| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you ever been asked to perform a translation on-site? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever been asked to perform a translation on-site?".
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I was asked once some years ago but we couldn't agree on price...
P.S. I should add that I worked as staff translator for 20 years before the teleworking age. So, I was asked everyday to work on-site…
[Edited at 2022-11-04 09:00 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-11-04 11:07 GMT]
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But 25 years ago. No internet just a dictionary
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
Donkeys ago. I don't recall the details.
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I once applied for a temporary project that, for confidentiality reasons, had to be conducted on-site some 800 km from where I live. The project was supposed to be supervised by the agency that advertised the position on proz: They neither had no idea nor had a framework for how to manage travel*, accommodation, and working conditions together with all the associated costs, and they did not offer any or at least a decent basic salary that would have been appropriate and they had no idea what wor... See more I once applied for a temporary project that, for confidentiality reasons, had to be conducted on-site some 800 km from where I live. The project was supposed to be supervised by the agency that advertised the position on proz: They neither had no idea nor had a framework for how to manage travel*, accommodation, and working conditions together with all the associated costs, and they did not offer any or at least a decent basic salary that would have been appropriate and they had no idea what working times the client deems as necessary. If I had offered 5 cents per source word and had spent all costs as mentioned above by myself and had lived for weeks in my car, they would have said "Thanks, that's fine, go ahead!". But, when I started asking questions about all the details, they suddenly lost interest in my application.
* at those times (spring 2021) travel between Germany and the Netherlands was limited because of COVID 19 and there were strict and confusing quarantine rules in place between both countries the agency had no idea of.
[Bearbeitet am 2022-11-04 08:58 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Susanna Martoni 
Italy
Local time: 22:23
Member (2009)
Spanish to Italian
+ ...
About 20 years ago I used to work by a customer of mine. It happened quite often.
Several technical manuals to be translated on his software systems.
So many things have changed since then.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 22:23
French to English
Yes I had to translate super secretive software. The company could have sent me a link to access their system from home, but preferred to pay extra for me to go there to work instead. So it took me longer because I didn't have all my tools and shortcuts and websites listed as favourites, so they paid even more. And it wasn't even anything to do with the military or the secret service.
It was really frustrating because I wasn't told a thing about what I was supposed to do or even the compa... See more Yes I had to translate super secretive software. The company could have sent me a link to access their system from home, but preferred to pay extra for me to go there to work instead. So it took me longer because I didn't have all my tools and shortcuts and websites listed as favourites, so they paid even more. And it wasn't even anything to do with the military or the secret service.
It was really frustrating because I wasn't told a thing about what I was supposed to do or even the company's name. This held me up on the first day because I only had the name of the person I was to meet, and there were several different companies in the building. And I hadn't been able to prepare anything or do any prior research.
Another time, during the pandemic, I was asked to go in to work on site for a company launching a new product. They were having to deal with journalists tuning in virtually and thought that having to deal with translators working virtually too would be too much. The fact that everyone involved had told them that freelance translators had all been working remote long before Covid and would have no problem translating from home was just too complicated.
It fell through because they wanted me to come in the day before for training and I wasn't available for that. I suggested coming in earlier or tuning in from home but they were just totally inflexible. I then recommended another translator who I know has already worked in their industry, and it didn't work out with her either, at a time when most translators working in the arts had practically no work.
Also, when I asked what measures would be taken to ensure that the translators weren't infected with Covid while working on-site, I was met with stunned silence. I could hear them thinking "what, translators are human?". ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:23
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
When I was starting out as a translator, a client paid me a "retainer" to come to his office for 2 hours each day to translate whatever materials he might have for translation. This arrangement lasted about 3 weeks before the client realised that he did not, after all, have as much stuff to translate. I was not compensated for travel expenses (about 4 hours a day) but as I said, I was just starting out.
I once had to travel to a nearby town to do a translation on a client's own com... See more When I was starting out as a translator, a client paid me a "retainer" to come to his office for 2 hours each day to translate whatever materials he might have for translation. This arrangement lasted about 3 weeks before the client realised that he did not, after all, have as much stuff to translate. I was not compensated for travel expenses (about 4 hours a day) but as I said, I was just starting out.
I once had to travel to a nearby town to do a translation on a client's own computer. The client paid my per-word rate plus the cost of the train ticket. I believe the client wanted me to be there in case one of the authors of the text (who were also in the office) might have a question for me. I accepted this task because I had hoped that it might lead to greater things (it didn't).
A client once asked me to travel to another city on the other side of the country to interview a couple of potential users of his document, to find out if they understand the translation correctly (cog deb review). I urged the client to use a local translator, but they "trusted only me". The client paid for the airplane tickets, car rental, a night's accommodation, and 1 hour for the actual work, which took about 20 minutes. This was before video conferencing was a thing.
[Edited at 2022-11-04 09:19 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 22:23
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
...but I have been asked to work on-site as the in-country reviewer for a translation client. This would have either entailed 4 hours per day on public transport (assuming at least some punctuality) or daily parking on the wonderful "Autobahnen" around Germany's congestion capital. Needless to say, I respectfully declined.
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I recall applying for a PM position and after interviewing me in different languages they asked me to perform a translation without dictionary or computer. That happened some 15 years ago. I wanted to get into the company so badly I did it but I recall having huge difficulty with the hand writing since I was not using it since school 🤦🏻♀️
| | | | | in ancient times | Nov 4, 2022 |
Long ago, before computers and the Internet, I and a couple of others had to translate the documentation for an important tender.
I probably took my own dictionaries along, really don't remember.
And everything was done on an electric typewriter.
I don't even remember how they contacted me, maybe through the language school where I was teaching.
| | | | | Many years ago | Nov 4, 2022 |
About 25 years ago I worked with an Italian design company in the auto sector - all very top secret (NDAs, areas in the company I wasn't allowed to enter, nothing could be taken out of the building, etc.) - but it was good, with some nice people and I enjoyed it. I built up a huge glossary, which I've still got, and learnt a lot. And it was extremely well paid (by my standards, back then).
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| A few times a year | Nov 4, 2022 |
I do translation work at sports events, which is fun and keeps me on my toes.
By the end of the tournament, I realize once again that nothing beats being my own boss at my own place and pace.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 22:23
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Marta Valdés Enríquez wrote:
I recall ... they asked me to perform a translation without dictionary or computer.
I, too, was required to do a test translation in long hand for an in-house position in 1999. There was also a "computer skills" test component, during which I was asked to do the translation of 3-4 sentences in Notepad, possibly to see if I can truly type 20 words per minute without errors, as I had claimed. (I got the job in the end and worked for the company for 5 years, never once having to do any translations in long hand.)
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I have been asked - but declined.
The only tasks I have taken on were interpreting, but only a few.
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