| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] > | How much do you make? Thread poster: Vytautas Kacerauskis
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Paul Dixon 
Brazil
Local time: 06:55
Portuguese to English
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In memoriam | I would never inform my exact income | May 30, 2010 |
I agree with Nicole here, I would never say how much I earn - as a matter or personal security.
This issue is in the news right now in São Paulo, as São Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab (a very bad mayor in my opinion) has decided to publish all the City's accounts on the Internet, including the name, salary, professional category, place of work and address of all civil servants working for the City Administration. His reason for so doing is that of "transparency" - fine when talking a... See more I agree with Nicole here, I would never say how much I earn - as a matter or personal security.
This issue is in the news right now in São Paulo, as São Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab (a very bad mayor in my opinion) has decided to publish all the City's accounts on the Internet, including the name, salary, professional category, place of work and address of all civil servants working for the City Administration. His reason for so doing is that of "transparency" - fine when talking about contracts and Government spending, as corruption and overpricing are rife here - but what advantage is there in listing people's salaries and, even worse, addresses? It would be better just to say "Education Department - R$ xxxxx" (giving the total for the department but not the individual salaries).
Needless to say, many people do not agree with Mr Kassab's measure. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Nicole Schnell wrote:
As if anyone would disclose their annual income in a public forum and to anyone other than their tax accountant and the tax authorities.
If you've told the tax authorities the truth about your income, then why hide it from the rest of the world, Nicole?
Well, since I’m not a politician, I do hope that my tax office does not disclose to the public how much or how little I earn.
Greetings from a SA fan Ewa
[Edited at 2010-05-30 20:15 GMT]
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:55
Flemish to English
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| Apples and Oranges | May 30, 2010 |
vytautask wrote:
continuing my previous response, I wanted to add that the seemingly high wages for in-house EU translators are not only a reflection of their supposedly high qualifications (not always true), but also a compensation for having to leave your country, possibly your family and go live in a country with usually much higher living costs. Also a compensation for an enormously lengthy period of exams, interviews and other recruitment procedures if you apply through EPSO (may last up to two years or so from your application to actual recruitment)
And a large number of linguists are recruited not through EPSO, but as temporary staff to work for periods ranging from 10 months to 3 years. With no guarantees of extension. And obviously with no guarantess that once you return to your country, you'll find your old clients waiting for you with open arms. These short-term opportunities really seem to me as suited only for starting, inexperienced translators.
For the "pain" of leaving their country, they get a compensation too as well as a travel allowance. The further away the home country, the higher the compensation and nowadays waiting procedures of a competition are 9-12 months.
Average cost of living well in Belgium about 1850 euros for one person, but due to the greed of the Belgian authorities, not many persons (Jan Belg et Jean Belge) outside the "staffers" make that much. Au contraire, the average Belgian family relies on the second income to make ends (mortgage) meet.
Average income hovers around 1600 euros.
With regard to Luxembourg, it has the highest average income (67500 euros p.a.) in the entire E.U. , which makes it normal that the price of rent and real-estate there is high.
Question is should you take the average Lithouanian freelancer, the average Belgian freelancer, the average US-freelancer, the average Brazilian freelancer?
| | | | | A useless conversation | May 30, 2010 |
Sorry folks, but this is a pretty useless conversation. Disclosing this information will not say much, I'm affraid, as the cost of living varies so much. I just watched a TV programme about Uzbekistan, and if a translator from Uzbekistan said to me that he made 1,000 euros a month I would personally consider him/her a tremendously wealthy person.
[Edited at 2010-05-30 15:36 GMT]
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| Do you really know what Internet is all about? | May 30, 2010 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Nicole Schnell wrote:
As if anyone would disclose their annual income in a public forum and to anyone other than their tax accountant and the tax authorities.
If you've told the tax authorities the truth about your income, then why hide it from the rest of the world, Nicole?
