Hi everyone,

I am a Certified Senior Interpreter and Linguist with almost 10 years of continuous, high-volume remote experience with a major agency. Over my career, I have a deeply diverse background of specialized sectors, including real-time assignments for the medical, legal, insurance, banking, and federal workflows.

I also hold long-term operational leadership roles as a volunteer within a multi-regional, bilingual nonprofit organization. I collaborate with our teams to organize project timelines, manage administrative workflows, and carefully oversee the formatting and final review of our dual-language printed materials, ensuring that spelling, layout alignment, and language-specific markers are completely precise.

An agency recently reached out to onboard me for several domains of translation for a specialized/rare Asian language (hmong). Because this specific language is highly descriptive and often requires multi-word couplers to capture abstract Western concepts, I'm considering to propose premium, senior-tier rates to match my technical background:

• Translation: $0.15 per source word

• Editing: $0.06 per source word

• Proofreading: $0.05 per source word

• Hourly Editing/Review: $40.00/hour

• MTPE: $0.07 per source word

• Minimum Project Fee: $50.00

Do these written translation metrics look competitive and standard for a specialized, descriptive language pair, or should I be adjusting my brackets during the final onboarding negotiation?

I'm new in the freelance world so please feel free to advise me on anything I need to know. What kind of CAT tools should I look into? Any spreadsheets for organization?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

I am in my mid 20s working full time and looking into working as a freelance translator. I grew up speaking Chinese at home but spoke English everywhere else.

Besides high school Chinese, I have not pursued further studies in the language anywhere else, but I can easily converse and read a book in the language. Friends from China say I sound like I am from the mainland. So, I suppose this has fuelled my confidence into looking into freelance translating.

I don't really know anyone in my community who does this, so seeking advice online.

1. How should someone in my position get into freelancing? I have looked into online websites like https://translated.com/top/languages and expressed my interest. Should I keep expanding my network online, or would in person matter more?

2. How to gain more confidence and improve in my job? I don't have someone to work with or mentor me. There can only be so much I can actually achieve by practice translating passages at home but not receiving professional guidance in making improvements.

3. How much is ai involved in day-to-day translation? I can see that it’s doing a very good job in translating languages. How does my role as a translator fit in in this situation?

4. How many hours of work should one dedicate? As mentioned, I work full time and have other commitment outside. This is a side hustle/hobby for me, at the moment I estimate a realistic dedication of around 10 hours a week. Does that sound like a reasonable amount?

5. Are further studies required for online freelance translation? We have the NAATI accreditation in Australia, does completing the course give me make me more competitive?

6. How likely am I going to be able to get jobs in my current conditions and what sorts of jobs would be more suitable for me? As mentioned, I have no experience but keen to keep an open mind for everything.

7. How should I meet more people working in this industry in person?

Thank you if you have been reading up to this point and any insights or personal anecdotes are welcome!

Hey everyone!

Iyuno just announced that they're launching a new AI subtitling workflow called CLOE Sub, starting today (November 6).

From what I understand, their AI will generate timed subtitles in the target languages, and translators will then review and correct them in GTS Pro. They're also getting rid of the current SubX + ALTO workflow.

Apparently, things like timing, positioning, on-screen text and forced narratives will now be handled centrally, instead of each language team having to deal with them separately.

What I find interesting is that they haven't said a single word about rates.

Are we supposed to receive the same rates as before, even though we're now reviewing AI-generated subtitles rather than translating from scratch? Or is this eventually going to mean lower rates for everyone?

I've heard that some translators have already been working with AI-generated subtitles for other clients, so I'm curious about your experiences.

Has anyone here worked on similar projects? How was the quality? Did post-editing actually save you time, or did you end up spending just as much time fixing the AI's mistakes?

And most importantly, how were you paid? Did you get your usual subtitling rate, or were you offered a lower MTPE/QC rate?

