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The State of Freelance Translation
 
Keywords
freelancer, CAT tools, translation, translation management, vendor management, machine translation

Abstract
Freelance translators comprise the materia mundi of the translation universe, the substance from which everything else is constructed. Their views, practices, and predilections – while often neglected by translation packagers (vendors) and purchasers (buyers) – deserve study and attention. In this report, we take our first peek at the life and livelihood of the independent translator.

In May 2009, Common Sense Advisory conducted a survey of 381 unaffiliated translation professionals in the language services sector. We asked independent contractors about their level of education, what tools they own, how they receive jobs, what types of companies they work for, how quickly they get paid, how much they earn, and more.
  • Vox Populi. In this section, we summarize survey results about demographics, finances, technology adoption, and tool preferences.
  • Analysis. Here we interpret what we learned from the survey and outline the conclusions that technology vendors, language service providers, and translation buyers should make about freelancers. We recommend what employers should look for in freelancers, and suggest a range of improvements that tool suppliers should make to their products.

Physical Details
Authors: Donald A. DePalma and Benjamin B. Sargent
Date: 04 June 2009
ISBN: 978-1-933555-66-9
Pages: 40

Companies:
Acclaro, Across, Alchemy, Apple, Aquarius, Atril, DocZone, Facebook, GoTranslators, Heartsome, IBM, Idiom, Kilgray, LinkedIn, Logoport, MetaTexis, McElroy, Microsoft, OmegaT, Passolo, POEdit, ProZ, SDL, STAR, TAUS, Trados, TRADUguide, TranslatorsBase, TranslationDirectory, TranslatorZone, Trisoft, WordFast, Terminotix, text&form, Translators Cafe, Ubuntu, Vasont, XyEnterprise

Table of Contents
  • Topic
    • Structure of this Report
    • Research Related to Freelancers in the Translation Ecosystem
  • Vox Populi
    • European and American Respondents Dominated Our Survey
    • Self-Employed Translators Work across a Range of Industries
      • How Quickly Freelancers Are Paid Depends on Who Is Paying
      • Self-Employed Translators Can Earn a Decent Living
      • Freelancers Flock Together in Associations and Social Networks
    • Translation Automation Is Widely Used and Broadly Interpreted
      • Freelancers Use a Variety of Tools, but Several Dominate
      • E-mail and FTP Outscore Formal Workflow and Portals in Job Management
      • Machine Translation Has Yet to Become a Tool of Choice
    • What Freelancers Think of the CAT Tools on Offer
      • Regular Users of CAT Tools See Benefits
      • Translators Think that Tools Cost Too Much
      • Feature, Function, and Usability Concern Freelancers
      • Freelancers Desire Compatibility and Cross-Technology Integration
      • Some Freelancers Believe in a Tools Conspiracy Theory
      • Mac Users Need Not Apply
    • Summary of Our Survey of Freelance Translators
  • Analysis
    • Freelancers Sit at the Center of the Translation Universe
    • Freelancers and CAT Tools Face a Sliding Scale of Automation
      • Increasing Content Demands Accelerate Need for Automation
      • For Transactional Translators, Automation Is Mandatory
    • What Vendors, Managers Should Look for in Freelancers
    • Globalization Software Vendors Must Evolve Their Products
      • Near-Term Fixes Will Make CAT Tools More Attractive to Freelancers
      • Longer Payback Improvements Will Bring CAT Tools into the 21st Century
  • Implications
  • Figures
    • Figure 1: Where the Freelance Translator Respondents Live and Work
    • Figure 2: Age Distribution in the Freelance Translation Corps
    • Figure 3: Freelance Translators Achieve High Levels of Education
    • Figure 4: Where Freelancer Translators Work
    • Figure 5: When Freelancers Get Paid by their Clients
    • Figure 6: How Much Freelancers Earn in a Year
    • Figure 7: Sixty Percent of Freelancers Work 30 or More Hours per Week
    • Figure 8: ProZ and LinkedIn Lead Freelancer Association Preferences
    • Figure 9: The Software Tools that Freelance Translators Use
    • Figure 10: The Language Tools that Freelancers Own or Get from LSPs
    • Figure 11: The Language Tools that Freelancer Download and Want
    • Figure 12: How Freelancers Receive their Jobs
    • Figure 13: Use of Machine Translation by Freelancers
  • Tables
    • Table 1: Translation Types, Automation, and Freelancers
    • Table 2: Calculating Complexity for Translation Management
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