Poll: Have you received fewer projects lately from current clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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With the exception of two extraordinary busy years in 2016 and 2017 and a slow year in 2020 (Covid), my volume has been increasing steadily, though lately I have been noticing that the ride is a lot bumpier than I was used to…
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 19:47
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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January and February were somewhat out of the ordinary in a sense that I had a few slower periods that I was luckily able to mostly compensate through a few periods of extra hard work. March, however, is a good old extremely busy already fully booked month, which means that I'm eventually heading to my second best first quarter ever.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 19:47
Spanish to English
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| About the same | Mar 16, 2023 |
This week is a bit quiet, but I still have enough work to keep me ticking over. All in all, I'm probably less busy than a couple of years ago, or before the pandemic, when I was often snowed under with work.
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| Language pair German Romanian | Mar 16, 2023 |
I have experienced a decrease in the volume of work for the language pair German-Romanian. I have always been busy as a bee, but since last September my workload is significantly lower for this language combination.
| | | | | Totally... I'm suffering a "drought" | Mar 16, 2023 |
It's been a long three months since I had any significant projects. It makes me feel anxious: do I suck? Is it the market? Are my skills no longer relevant? Where do I need to update them? MTPE? ChatGPT taking over? Global economic slowdown? Should I join one of those over-the-phone interpreting companies that pay pennies? Go back to teaching? Perhaps joining the army, since war seems the only thing thriving right now? So much uncertainty right now.
| | | | Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:47
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Demand seems fairly stable | Mar 16, 2023 |
Some short-term fluctuations, of course, but not seeing either significant (non-seasonal) increases or decreases.
Dan
| | | | Vincenzo Di Maso
Portugal
Local time: 18:47
Member (2009)
English to Italian
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| Seasonal decrease | Mar 16, 2023 |
I am experiencing a seasonal decrease. Italian market is sort of a jungle. Translators are decreasing their rates and translation companies are unwilling to pay what they used to pay in the past. A few agencies make up excuses claiming that they haven't many requests into Italian, but I eventually find out that this is untrue. The rate issue is critical
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When I receive projects lately, I deliver lately too, is only fair
| | | | | gradual decline | Mar 18, 2023 |
This year I am experiencing a gradual decline in volume while my costs are growing. This month we relocated to another city after the earthquake and everything is more expensive here. Since the pandemic I'd been considering to stop freelancing and start doing something else, but the volume had grown so much in the last three years that I didn't really have the time to think about what could be an alternative. Now I have so much time on my hand and I am feeling that the change is around the corne... See more This year I am experiencing a gradual decline in volume while my costs are growing. This month we relocated to another city after the earthquake and everything is more expensive here. Since the pandemic I'd been considering to stop freelancing and start doing something else, but the volume had grown so much in the last three years that I didn't really have the time to think about what could be an alternative. Now I have so much time on my hand and I am feeling that the change is around the corner. It seems it has to happen earlier than I expected and all those silly ideas I have had along the last three years started looking very realistic now. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 21:47
Member
English to Turkish
| I sympathize | Mar 19, 2023 |
Metin Demirel wrote:
This year I am experiencing a gradual decline in volume while my costs are growing. This month we relocated to another city after the earthquake and everything is more expensive here. Since the pandemic I'd been considering to stop freelancing and start doing something else, but the volume had grown so much in the last three years that I didn't really have the time to think about what could be an alternative. Now I have so much time on my hand and I am feeling that the change is around the corner. It seems it has to happen earlier than I expected and all those silly ideas I have had along the last three years started looking very realistic now.
I don't know how long you've been working as a freelance translator or if you were in a different line of work before that, but this is one job that literally murders one's people skills. Unless you have some other skills like programming, web development, teaching etc. up your sleeve, I can't see how you can get out of translation after a certain age, and find an office job, dealing with people in the flesh. It's like the bleeding Mafia, once you're in, you can't get out.
Having said this, though, I did try my hand at other ventures, in my futile attempt to leave this desk-bound, eye-screwing, back-breaking job. I launched some online personal growth and mentoring courses on freelance translation, but failed to make any decent money out of it. It seems like everyone and their mother is running one 'Mastermind course' or another to fleece the gullible these days, and people are starting to get wise to them. Besides, the do-gooders on these forums are giving away most of the trade secrets to the newbies free of charge, and thereby unwittingly cooking our goose (damn them!). So the scam is no longer working there...
But, 'lately' (to stay relevant to the topic being discussed) I've discovered a new money making opportunity: Law! I've found that threatening people with the strong arm of the law is working surprisingly well. We're charging astronomical hourly rates to review translator NDAs (just skimming them through really) and check translator CVs, advising them whether or not to include the names of certain end clients to avoid legal complications (all commonsense, but nothing beats paying top dollar to buy that 'peace of mind', and who I am to deny people that?)
The scheme is going well at the moment, and I intend to milk it for all it's worth until the 'do-gooders brigade' start doling out legal advice for free out of sheer altruism. So, gotta make hay while the sun shines, what?
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