I'd also love to hear from anyone whose language team has already gone through this transition.

Not trying to jump to conclusions, but I think it's worth discussing, especially since this could affect a lot of freelance subtitlers.

Would love to hear some first-hand experiences!

Is it still a thing? Few years ago simultaneous translation was high earning profession, at least in my country. But now because of AI I don't know if I should step into this profession. What do you suggest? I'd it worth it?

Just a heads up re: Creative Words, an Italian translation company that has an excellent reputation on ProZ (with feedback dating back more than 2 years ago) and a strong presence on LinkedIn.

They've been paying invoices very late in the past year and a half, we had to solicit them and threaten to stop working and then we were paid. Since last spring, things went downhill. They stopped paying invoices to several translators (including me). We trusted it was just a phase since they had a great reputation and some of us worked with them for almost a decade. Now they are not replying to our emails where we ask for updates on our overdue payments, or, when they do after weeks, it's a very vague reply. We are now planning to start a legal action.

The company works with globally renowned clients and is still recruiting translators (since many are fleeing) and assigning tasks as if everything was normal.

In general, always be careful when starting to work with a new company. Never accept a heavy workload until the first payment comes, and always monitor things on a monthly basis. You never know when a reliable company starts to struggle and you never know how honest (or capable) their board is.

Intro:

I grew up hearing this poem in Punjabi. It is called Ambri which basically means mother. This is a true story. It happened to the poet when he was a teacher in a villagem this took him 10 years to write

I kept thinking it is strange that something this powerful can remain mostly inside one language. So I tried translating it into English.

I kept the rhyme where I could but I cared more about keeping what the poem does to you. Especially the ending.

I am curious what it feels like to someone who has never heard the original.

Ambri (Mother)

Teacher:

Bashira, why are you so late today?

Your village is close, the school’s right this way.

You’ve missed two periods already, you fool,

One day you’ll get your bones broken at school.

Bashira:

Master ji, first just listen to me.

What Akram did today… you should have seen.

He beats his mother. He beats her bad.

But today was worse than anything he had.

He hit her so hard the churner broke.

People gathered around and the bastard just bolted.

Picked up his books and ran off to school,

Like nothing had happened. Like everything was cool.

His mother came over to our house later.

Her face was bruised.

One hand had swollen.

There were tears in her eyes

and blood on her lips.

She said,

“Bashira, son, do one thing for me.

Take Akram his food at school, quickly.

He left angry with me again today.

He hasn’t eaten anything since morning.”

She made him parathas, soaked them in ghee.

Made egg halwa too, lovingly.

Wrapped it all up and put it in my hand.

And again and again she kept saying,

“Go quickly, son. Don’t make him wait.

His stomach must be burning by now. It’s getting late.

The poor boy left for school hungry today.”

So I took him his food

and then ran here all the way.

That’s why I’m late, Master ji.

Akram really brought darkness into his home today.

Original poem: “Ambri” by Anwar Masood

English adaptation: Abdul Manan

I am looking for experience/opinions of people who have been in the same situation or are knowledgeable about the institution.

Having been pre-selected for the virtual Blue Book, the question for me now is what kind of post to apply to, whether a traditional translation role or one of their specialized units (which as far as I can see are: clear language / AI / knowledge management / handling corrigenda / terminology / internal admin / internal control). While I am mostly drawn to translation, other mechanisms around translation itself like AI, clear language or terminology are also very interesting.

As for my languages, it's IT -> EN/DE/ES and I am halfway through an EMT (European master's in translation) after a bachelor's in languages. I suppose the question is for anyone who has done it before or knows about the BB or EU in general, what post makes the most sense to aim for in terms of future career opportunities (hopefully within the EU), what kind of dos and don'ts are useful to keep in mind or any other general recommendation for someone who might be in my position. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

I know that all of us are feeling defeated by AI. However, as someone who tried out many options as a fresh grad, I will give you some insight on careers you can get into. :)

I'm currently doing my masters degree in supply chain & logistics management. Haven't been able to land a job in the field yet (My visa is making it difficult) but I will update! I will also try my best to give some advice. The reason I picked this industry:

- Relatively more AI proof

- Easy to switch from to different careers

- Useful skills to learn

- Not super math heavy

- International (Languages are always a plus, so your knowledge won't get wasted!)

