A few years ago, I wrote an article for NewsForge about Linux consultants, and in the course of researching the article, I interviewed Sean Reifschneider, the founder of Colorado-based Linux consultancy tummy.com ltd.. When I asked Sean to compare working for someone else with working for himself, he said “At the large company [I worked for], I watched while a few people around me worked hard and the rest mostly were waiting for retirement. When you’re a one-man show, EVERYTHING depends on how well or how poorly you do your job, and I’m not just talking about the technical side.”

Since then, I’ve paraphrased that quote in nearly every talk I’ve given to beginning translators, and I’ve often referred the phenomenon Sean’s talking about as “the 9 out of 10 factor.” While a corporate employee who is overall a C+ kind of worker (let’s call that person a 7 out of 10) is maybe not going to be promoted but likely will not be fired either, a C+ freelancer is going to have a hard time staying in business. When clients have a vast array of potential freelancers to choose from, most will choose to work with the best people they can afford, who we’ll call the 9 out of 10, or A+, people.

To be fair, there are reasons for this other than the fact that it’s hard to fire someone from a full-time job simply because they’re not outstanding at what they do. In big corporations, employees contribute skills other than those that directly apply to their jobs, whereas the expectations of freelancers are much more targeted and quantifiable. For example when I was a high school French teacher, I did lots of other things in addition to teaching French, such as advising the yearbook club, serving on faculty committees, chaperoning school dances and trips and running a dorm of 9th-12th grade girls (why I left teaching: a topic for another post!). So, while I would rate myself maybe an 8.5 in teaching skills and much lower in discipline and classroom management, I did a decent job overall at the three schools where I worked because I got along well with my colleagues and students, volunteered for a lot of extra duties and even survived 4 days in Quebec City with 75 middle school girls.

Now, my job description is much more limited: take this French document and put it into English, or proofread the document that someone else already put into English. Certainly, clients enjoy working with translators who are flexible, friendly, generous with their time and get along well with their project managers and other translators, but a translator who is mediocre at their core job is, I believe, much less likely to be forgiven than a corporate employee in the same situation.

So, let’s take a look at what it takes to be an A+ freelance translator:

• Meet every deadline. This is an absolute requirement for developing a base of regular clients. In addition, don’t “meet” the deadline but send in a huge list of questions along with the file, or untranslated portions of text that need clarification. Allow time before the deadline for these tasks.
• Have A+ target-language writing skills. Of all the issues that a freelance translator can have, this is perhaps one of the stickiest: not being a good writer in one’s dominant language is a serious handicap.
• Have A+ source language comprehension skills. Don’t launch a translation business based on “adequate” comprehension of your source language(s); your source language comprehension skills need to be near-native.
• Translate into your native/dominant language only. This is an important factor in producing a translation that doesn’t sound like a translation and is linguistically accurate. Except when no other option is available, the translator should not be translating into his/her second, third etc. language.
• Stick to subject areas you know well. If there’s a subject that you struggle to understand in your own language, it will be even worse in your source language(s).
• Don’t overcommit. It’s always hard to say no to a client or a desirable prospective client, but it’s important to avoid the working too much/working too fast/working too late trap that ends in poor quality work.
• Be open to feedback. An error on your part doesn’t have to be the end of the client/translator relationship if you handle it correctly. Thank the client for taking the time to go over the issue with you, and assure them that their feedback will help you better meet their needs in the future.

I love to read lists of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on topics that interest me, so I thought that I would periodically post some freelance translation FAQs. The questions are based on my experience and opinions and those of translators I’ve worked with and taught. Feel free to add your own thoughts in the Comments section.

Q: Do I need a Bachelor’s degree to be a translator?

A: Yes. No. Maybe. Parade Magazine incurred the wrath of many freelance translators when it rated translation as the #2 hot job “no college degree required.” While there are definitely jobs for translators that don’t absolutely require a college degree (for example, some U.S. government agencies base their hiring primarily on their own testing programs), it’s quite rare to meet a successful freelance translator who doesn’t have at least a Bachelor’s (I personally don’t know any), and quite frequently a Master’s or higher.

Q: Do I need a graduate degree to be a translator?

A: It’s not an absolute requirement, but it definitely helps. For example, a graduate degree helps you meet the eligibility requirements for the American Translators Association certification exam.

Q: How much can I earn as a freelance translator?

A: Of course, everyone’s mileage varies, it depends on your skills, clients, motivation and many other factors. In general, the average self-employed full-time freelance translator in the U.S. earns in the mid-50,000s. My personal opinion, based on my business and those of other translators I work with, is that a translator with excellent language skills and assertive marketing techniques should be able to earn $60-70,000 and still maintain a good quality of life. Six figures is not out of the question if you are willing to work very long hours or if you work in a high-demand language pair or specialization.

Q: How long does it take to get established as a freelance translator?

A: Here again, it really depends on your situation. I’ve met people who had a full-time business up and running in a few months, and people who have been at it for years and don’t seem to have the ball rolling yet. Generally, I would allow six months to a year to get a full-time business up to speed. I started part-time, contacted 400+ (not a typo) potential clients during my first year in business and it took 18 months until I was replacing my income from my previous full-time job.

Q: Do I have to be certified to work as a freelance translator?

A: In the U.S., translator certification is managed by the American Translators Association and translator certification is not a requirement for setting up your own business. In my experience, being ATA-certified helps give you legitimacy as a translator; I would call it a “plus” but not a “must.” In addition, ATA certification is not offered in every language combination, and is not offered at all in language combinations that don’t involve English. Becoming ATA-certified involves meeting eligibility requirements, passing the written test, doing continuing education and maintaining your ATA membership. Not to be negative, but to be realistic, it’s worth mentioning that the pass rate is very low; I think that the overall pass rate on the ATA exam is about 20%. I think that certification is well worth it and that being ATA-certified helps me stand out in a popular language combination, others would disagree and say it’s expensive and not necessary, it’s really a personal decision.