| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Off topic: Any other Italian translators having a quiet period? Thread poster: Bethany Kachura
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For the past 3 weeks or so, my work has completely dried up. I normally plenty of receive assignments from around five different agencies, but all of a sudden is went dead silent. I'm an IT>EN translator. Has Italy shut shop for the summer or something? I don't remember it being quite this quiet in previous summers...
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Deleted post. | | Not only in Italy | Jul 6, 2021 |
Jobs are like the weather, they come and go. Had a absolute great June, July till sofar is quiet, but hey, the month has just started!
| | | | Jo Macdonald 
Spain
Local time: 07:28
Italian to English
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...is to provide a quality service and increase your rates.
If your rates are "Italian to English - Rates: 0.04 - 0.06 EUR per word" as it says in your profile, the agencies imposing these rates are always looking for someone cheaper and faster (which will ultimately be a machine working for free), rather than someone who's good. The same goes for the clients of those agencies who will always be looking for a cheaper deal and are not bothered about quality; if "your clients" are always sho... See more ...is to provide a quality service and increase your rates.
If your rates are "Italian to English - Rates: 0.04 - 0.06 EUR per word" as it says in your profile, the agencies imposing these rates are always looking for someone cheaper and faster (which will ultimately be a machine working for free), rather than someone who's good. The same goes for the clients of those agencies who will always be looking for a cheaper deal and are not bothered about quality; if "your clients" are always shopping around for the cheapest deal, don't expect to retain many with low rates.
Bethany Kachura wrote:
I normally plenty of receive assignments from around five different agencies, but all of a sudden is went dead silent.
I've been working solidly all year at twice those rates. July is a bit slow so far but it's a weird year due to pandemic uncertainty and everything. All the same there is well-paid work out there. I turn down job offers almost every day, such as the PEMT job for €0.11/word yesterday. ▲ Collapse
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Like the others, I have seen a slight drop off in July but coming out of two manic months, I am almost relieved. Feast or famine is the name of the game ...and summer months in Italy are always unpredictable. Personally this year, for the first time ever, I have decided to take 2 weeks holiday in August - if the pandemic has taught me anything, it is to enjoy the downtime, and not obsess about being busy all the time. Hang in there - things will pick up ... See more Like the others, I have seen a slight drop off in July but coming out of two manic months, I am almost relieved. Feast or famine is the name of the game ...and summer months in Italy are always unpredictable. Personally this year, for the first time ever, I have decided to take 2 weeks holiday in August - if the pandemic has taught me anything, it is to enjoy the downtime, and not obsess about being busy all the time. Hang in there - things will pick up ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule | Sabrina Bruna
Italy
Local time: 07:28
Member (2013)
English to Italian
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I had a very busy June, July seems a bit quieter, but not that much.
Bethany, probably many companies are already closed for the summer holidays or have still little work, and consequently fewer translation jobs for us, due to the pandemic.
Sabrina
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule |
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| Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: Quoted post removed. |
yes, it's a low rate, but from that to imply that the OP provides low quality is rather harsh. It seems like a quiet period to me. Do people here really believe that 5 agencies would completely disappear because all of a sudden and simultaneously they've realised she is providing low quality work?
And believe it or not, €0,06 is £0,05 and lots of people work at that rate in the UK. Not me, but it's not uncommon.
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Bethany Kachura wrote:
For the past 3 weeks or so, my work has completely dried up. I normally plenty of receive assignments from around five different agencies, but all of a sudden is went dead silent. I'm an IT>EN translator. Has Italy shut shop for the summer or something? I don't remember it being quite this quiet in previous summers...
Dry spells are part and parcel of being a freelancer. It's a good time to fit in some marketing, business planning or CPD. You can bet that as soon as you get engrossed in a project the work will come flooding in again.
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| July seems kind of odd so far | Jul 7, 2021 |
One of my language pairs is totally dead and quiet. Another is suddenly surprisingly active.
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Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 02:28
Portuguese to English
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| Very bad here | Jul 7, 2021 |
I can't say anything about Italian translators (non abito in Italia) but here in Brazil things have been bad for years. We do get the occasional improvement but nowhere near what we need to pay our bills.
| | | | | Improve your profile | Jul 8, 2021 |
Paul Dixon wrote:
I can't say anything about Italian translators (non abito in Italia) but here in Brazil things have been bad for years. We do get the occasional improvement but nowhere near what we need to pay our bills.
I take it that you are talking of your very own personal situation, although the general situation may be bad in Brazil for translators of your language combination. But you are high-ranking in the proz directory because of your KudoZ points, and perhaps you should hone your profile a bit (with the help of some friends). I don't want to be offensive, but have a look into the below discussion (provided link) and draw your own conclusion:
https://www.proz.com/forum/off_topic/345337-have_you_ever_been_marginalized_because_of_your_occupational_status_as_a_translator-page5.html#2915780
| | | | Bethany Kachura
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:28
Italian to English
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TOPIC STARTER
Well, I decided just to ask the agencies directly and turns out yes, they're just experiencing the quieter summer period. They say as soon as they have any jobs they'll send them to me. So I'm just going to enjoy the time off.
Thank you to those who (courteously) gave me advice and tried to help me suss this out.
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