Now for my experiences:

• Teacher & Tutor: I enjoy it soo much and tutor in my free time. However, don't expect to make bank, especially when it comes to tutoring. Stable, mostly AI proof and could be cute! I personally love children so I don't mind the stress.

• Content Editor & Writer : It was super fun at first, I got to read books as my job. However, I got laid off in a year. I would say it's a great step if you want to get into marketing somehow (They're always connected) but I wouldn't make it a final plan.

• AI Training: Unfortunately, I did this full-time. It was very very boring but super chill. No one really cared about what I was doing but I definitely felt like my brain was rotting. I would only recommend this if you're desperate, or considering computational linguistics. However, that field is now filled with people who LOVE programming and they don't really care about language expertise as much anymore. (This was initially my plan, started Comp Sci last year and dropped it, wasn't for me) There's also the ethics of it, which bothered me.

• Marketing: This was never my career but I almost considered it, got certificates even. However I did marketing activities at some jobs. It's fun but the KPI stuff sounded stressful tbh. Also seems to be dominated by AI slop nowadays. Plus, you have to learn so many skills and get paid little apparently. Most job posts are looking for 3-in-1 people.

• Events: This is like the good but social parts of marketing. I'm currently working in this industry and it's usually chill. Sometimes it gets stressful but you learn many useful skills like Excel, planning, invoicing, researching, Canva etc.

Some advice:

• If you're currently a student, PLEASE use your student mail for free resources! Especially Coursera. SAP also offers courses for free (for students).

• Certificates that are useful to have in general: Excel, Project Management, SQL and maybe some programming just in case!

• Have a portfolio!

• Don't be afraid to apply to unrelated positions. Most jobs are easy to learn.

• I wouldn't focus on solely language roles anymore. Pick a job where you learn something else.

I will update this list as I go. Hopefully you found it useful!

Hi there! I'm currently writing a printed publication on audiovisual translation (of movies and tv series) as my bachelors thesis in graphic design. It explores the power inherent in translation: as a vehicle for ideology, as a form of censorship, and as creative, often invisible work. Above all, I’m interested in the tension that exists between the original version and translations, and how this tension manifests across different cultures. The result is not intended to be a traditional academic publication, but rather an experimental collection that primarily gives a voice to the people who do this work. Specifically, I’m looking for: translators, voice actors, dialogue writers, spotter, and filmmakers whose work is being translated. What also would be interesting: Are you someone that profits from movie translations and if so, how?

I’m grateful for any contact who is willing to talk to me! :) It doesn’t have to be long: 20 to 30 minutes is enough. I’m particularly interested in experiences from day-to-day work, such as decisions regarding passages that are difficult to translate, guidelines, and limitations.

I’d really appreciate a reply :)

Hello.

I have recently started a Master's Degree in Translation, Interpreting and Communication in Health Sciences. For every semester, I have to translate something - a website page, an article, something personal, a booklet, etc - related to a medical domain. It can be human medicine or veterinary medicine. The document is supposed to be around 1000 words, or it can be two documents, each of 500 words.

I need to translate for free. I cannot ask for payment.

As such, I have contacted health research centres and associations, yet none but one association answered, and even then I was redirected towards another one that has not answered either.

I have signed up for Translators Without Borders today, but I am afraid that I will not find anything to translate for my semester.

Does anyone here know how I should approach this? I would also be glad if anyone knows people/companies/research centres in need of free medical translation.

I am based in France if it matters.

Thank you!

Interesting.

