Based on an idea by Cristina Pereira.
K, at 0.02 €/USD per word I think I could buy some food to survive ;) , but I wouldn't be able to pay my mortgage!
Some readers have remarked in the past that 0.01 €/USD per word is very common in their part of the world. Therefore, I decided to remove the currency sign, so visitors can imagine the currency they want.
Cristina, I know what you mean. Personally, I usually accept volume discounts, but only in cases where "more words" mean "less work per word", and such is often the case with engineering documents. Sometimes volume can even represent more work per word, e.g. multiple authors and problems of consistency.
Yeah, the bargaining tactic is very common in this market, but I think you got a decimal point wrong.
Neither €0.02 not $0.02 is common among people who work professionally. As a beginner 20 years ago, I charged $0.06. Now, I charge translation agencies $0.18 to $0.23 for non-rush projects, more than that when it is rush, and agencies double or triple that to the end client.
Hi Oskar, thank you for your comment.
This blog is intended to be humorous and its characters are parodies, so almost everything in it is exaggerated. In others strips, you may find translators who earn 0.48 €/0.70 USD... while using Google translator!
In any case, I believe that your analysis on rates is simply incomplete. As I said to K, rates of 0.02 or 0.01 are common in some parts of the world. Take for example the case of Moldova (this blog have tons of visitors from there, I do not know why): the gross average monthly wage during 2008 was 153 € (World Bank data). If wages are around 20 times less than in Western Europe, do you think that translators charge the same rates in both regions? Why would anyone want to become a doctor, a civil engineer or a university professor if they can earn more as a translator?
Haha, real as life like always, Alejandro. They've also tried to play that trick on me, and I answered that if I was the most talented then I should be also the highest paid.
That's an inspired (and logical) answer, Ramón. I'll try to remember it.
Some time ago, I read at your site that you had translated 4 million (!) words for a single customer. Besides financial stability, that customer clearly meant less work per word, as you saved a lot of valuable time (invoices, marketing, chasing bad payers...).
Well, in translation like in any other business, there is always someone willing to pay less for the same service. Wouldn't you buy a Ferrari for 1 euro?
Companies paying low rates are not focusing on quality!
May I recommend http://www.the-native-translator.com/, http://www.native-translator.co.uk/, http://www.native-translator.se/, http://www.native-translator.no/, http://www.native-translator.dk/, http://www.native-translator.de/ etc.
Quality - only professional native translators with a strong professional background!