Comments on: The new ATA compensation survey: some interesting statistics http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/02/23/the-new-ata-compensation-survey-some-interesting-statistics/ ...the translation industry and becoming a translator Thu, 17 May 2012 02:54:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Corinne McKay http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/02/23/the-new-ata-compensation-survey-some-interesting-statistics/#comment-43 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:29:49 +0000 http://corinnemckay.wordpress.com/?p=27#comment-43 Yes, I think you’re right on about this. As Jill commented, I think that most people who respond to the ATA compensation survey are high earners to start out with, and many people who charge very low rates are also not going to admit to it publicly. I think that one of the negatives of the ATA survey results (not the survey itself, since ATA cannot control who responds) is that they portray the low end of the translation market as being around 12 cents a word, which is of course not the reality. To me, it’s one thing when translators who live in countries with a low cost of living charge low rates and another when U.S.-based translators are willing to work for a few cents a word and, as you mentioned, have to work very, very long hours to reach that 60K.

]]> By: Spanish translator http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/02/23/the-new-ata-compensation-survey-some-interesting-statistics/#comment-42 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:08:43 +0000 http://corinnemckay.wordpress.com/?p=27#comment-42 It is very difficult to draw an average in an industry where some people are willing to translate for $0.01 per word while other people are asking $0.15 for the same exact thing. At the end of the day, I guess the cheapest translators have to put in way more time than average-priced translators (serves them right for lowering their prices so much) but the level of income is similar. $60,000 seems about right as an average annual income.

]]> By: Corinne McKay http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/02/23/the-new-ata-compensation-survey-some-interesting-statistics/#comment-41 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:31:42 +0000 http://corinnemckay.wordpress.com/?p=27#comment-41 Yes, that’s a really good point! For example, what the current article quotes as the “lowest” average per word rate (for English into Italian and Portuguese) is 12 cents a word, which I think all of us who are established in the business would say is nowhere near the bottom of what people are willing to work for in any language pair. We’ll have to check out the new full report when I come to Kent for the seminar in May!

The other thing about the results, IIRC, is that the numbers of people who respond per language can vary widely. For example the average rate for English into Spanish might be based on 200 people’s responses, while English into Danish might be 2 people, which also skews the results. At any rate, thanks for commenting on it!

]]> By: Jill http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/02/23/the-new-ata-compensation-survey-some-interesting-statistics/#comment-40 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:22:08 +0000 http://corinnemckay.wordpress.com/?p=27#comment-40 I bought the latest version of the survey after my copy disappeared after our pre-conference seminar. I found the German numbers to be slightly skewed. I had the impression that those who responded were perhaps the ones who demanded the higher prices. My per rate was several cents below the “average.” That said, I definitely meet the average earnings despite my “low” word rate. Feel free to take a look at my survey when you are here in May and then decide whether you want to buy it.

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