Sorry Samuel, but this is quite a surprising question, coming from you. Do you really think this information is something that can be shared with the world? I don't think so. Unfortunately, in so many cultures (including mine) successful people are the target of all forms of nosiness, envy, and greed, and revealing that you are successful is always a risk. It is a big mistake to talk about your income with your neighbours, and the Web multiplies that mistake by a million.
| | | | | not pointless | May 30, 2010 |
Tomas,
Well, the discussion is not pointless. What you just said means that from now on you DO HAVE AN IDEA what a 1000 bucks in Uzbekistan means. Just as I know from my experience what 1000 dollars per month would mean in Brussels, Luxembourg, New York etc. That would mean almost poverty. Most educated people, even without personal experience, would know that living costs in a small East European town will probably be lower than those in Brussels. So if my colleage from, say, Belgi... See more Tomas,
Well, the discussion is not pointless. What you just said means that from now on you DO HAVE AN IDEA what a 1000 bucks in Uzbekistan means. Just as I know from my experience what 1000 dollars per month would mean in Brussels, Luxembourg, New York etc. That would mean almost poverty. Most educated people, even without personal experience, would know that living costs in a small East European town will probably be lower than those in Brussels. So if my colleage from, say, Belgium, tells me that despote working very hard and despite being very qualified he makes, say 1500 eur per month, I would be able to say that the translator profession in that country does not rank very high, that it is either undervalued in Belgium, or overvalued in Lithuania.
My wish was not to compare translators between different countries, but to see how translators rank among other professionals within the same countries. To see if the prestige and the actual incomes allows them to live comfortable lives and feel self confident. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | envy? realy? | May 30, 2010 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Unfortunately, in so many cultures (including mine) successful people are the target of all forms of nosiness, envy, and greed, and revealing that you are successful is always a risk. It is a big mistake to talk about your income with your neighbours, and the Web multiplies that mistake by a million.
Tomás,
Well, from what has been shared in under this topic we can hardly expect anyone to envy us... If the best place financially for a translator is to work foran EU institution. as some have suggested, then its a said story. There's hardly any reason to consider ourselves very sucessful. If we mean financial sucess, of course.
But if anyone feels very sucessful from the financial standpoint, he or she does not need to state exact amounts (as I have numerously mentioned); you could just state: "I make enough to live confortably, I realy do well financially, I compare very favourably in my country with other professionaals, and I find this occupation financially rewarding, my colleagues do fine too... etc etc." I don't really see why we should be afraid to say that, especially in a TRANSLATOR FORUM... Really, I do not understand this fear. I could easily say that in front of the full national TV audience... if someone asked me and if that was actually true (it is not). Incomes of so many people are public - politicians, sports players, many businessmen... I wouldn't mind the world knowing about my income, ESPECIALLY if it was something to brag about (although I would never do that on purpose to make other people feel inferior).
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
. It is a big mistake to talk about your income with your neighbours, and the Web multiplies that mistake by a million.
You don't need to talk to your neigbour about your income. He can easily see it from the car you drive.:)
Our incomes are pretty much obvious to others without them looking into our pay-checks or bank accounts. And if anyone is really really interested in how much you make, my guess is they already know it...
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| It's just human nature | May 30, 2010 |
vytautask wrote:
Really, I do not understand this fear. I could easily say that in front of the full national TV audience...
If you made a pile of money every year and said it on TV... you would probably regret it in the long run. Envy (along with sex, perhaps) is an old driver in the human mind, and if your neighbours knew that you made a pile of money... you would start losing smiles around. BTW: Isn't envy the main driver of socialism? (Use any means -peaceful or not, fair or not, legal or not-- to grab the money of those who are successful, and spread it around in tiny pieces of poverty while you call that "social justice" and look like the people's saviour; it serves the rich people right, as they probably stole it all from the people!).
The only way you can be free from envy and its consequences is to avoid any expression or visual appearance of wealth in and around your home. This is a practice as old as the world, and you sure have heard of stories of that old strange woman driving a rusty 70's Citroën 2CV and who's never visited the local coiffeur but leaves a true fortune to some ONG when she dies. I am sure she was a lot freer than those who were insensible enough to voice their wealth all around the region.
[Edited at 2010-05-30 16:26 GMT]
| | | | | objects of envy | May 30, 2010 |
Potential objects of envy are not our incomes and acounts, but the immediately visible things - the new BMW you drive, the big house you live in, the top private school you send your kids to. I'd really like to be in a position to attract some envy, but my guess is few of us here really run that risk with the incomes that have been quoted.
