Poll: Would you say your translation productivity is up over the past 2 -3 years?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Feb 21, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you say your translation productivity is up over the past 2 -3 years?".

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neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:41
Spanish to English
+ ...
No, it's about the same Feb 21, 2020

Although it may actually be down a bit, because a few years ago things were really frantic and non-stop, whereas this year so far has been relatively calm. I'm not complaining.

Josephine Cassar
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:41
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not really Feb 21, 2020

My productivity was higher when I was younger. Nowadays I take more time with my work. The good news is that the older I get, the more I become aware of solutions that improve my work, so I'm drawing from a broader database. On the other hand, I'm getting old and the brain simply doesn't fire as fast.

laurgi
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:41
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I'm not sure Feb 21, 2020

2/3 years is a very short time frame when one has been translating full-time for over 35 years. I'm probably faster and better in the fields I have specialized in and I’d risk saying that my productivity has increased with age. With experience I don't have to rely so much on dictionaries and other sources of information as I used to. Though I still go through the same moment of doubt when I’m starting a new big job, age has given me the confidence to know that somehow I will manage it.

Christopher Schröder
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Justin Peterson
Justin Peterson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:41
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
Yes ... refining MT use Feb 21, 2020

It went way up when I started using CAT MT tools, and up again when I used to use them more effectively. I can anticipate mistakes they will make, edit rough draft text better, focus on fine-tuning rather than rattling away at the keys...

When I think that years ago I used to - when just starting out and I had no idea - just write the translation below the original. And then go back and erase. Wow. It's like going from a bike to a motorcycle.


M. Carmen Lozano Arnaldos
Jorge Payan
 
Helen Hagon
Helen Hagon  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:41
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
Yes Feb 21, 2020

But that's probably because the children are growing up and gradually becoming more independent. It's still a complicated juggling feat, especially in the school holidays, but making a distinction between work and family time is easier than it used to be.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:41
French to English
. Feb 21, 2020

I don't know. I do know that I'm earning more as a freelancer (I was still translating in-house three years ago) and since I can mostly organise my work around the swimming pool and yoga class schedule, I feel that I'm getting more out of my leisure time.

Er, this afternoon I don't feel as productive as usual because I've taken on a toughie requiring oodles of research, but I'm also having a ball doing it so I don't actually care how productive I'm being! I know that I'll feel like
... See more
I don't know. I do know that I'm earning more as a freelancer (I was still translating in-house three years ago) and since I can mostly organise my work around the swimming pool and yoga class schedule, I feel that I'm getting more out of my leisure time.

Er, this afternoon I don't feel as productive as usual because I've taken on a toughie requiring oodles of research, but I'm also having a ball doing it so I don't actually care how productive I'm being! I know that I'll feel like a star once I've cracked it, and I've never got that feeling from translating fashion catalogues (which I can typically do at a cracking pace).
Collapse


Yetta Jensen Bogarde
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:41
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Little by little Feb 21, 2020

Productivity and accuracy should increase regularly throughout one's career anyway. In addition to that trend, the CATs, and feeding TMs and TBs obviously do their part in that progress as well. After 32 years in the market, though, the difference in 2-3 years is not such a big deal.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 10:41
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes Feb 21, 2020

It goes faster, especially when it is familiar territory.

 


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Poll: Would you say your translation productivity is up over the past 2 -3 years?






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