina Matheu
Argentina
Local time: 06:34
Member
English to Spanish
+ ...
| a useful tool | Jun 8, 2006 |
I like it. For those who say they don't need it, just don't use it. I'm sure it's useful for most of us.
And thanks to all the team!
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