Poll: Are you satisfied with your income as a freelance translator/interpreter? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | Lieven Malaise 
Belgium
Local time: 16:50
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
It provides me with everything me and my familiy need and then some more. I don't think I would be able to earn the same, let alone more, in employment.
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Some days ago, a colleague during a Forum exchange suggested that this Quick Poll should be repeated as things have changed a lot since the last time it was run, so I proposed it.
My income from freelancing has more than halved. More than everything else, it has become extremely irregular, a good month is inevitably followed by a terrible month. Most demands are post-editing and translation per se is no more required…
| | | | | Down to a third or a quarter of what it used to be! | 11:16 |
I survived 2025 on the lower end of my usual turnover, but from January 2026, my monthly translation income has fallen abruptly by 67 to 75% compared to "before".
Clearly not enough for my lavish standard of living.
Now that I am at the sadder end of my fifties, I'm looking into becoming a part-time professional football player to supplement my translation income.
Good luck everyone.
Philippe
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| Volatility is the name of the game | 12:25 |
July has been a good month, the best of 2026. May and June, however, were so and so. It seems that the industry is slowly recovering, but... workflow has never been so irregular. Good luck to everyone.
| | | | Gregor Trebec
Slovenia
Local time: 16:50
English to Slovenian
+ ...
Old people are right. There is no future in the web, or income for that matter.
| | | | Gregor Trebec
Slovenia
Local time: 16:50
English to Slovenian
+ ...
Interesting enough, when you start critisizing Proz, an job ad comes in the inbox.
| | | | | No. And I am tired of ridiculous offers! | 13:17 |
Gregor Trebec wrote:
Interesting enough, when you start critisizing Proz, an job ad comes in the inbox.
This was today's priceless offer!
Hello team, This is Salma from VM team at BXXXX-Txch. I hope you are doing well. We have an urgent project from English into Greenlandic and are currently looking for qualified linguists who can support both translation and revision.
Project Details
1. Language Pair: English → Greenlandic
2. Services: Translation + Revision
3. Volume: Approximately 16,000 words
4. Content: Marketing
5. Deadline: 3 August or earlier at the latest
6. Important: The deadline is strict and cannot be extended, as post-DTP work will follow immediately. If you are available and interested, please confirm the following as soon as possible: 1. Whether you can meet the deadline 2. Your best translation and revision rate per word 3. Your blind CV Please note that the project is urgent, so we would appreciate your prompt response. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
I am not a member of their team. I've never heard of them.
I live in Denmark, but I only translate into English - and Greenlandic is not a dialect of Danish, just as e.g. Welsh is not a dialect of English ... It is from a completely different family of languages.
Today is Thursday July 30th. They want 16,000 words by Monday 3 August. OK, I'm a freelancer, but what do you do in your weekends? Even if I did translate into Greenlandic, I would need 7 or 8 working days with sleep and coffee breaks. Marketing has to be localized, or at least worded to sound interesting!
Best rate? What about rush fees?
'Blind CV?' My selling point is my personal touch and accumulated experience. But I have none in Greenlandic, so never mind.
Needless to say, I did not answer.
I AM satisfied with the rates from a couple of clients who still pay as they did in the good old days, but they don't send enough work to live on. July was the best month this year, and I have a couple of small jobs lined up for August already, but not enough to live on.
I am more or less unemployable in any other job, but mercifully I have my pension.
I really respect people who are adapting and surviving in the business!
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Peter Motte
Belgium
Local time: 16:50
Member (2009)
Dutch to Flemish
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| Probably coincidence | 13:52 |
Gregor Trebec wrote:
Interesting enough, when you start critisizing Proz, an job ad comes in the inbox.
Probably coincidence
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Me too, I'm tired of ridiculous offers. The very last one:
"Hello All,
Greetings of the day
We are excited to announce a new long-term AI Content Rewriting Project and are currently looking for experienced Content Rewriters to join our growing team.
This project involves working with AI-generated content and refining it to make it more natural, accurate, engaging, and culturally appropriate. If you have a strong command of English,
excellent writing skills, ... See more Me too, I'm tired of ridiculous offers. The very last one:
"Hello All,
Greetings of the day
We are excited to announce a new long-term AI Content Rewriting Project and are currently looking for experienced Content Rewriters to join our growing team.
This project involves working with AI-generated content and refining it to make it more natural, accurate, engaging, and culturally appropriate. If you have a strong command of English,
excellent writing skills, and experience in content rewriting, editing, localization, or AI-related linguistic tasks, we would be happy to connect with you.
Project Details
* Language: Portuguese Portugal
* Compensation: USD 14 per hour
* Project Type: Long-term
Key Responsibilities
* Rewrite and improve AI-generated content to ensure it is fluent, natural, and easy to understand.
* Refine and optimize AI prompts to produce high-quality and contextually accurate responses.
* Ensure linguistic accuracy, grammatical correctness, and cultural relevance throughout the content.
* Maintain consistency in tone, terminology, and writing style based on project guidelines.
* Review and edit content to meet the client's quality standards and project requirements.
* Deliver assigned tasks within the agreed timelines while maintaining high-quality output.
If you are interested in being a part of this exciting opportunity, please complete the application form below:
(deleted by me)
Our team will carefully review all applications and reach out to shortlisted candidates with the next steps in the hiring process.
We look forward to receiving your application and welcoming you to our team."
It goes without saying that my hourly rate is nowhere near 14 EUR! ▲ Collapse
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