| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | How many words can you translate in 8 hours? Thread poster: areli_ash
|
|---|
| Nobody knows how much you can do... | Feb 5, 2015 |
areli_ash wrote:
Hello everyone!
This is the context: I'm the only translator at this university, where I work full-time translating from A to B (Sp > En), without glossaries or CATs. The topics are quite varied, including, but not limited to education, law, religion, science, etc.
I would also like to know, do you think it is feasible to translate 25K words per week under these conditions? If not, what would I need to do to hit this target? Thanks for your comments!
... except you. People work at different speeds depending on their skill set (how much they know, how much they need to research, how efficiently they do their research, how well they can phrase things right off the bat vs how much they need to rewrite their own texts, how fast they type, how well they use their CAT tool, how good the glossaries/TMs they amassed are etc.)
I work quite fast, a fair bit faster than most people (although I know other translators who work faster than me). 25K words for a 5-day working week is at the upper limit of what I would be willing to take on. I.e. it's definitely possible if you work fast and the text isn't heinously difficult, but even for a fast translator it's not a normal long-term workload. Personally, I would only take it on as an exceptional case. I wouldn't consider a long-term job where I needed to translate 25K words a week every week. I wouldn't be able to sustain that without compromising the quality of my work, my quality of life or both. If you're just starting out, you don't know your capacity and haven't honed your skills/techniques yet, it is definitely unrealistic.
[Edited at 2015-02-05 16:38 GMT]
| | | |
I came in a thought mode, I actually don't know how much I am doing. After your question, I need to think about this question.
| | | |
I think this is a reasonable number.
| | | | Jean-Pierre Artigau (X)
Canada
Local time: 08:03
English to French
+ ...
| My daily production | Feb 5, 2015 |
1,813.33 words (no joke, it's an average, I have long-term statistics to prove it). That is if I count the whole process including terminological research and proofreading-revision.
Translating alone (without counting research and revision) would amount to 500 words an hour, or 4,000 words in 8 hours.
And don't forget, translation memories don't necessarily make you faster, only perhaps more consistent in your terminology and phraseology.
Jean-Pierre
... See more 1,813.33 words (no joke, it's an average, I have long-term statistics to prove it). That is if I count the whole process including terminological research and proofreading-revision.
Translating alone (without counting research and revision) would amount to 500 words an hour, or 4,000 words in 8 hours.
And don't forget, translation memories don't necessarily make you faster, only perhaps more consistent in your terminology and phraseology.
Jean-Pierre
[Edited at 2015-02-05 20:52 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-02-05 20:53 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-02-05 20:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-02-05 20:57 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| A second translator | Feb 5, 2015 |
Well, what can you do?
I only see one thing: Get help from another translator.
| | | | | It is not possible to do 25,000 words per week under those conditions | Feb 5, 2015 |
I used to do a minimum of 25,000 words per week, during an economic boom. The conditions at the time were: most of it was for one customer, and all on the same topic. In the end I had a large TM on that topic, with increasing leverage every week - and also some very good termbases that I had built up on the topic.
If an employer expects you to do 25,000 words per week, during a normal employee week - and without a very good CAT tool, as well as large TMs and relevant termbases, then... See more I used to do a minimum of 25,000 words per week, during an economic boom. The conditions at the time were: most of it was for one customer, and all on the same topic. In the end I had a large TM on that topic, with increasing leverage every week - and also some very good termbases that I had built up on the topic.
If an employer expects you to do 25,000 words per week, during a normal employee week - and without a very good CAT tool, as well as large TMs and relevant termbases, then that is obviously wildly unrealistic.
Maybe 2,000 words per day would be manageable in the conditions.
To approach the target, you would need to ask for a CAT tool to be provided for you, and build up TMs and termbases over time. Then, if you are still working there quite a few years later, you might eventually be quite productive. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 06:03
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Do 25,000 words a week or 5,000 words a day? I do it all the time... even more, including checking afterwards and delivering final work of the highest quality. And I do it in both directions, EnglishSpanish.
I guess that's why I've been sucessful.
| | | | | I hesitate to 'agree' with Henry, but ... | Feb 5, 2015 |
Henry Hinds wrote:
Do 25,000 words a week or 5,000 words a day? I do it all the time... even more, including checking afterwards and delivering final work of the highest quality. And I do it in both directions, EnglishSpanish.
I guess that's why I've been sucessful.
Maybe it's a 'generation' thing.
In the late 1970s, when I moved from well-paid engineering to even-better-paid translation, I was expected to deliver at least 5,000 words per day, 5 days a week, of 'camera-ready copy' on a range of subjects - mostly media and telecoms technology (including specifications of numerous systems that were still under development and whose specialist terminology wasn't to be found in any dictionary) but also quite a lot of administrative, legal and financial stuff.
Fortunately (!) I didn't have any of the so-called 'productivity tools' we hear so much about here on Proz - PCs, the Web, CATs, TMs, GT and such-like - to distract me from the task at hand
| | |
|
|
|
Luca Tutino
Italy
Member (2002)
English to Italian
+ ...
Robin Levey wrote: Henry Hinds wrote:
... I guess that's why I've been sucessful.
Maybe it's a 'generation' thing.
Or it's just luck
| | | | | Calling colleagues' professional experience 'luck' ... | Feb 5, 2015 |
Luca Tutino wrote: Robin Levey wrote: Henry Hinds wrote:
... I guess that's why I've been sucessful.
