Poll: What keeps you going in this profession? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What keeps you going in this profession?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | All of the above | Jun 13, 2025 |
Except for financial stability, this profession has always been characterised by job instability, and this characteristic has been getting worse since the Covid era. A bad month is followed by a good month…
| | | | Lieven Malaise 
Belgium
Local time: 12:24
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
I adore my work and almost every aspect of freelancing (freedom, independence, no annoying bosses...). I don't think I can get tired of this.
| | | | | Love the linguistic challenges, but stagnant rates have forced me to transition... | Jun 13, 2025 |
With the dwindling purchasing power from my steady translation income, I felt I had no choice. And it turns out I also enjoy teaching. I'm still serving some long-standing clients (20+ years), but at this point, teaching makes up 60% of my income.
While I thoroughly enjoy a challenging translation, I expect I will be completely out of the business within the next 2 to 3 years.
[Edited at 2025-06-13 10:34 GMT]
[Edited at 2025-06-13 11:17 GMT]
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Daryo
Local time: 11:24
Serbian to English
+ ...
| Various motivations | Jun 13, 2025 |
but the king's ransom offered as 'fair pay' for language services by most would-be clients is certainly not one of them ...
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I guess it's just as well I'm retired - and have sufficient pension income earned several decades ago, in an era when specialist translation paid at least as well, if not better, than all the other professional options that were open to me.
If I were 45 years younger and looking for a career change today, there isn't a cat's chance in hell that I'd take up translation.
JL
| | | | Luca Adie
Germany
Local time: 12:24
German to English
+ ...
It's a job, I'm good at it and, touch wood, I still have enough coming in. I very much enjoy the freedom it gives me. Like others here though, I think I will have to pivot to doing something else in the near future.
| | | | Krys Williams
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:24
Member (2003)
Polish to English
+ ...
I've been a freelance translator since the start of 2004. Through all these years, translation has mostly felt like playing rather than working. I love the fact I have no fixed working hours and nobody trying to micromanage me, so I can work totally on my terms as and when I feel like doing so. It's great to break up the day with periods of gaming or pop into town on a weekday when something interesting is going on or to have lunch or coffee with a friend, and then if necessary work into the nig... See more I've been a freelance translator since the start of 2004. Through all these years, translation has mostly felt like playing rather than working. I love the fact I have no fixed working hours and nobody trying to micromanage me, so I can work totally on my terms as and when I feel like doing so. It's great to break up the day with periods of gaming or pop into town on a weekday when something interesting is going on or to have lunch or coffee with a friend, and then if necessary work into the night or over a weekend to meet a deadline. This freedom more than compensates for the lack of employee benefits and fixed salary. I could well have been earning significantly more if I had stayed within my field of expertise rather than moving into translation, but at a massive personal and psychological cost. ▲ Collapse
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