| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | why would anyone go freelancer? Thread poster: Mueen Issa
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Mueen Issa 
Local time: 12:32
English to Arabic
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I want to ask every freelance translator out there why would he go independent? what are the reasons why you do not want to work in a company, with others?
| | | | Mary Worby
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:32
German to English
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| In a word, freedom! | Oct 15, 2003 |
Freedom to live where you want, in beautiful parts of the world.
Freedom to work when you want, get up when you want.
Freedom to stay away from the hordes, not commute to work.
Freedom to do the work you want to do, not the work someone tells you to do.
Should I go on?
| | | | | Freedom is it | Oct 15, 2003 |
I don't know why else, except freedom. I do like to be with other people, to talk about what I'm doing, but this way I can at least choose the ones that I want to spend the most of free time with, especially my family.
Gayle
| | | | | more challenging (thus, exciting) ... | Oct 15, 2003 |
and, of course, the freedom!
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Karin Adamczyk (X)
Canada
Local time: 05:32
French to English
| Where do I start... | Oct 15, 2003 |
Mueen Issa wrote:
I want to ask every freelance translator out there why would he go independent? what are the reasons why you do not want to work in a company, with others?
Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to start!
I'm home and available for my children
Freedom to work when and where I please
Freedom to enjoy a day off when I want or need it
Freedom to snooze in the afternoon after long work sessions, with either the phone beside me (rate) or unplugged (much more common)
Freedom to accept the type of work I want
Freedom to fire clients when our views clash too much
Freedom to eat my lunch when I darn well feel like it, rather than when someone decides I should be hungry
Freedom to make all decisions about my business
Not to mention that I can make a heck of a lot more money working for myself, making all these decisions, etc., than by working for someone who pays me a salary.
Off to pick my daughter up at school cause it's cold and rainy ....
Take care,
Karin Adamczyk
| | | | | To add to all of the above... | Oct 15, 2003 |
...there hardly seems to be any (or many)
in-house positions available, as far as I know (not where I now live, at least). Apparently, being a translator is a freelance occupation! 
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Karin put it very well. I would like to add that, in my case, I have a husband with a demanding job who goes from country to country. It doesn't matter because I don't have to give my job up. I can do it anywhere, anytime!
The funniest place where I did a translation was when I went into hospital to give birth to my daughter. She came early and I had a deadline. Laptop came to hospital too! The nurses were very supportive!
| | | | | Job Availability | Oct 15, 2003 |
As Heli has pointed out, jobs for in-house translators are far and few between. If I were looking for employment as a translator, there is no doubt I would be unemployed, broke and frustrated.
Instead, I am fulfilled, working at 100% capacity and earning good money. I can be translating a contract on Monday, a children's story on Tuesday, a tourism brochure on Wednesday, a speech on Thursday, and an article on globalization on Friday; not to mention a Ph... See more As Heli has pointed out, jobs for in-house translators are far and few between. If I were looking for employment as a translator, there is no doubt I would be unemployed, broke and frustrated.
Instead, I am fulfilled, working at 100% capacity and earning good money. I can be translating a contract on Monday, a children's story on Tuesday, a tourism brochure on Wednesday, a speech on Thursday, and an article on globalization on Friday; not to mention a PhD thesis in history, a mathematics textbook, and biographies of everything from show business celebrities to businessmen to authors.
I can get up from my computer any time I want and walk my dog, help my children with their homework, or weed the garden for a few minutes, then go back to work.
For the few who can find one, what are the advantages of an in-house position? Security? Not guaranteed... With one happy exception, the several translation jobs I had that involved contracts, the promise of steady work and a regular income were the ones that were the quickest to evaporate.
[Edited at 2003-10-15 19:28] ▲ Collapse
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| Mary and Karin said it all | Oct 15, 2003 |
I just want to undersign what they said. And beware, this comes from one of the "few lucky ones" that have an inhouse position.*
I'm keeping it a bit longer (trying to) just because you do learn a lot working on a team. Incuded how much freedom means!
[Edited at 2003-10-15 19:33]
| | | | Monika Coulson
Local time: 03:32
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
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SITE LOCALIZER | What else can I add? | Oct 15, 2003 |
Everyone else has already said what I have to say: Freedom on everything.
Freedom to choose your own work, your own hours, people you work with, place you work from. The best thing for me is that I can take vacations whenever I want and how long I want, while my husband has to ask his boss and check with HR (Human Resources) Department first etc. No waking up early in the morning to start the normal commute (whether by car, bus or train) to get to work. No need to wear those "Dry c... See more Everyone else has already said what I have to say: Freedom on everything.
Freedom to choose your own work, your own hours, people you work with, place you work from. The best thing for me is that I can take vacations whenever I want and how long I want, while my husband has to ask his boss and check with HR (Human Resources) Department first etc. No waking up early in the morning to start the normal commute (whether by car, bus or train) to get to work. No need to wear those "Dry clean Only" clothes to go to work
And as Marijke mentioned, no need to give up my job, when my husband gets a new job and when we move to different places.
I love being a freelance translator. Before I began working full time as a freelancer, I was a school teacher, but I do not regreat that I changed to a freelance translator.
All the best,
Monika ▲ Collapse
| | | | | And in addition to everything else... | Oct 15, 2003 |
You can make more money as a freelancer than working inhouse...
ME
| | | | | Freedom?? Which freedom?? | Oct 15, 2003 |
Working 18-19 hours per day 7 days per week is not freedom. The thing is that companies do not pay for translators (at least in Greece & Cyprus)and if they pay their translators do other jobs too, such as secretarial tasks (photocopies, coffees, answering to the telephone etc).
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| F R E E D O M | Oct 15, 2003 |
I agree with all the things mentionned above. I am always at home with the children and I can work with them playing around.
But mostly I can work at night, even a whole night and sleep in the morning if I need or like it.
Where can you work without being obliged to wear any.....thing!!!! At home of course.
The summer has been very hot..
And the question is : why would a freelance translator choose to work in an agency... with others....?????
... See more I agree with all the things mentionned above. I am always at home with the children and I can work with them playing around.
But mostly I can work at night, even a whole night and sleep in the morning if I need or like it.
Where can you work without being obliged to wear any.....thing!!!! At home of course.
The summer has been very hot..
And the question is : why would a freelance translator choose to work in an agency... with others....?????
Regards
M ▲ Collapse
| | | | Monika Coulson
Local time: 03:32
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
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SITE LOCALIZER | It Is Freedom to Choose | Oct 15, 2003 |
Dear Tyrem,
working 18-19 hours per day, 7 days per week is a CHOICE. Nobody puts a pistol on you and demands you to do that. It is your choice to do it. I admit, I have worked like that on several occasions, but it was my choice to do it. I could have just said: NO to the project, but I wanted to take the challenge (and the money of course) and I did it. So I call this Freedom to Choose.
Monika
tyrem wrote:
Working 18-19 hours per day 7 days per week is not freedom. The thing is that companies do not pay for translators (at least in Greece & Cyprus)and if they pay their translators do other jobs too, such as secretarial tasks (photocopies, coffees, answering to the telephone etc).
| | | | Valeria Verona
Chile
Local time: 05:32
Member (2003)
English to Spanish
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Mueen Issa wrote:
I want to ask every freelance translator out there why would he go independent?
Why not?
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