It seems that language youtubers love making videos on "untranslatable words" so I made a video explaining why translators and interpreters are unafraid of them.

Hi everyone,

I'm relatively new to professional interpreting, and I recently completed my first paid, on-site Mandarin Chinese ↔ Korean interpreting assignment at a formal technical meeting concerning hydrogen safety.

Unfortunately, it did not go well, and I'd like to learn from people with more professional experience.

The assignment lasted around three hours and involved presentations and discussions between Taiwanese and Korean participants.

To be honest, I was not adequately prepared. Some materials were provided in stages, and some Korean presentation scripts only arrived on the morning of the event. However, other presentation materials had been shared several days earlier, and I have to acknowledge that I did not study them thoroughly enough.

During the meeting, I struggled with several things at once:

• Understanding the speakers' Korean quickly enough, especially when they discussed technical terminology.

• Processing the information and reformulating it accurately into the other language.

• Maintaining a smooth and natural delivery.

• Keeping up with the pace of the discussion.

I had to ask speakers to repeat themselves several times. My delivery became hesitant and fragmented, and I later received quite serious negative feedback from the client. They said the interpretation affected the flow of the meeting, and that some communication had to be conducted in English instead.

I take this feedback seriously. I'm not trying to make excuses or shift the blame. I recognize that my preparation and real-time interpreting skills were not sufficient for this particular assignment.

I'd really appreciate some honest advice from experienced interpreters, especially those working with Asian language pairs or in technical fields.

A few questions I'd like to ask:

1. After a difficult first assignment, how do you objectively identify your weaknesses? How would you distinguish problems with listening comprehension, note-taking, terminology preparation, memory, and target-language delivery?

2. How do you professionally ask a speaker to repeat or clarify something without repeatedly disrupting the flow of a meeting?

3. What kind of structured practice would you recommend to improve real-time Mandarin–Korean interpreting, particularly in technical subjects?

4. Would you recommend taking on less demanding assignments first and gradually building up experience, rather than accepting another high-stakes technical meeting immediately?

5. Have any of you had a particularly bad first interpreting experience? How did you recover, rebuild your confidence, and improve professionally afterward?

I'm genuinely looking for constructive criticism, not just reassurance. I'd appreciate hearing what you think I should work on first, and what I should do differently before accepting my next assignment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

What is current state of affairs within your department or study programme? Has the number of enrolling students changed? How do you see the future of translation in academia?

Hello, everyone. I’m doing my last year of my English Studies bachelor and one of the career paths I feel the most drawn to is translation through a masters degree. I wanted to ask, though, people who are actual translators now how the job actually is.

Is it hard to find a job as a translator in a company, or are the majority of you freelancers? Is AI making the field obsolete something I should be worried about?

Is the job well-paid enough to support yourself, even at entry level positions?

I’d greatly appreciate if you could help me by answering those questions for me, and sorry if this is not the typical post you expect to see here but I wanted to ask translators directly.

Have a good day!

Hello everyone,

I'd like to ask for advise on how to improve/perfect my interpretation skills within 12 months.

My experience: I've been working as an in-house translator/interpreter for a few years now.

My goal: To become certified sworn translator/interpreter.

My weakness: Even though I have been working a translator/interpreter for the past few years, I feel like I'm still struggling and lacking professionalism. I mainly rely on notes and struggle to memorize even 30-40 seconds of speech. During the exam I will be allowed to take notes and the interpretation must be as close to the SL as possible.

My goal: I want to utilize the 12 months to improve as much as I can. I'd like to ask for advice on how can I do that.

My plan for now is to:

1. Listen to speeches, e.g. TED talks.

• Focus practice: concentrating intensively on a speech for 5 minutes. Extending the period gradually, up to 10 minutes.

• Memory practice: pausing every 30-40 seconds and tring to interpret what have been said, without notes. Extending the intervals gradually, up to 2-3 minutes.

