Future Of The Translation Agency Business
by 
One of the many questions that I ask ( at least myself) these days is if there is still a future for the translation business, well it seems that I ignored this question when I started my translation agency some years ago!
There is an increasing number of persons who speak more than one language, and when saying more that one language, I mean really more than one but not necessary two!
Natives speak very well their mother-tongue language (do they really do?), but a large number of them can hardly deal with the second language they claim to properly speak … and with a basic mathematic calculation we can come up with the conclusion that they speak only one and a half language…more or less!
It happens that I deal with real translators, with call-themselves translators, with translators who offer their services for peanuts ( 0,01 cent per word!!! what shall I call these ones? ) and with some other who exaggerate with prices ( mostly bored people setting in front of a computer, or staring to a smartphone, a tablet and thinking they could quote high and get translation orders, just like that! ) on a daily basis and I have been through all sort of situations when it comes to assigning or getting orders.
My daily contact with translators from all over the world (yes, on weekends as well) shows me that the translation business is alive and healthy, that it’s still generating money and that a living out of it is largely possible. However, it’s very demanding and time consuming to get interesting orders.
In Germany for example, everybody can claim to be a professional translator (yes, also in this well organized country where everything works with agenda, training and certificates!) and this is good if the person is happy with his choice as long as the concept of being a translator is fully understood by this same person!One of the many questions that I ask ( at least myself) these days is if there is still a future for the translation business, well it seems that I ignored this question when I started my translation agency some years ago!
There is an increasing number of persons who speak more than one language, and when saying more that one language, I mean really more than one but not necessary two!
Natives speak very well their mother-tongue language (do they really do?), but a large number of them can hardly deal with the second language they claim to properly speak … and with a basic mathematic calculation we can come up with the conclusion that they speak only one and a half language…more or less!
It happens that I deal with real translators, with call-themselves translators, with translators who offer their services for peanuts ( 0,01 cent per word!!! what shall I call these ones? ) and with some other who exaggerate with prices ( mostly bored people setting in front of a computer, or staring to a smartphone, a tablet and thinking they could quote high and get translation orders, just like that! ) on a daily basis and I have been through all sort of situations when it comes to assigning or getting orders.
My daily contact with translators from all over the world (yes, on weekends as well) shows me that the translation business is alive and healthy, that it’s still generating money and that a living out of it is largely possible. However, it’s very demanding and time consuming to get interesting orders.
In Germany for example, everybody can claim to be a professional translator (yes, also in this well organized country where everything works with agenda, training and certificates!) and this is good if the person is happy with his choice as long as the concept of being a translator is fully understood by this same person!
by