As for the old lady pretending she's poorer than she actually is, I have anot actually heard of many cases of such behaviour in our country. Thou... See more Potential objects of envy are not our incomes and acounts, but the immediately visible things - the new BMW you drive, the big house you live in, the top private school you send your kids to. I'd really like to be in a position to attract some envy, but my guess is few of us here really run that risk with the incomes that have been quoted.
As for the old lady pretending she's poorer than she actually is, I have anot actually heard of many cases of such behaviour in our country. Though I admit having read/heard about that from abroad. In my society the opposite is more frequent. People buying big houses and luxury cars even if they can't afford them - just to impress others around them. I'm not saying this is wise. As for myself, I would neither hide nor demonstrate my wealth on purpose. I live according to the means I actually have, I don't have piles of money, what I earn is pretty much obvious from what I own/have/do. If I can afford a vacation in Seychelles, I'll take it. And if someone asks where I'm going , I'll tell'em. The problem for me is not how to hide anything - it's how to make enough to afford it. But, of course, there are cultural differences between countries. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:55
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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I've just remembered a British officer I worked with; he told me a guy ( a random passer-by) approached him out of the blue somewhere in Nepal and asked him " how much money do you make?"
LOL
I apologize to the topic starter, but my guess is that such questions are usually asked by the people who are:
a) obsessed with wealth
b) wanna compare their wealth with others, see it as an Olympic sport ( instead of comparing it with themselves - i.e. the righ... See more I've just remembered a British officer I worked with; he told me a guy ( a random passer-by) approached him out of the blue somewhere in Nepal and asked him " how much money do you make?"
LOL
I apologize to the topic starter, but my guess is that such questions are usually asked by the people who are:
a) obsessed with wealth
b) wanna compare their wealth with others, see it as an Olympic sport ( instead of comparing it with themselves - i.e. the right way to compare it would be: I made X 5 years ago, now I make Y) - I see no point in comparing it with other people?
c) the fraud and con category
In many cultures it is regarded very offensive, like asking something very personal and inconvenient.
You may reveal it on the national TV, but why do you think anyone would be interested in hearing it? ▲ Collapse
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The reasons for my question have been clearly stated in my original question. They have nothing to do with either a, b or c you mention.
I don't understand people intefering into a topic and having nothing to contribute. YOu have already stated your dissatisfaciton with the question, there's no reason posting empty responses to it.
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by the way, there's not a culture on earth where a mere question about income is considered OFFENSIVE... Unless you know someone actually has no income and just ask it to humiliate them. Intrusive it might be if you ask it someone directly IN PERSON and leave no chance to them to avoid a response. But a question given to a wide forum audience, where everyone is free to choose to respond or to completel ignore it, is neither intrusive, no offensive.
| | | | Zamira B.
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:55
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Sorry folks, but this is a pretty useless conversation. Disclosing this information will not say much, I'm affraid, as the cost of living varies so much. I just watched a TV programme about Uzbekistan, and if a translator from Uzbekistan said to me that he made 1,000 euros a month I would personally consider him/her a tremendously wealthy person.
[Edited at 2010-05-30 15:36 GMT]
Tomás, as a translator living in Uzbekistan I can vouch that 1,000 euros a month could be comfortable, yes, especially if you are single, but will not make you "tremendously wealthy". Most people have to save up to buy or build a property without a mortgage. Grocery, childcare, medical expenses, decent clothing, etc. will all add up.
Basically, if you want to live here like in the West, it would cost you like in the West, if not more.
| | | | | Sheep in Uzbekistan | May 30, 2010 |
Zamira wrote:
Tomás, as a translator living in Uzbekistan I can vouch that 1,000 euros a month could be comfortable, yes, especially if you are single, but will not make you "tremendously wealthy". Most people have to save up to buy or build a property without a mortgage. Grocery, childcare, medical expenses, decent clothing, etc. will all add up.
Basically, if you want to live here like in the West, it would cost you like in the West, if not more.
Thanks Zamira for sharing this insight.
In the Spanish TV programme, shepherds were interviewed (yes, very much the "how much do you make" thing) who sold the wool of each sheep for the equivalent of 30 cents of euro. They had 500 sheep (for 2 families) and sheared their sheep twice in the year. A quick calculation reveals that they made... 150 euros a year!! Try to live on that for a week in any European city. But each father could have several wives (one of them had three wives), each with several children, and live an apparently happy life.
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