Maybe it's a 'generation' thing. Or it's just luck
... is plain disrespectful.
PS: I'm responding only for myself. Henry can look after himself .
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 17:33
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
As a fulltime freelancer using CAT tools (mainly trados), my average is about 3000 words a day. But this is only an average - on many days I do much less, on many days I manage to do more. Several factors come into play here - how interesting is the topic being translated, how much side research is required, how many other tasks you are doing simultaneously (eg., invoicing, bidding, relaxing, etc.), what other translation work are you doing simultaneously (I usually do two or three client's work... See more As a fulltime freelancer using CAT tools (mainly trados), my average is about 3000 words a day. But this is only an average - on many days I do much less, on many days I manage to do more. Several factors come into play here - how interesting is the topic being translated, how much side research is required, how many other tasks you are doing simultaneously (eg., invoicing, bidding, relaxing, etc.), what other translation work are you doing simultaneously (I usually do two or three client's work at the same time), etc.
In your case, as you are an employed person, and not a freelancer, the situation is a bit different. You don't need to invoice or bid or canvass your services. You also don't have to worry about lean periods and dipping income (at least not in the way freelancers are paranoid about these things). So your output could actually be more.
Many freelancers also work in very cramped situations from their home with sub-optimum equipment. In an university situation you could be expected to have more congenial working conditions and superior equipment, which could enhance your productivity.
So it is not an impossible task to do 25,000 words a week. The real difficulty would be in sustaining this output week after week for long periods. It can become really tedious if the subject does not interest you. But if it does, then it could be a breeze too. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:03
French to English
+ ...
| It's unrealistic as a *general* target with so many unknowns... | Feb 6, 2015 |
areli_ash wrote:
I would also like to know, do you think it is feasible to translate 25K words per week under these conditions? If not, what would I need to do to hit this target?
I think the problem with your target is that it is unrealistic without setting some stricter parameters. I'm sure many translators (and some have in this thread) can tell you specific circumstances under which they translate 5K words/day: a specific subject field with which they have a lot of experience, a highly formulaic type of document, etc. (There are some types of IT texts, for example, where I find myself hitting or exceeding this rate because they're relatively "formulaic" texts in my specialist field-- but I'd never set 5K/day as a *target* and quote clients on that basis.)
Like me, I doubt many translators would set 5K/day as a *target*, and certainly not a *general* one that you could guarantee "a priori"... whereas you seem to be asking how to meet this target while translating everything under the sun!
Practical things you can do:
- make sure that your typing speed isn't the issue-- to achieve 5K/day, it seems that the typing has to basically come automatically to you and take none of your "processing time" (there have been other threads on ProZ that have discussed this);
- a CAT tool *might* make you more productive, but it really depends on the texts in question. For example, if the text is such that you can genuinely capitalise on repetitions, or if the original document has an awkward format that the CAT tool makes it easier to edit. But the CAT tool might not help you much-- really the only way to know is to suck it and see;
- work out which of the subject fields you can actually work through most quickly, and consider off-loading what are "slower" topics for you to other translators who specialise in those fields.
[Edited at 2015-02-06 04:49 GMT]
| | |
|
|
|
FarkasAndras wrote:
Nobody knows how much you can do...
... except you. People work at different speeds depending on their skill set (how much they know, how much they need to research, how efficiently they do their research, how well they can phrase things right off the bat vs how much they need to rewrite their own texts, how fast they type, how well they use their CAT tool, how good the glossaries/TMs they amassed are etc.)
Exactly. I completely agree. Translation speed depends on very many factors. Only experience can tell you how much you are really able to do.
| | | | Ira Saied
Panama
Local time: 07:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
| 2000 words per day | Feb 6, 2015 |
My output is 2000 words per day and I do use a CAT tool. That includes revising and proofreading. If the subject is easy I could do 3000 words, but I wouldn't commit to it. It may sound like I'm pretty slow, but in 20 years of doing this, my clients tell me they like me because of my accuracy and speed. I suppose other translators here (i.e., Panama) take long to deliver not so much because they translate slow, but because they don't devote 8 hours a day to translation.
The fastest ... See more My output is 2000 words per day and I do use a CAT tool. That includes revising and proofreading. If the subject is easy I could do 3000 words, but I wouldn't commit to it. It may sound like I'm pretty slow, but in 20 years of doing this, my clients tell me they like me because of my accuracy and speed. I suppose other translators here (i.e., Panama) take long to deliver not so much because they translate slow, but because they don't devote 8 hours a day to translation.
The fastest I have translated was a 42-page technical doc. in two 8-hour days, which was probably 12,600 words. That was 6,300 words per day. I did not use a CAT tool for that translation, or Google, and I did not review anything (but was extremely careful not to make mistakes), as the client was interested in high speed and was willing to pay the price of a not reviewed doc. I could not keep that speed up for very long, though.
Now that I think about it, that isn't the most productive I've ever been. Recently I translated a document using my laptop at the same time as I was interpreting live inside a booth on a week-long assignment. I couldn't really say no to either client, so I did two completely different jobs at the same time. I'm glad I'm a multitask er, but I digress.
If someone asked me to do 25k words in a week, I'd say no, period.
[Edited at 2015-02-06 06:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | telefpro
Local time: 17:33
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| I do about 2500 per day | Feb 6, 2015 |
I do about 2500 words per day including complex texts.
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » How many words can you translate in 8 hours? | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
| | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