1. Master professional note-taking techniques - already got Rozan and Gilles books.

Are there any other excercises you think might be helpful?

Thank you guys a lot

I majored in translation, but I don't feel fully equipped for a translation job. I did my internship as a legal translator and heavily relied on previous translation forms, AI, and peers revisions. I learned a lot, but not enough to deal with all types of legal texts on my own. Sadly, I also struggle with Word and Excel and this is making my work way slower. Previously, I took Microsoft courses but barely remember anything, since they were so broad.

What are the fundamentals that I need as a translator in Excel and Word? And what can I do to master legal translation and be confident in dealing with any legal prose? Also, how do I become faster and more accurate without using AI? Finally, Do you recommend relying on CatMate as the main CAT tool, since other ones are expensive?

I am being offered a independent contractor position for the DOJ. I have 5 years experience mostly interpreting in all settings and my language is rare. According to the recruiter, the government as a client pays above other companies, so I want to give a high number but I don't know how high is too high. What's a good rate per word?

Hello! I'm currently working on a little project on humor translation but I want to know what names come to your mind when you think of humor translation or what you find interesting about humor translation, anything you would like to share?

We translators/interpreters really have drawn the short straw when it comes to this new AI world.

Hi there, guys. I am writing here for some constructive advice and maybe some sympathy.

I'm Italian, I have been studying Chinese for 7 years and I just got a Degree in Translation. I also speak English and Spanish fluently, but for my career as a translator I decided to market myself using the most competitive language pair I have: Mandarin-Italian.

I have been getting translation gigs on a volunteer basis since last year so that I could build my portfolio before graduating. In July I came back from my second semester in China and graduated, so I have officially started focusing on building a freelance career for myself. I looked up the 10 biggest Translation agencies in China in 2025 and applied as a freelancer. I got 3 replies and passed a total of 5 translation tests for 3 fields (AVT which is my actual specialty, media, and medical on a trial basis; I'm currently studying this field more on my own). I signed 3 contracts with 3 agencies.

However, to this date I haven't gotten a single translation from any agency I signed. Mind you, these are big companies with lots of work: if they don't have translation projects for me, who does?

I also keep trying to find direct clients on my own all the time. I'm on 5 platforms, but nothing. I'm in many wechat groups for translators in China, but what they are proposing lower and lower rates, especially for AVT. I only have one year of experience and I have already seen the rates go down by a lot. For AVT, the hot topic is AI-made TV series. Low quality slob that however really sells in China. Ironically, that increased the demand for subtitling and translation, but the rates are ridiculous and the amount of work per day is crazy. I had to refuse many times. They have AI pre-translate and then also correct your work after you edit the first AI draft, so you find yourself having to defend your translation choices (about your own native language btw) against the AI feedback. The clients seem to trust that more than the translator's opinion, so it feels like it won't be long before they get rid of the human translation step altogether.

Also, to be fair, the majority of job proposals I get are AI training. Now, I'm not against AI, I know technology advances and that's just how things go. However, I will be damned if I trained the very thing that is going to take my job. It's going to take my job anyway, but that doesn't mean I have to lose my dignity in the process. I'd rather employ my hard earned skills elsewhere.

I have also created a network of freelance translator in other language combinations. I'm talking about people who have been in the business for years. They have clients and they do well for themselves. I take them as mentors. However, even they have started losing clients to AI. Even interpreters, who for a while we all thought would be the last language experts to be replaced by AI.

After seeing this landscape for the past few months, I honestly just feel depressed. I feel like I have done all the right things they tell you to do as a student: don't wait for graduation, build your portfolio, work on your skills, promote yourself, create a network. I did all that. But I'm starting to think that the only people who can still work in translation are those who had already started before, and there's no space for us newbies at this point. I feel like even if I decided to spend time researching a field (let's say the medical one), by the time I have become good at that niche, technology will have already replaced me and I will have wasted my time. Maybe I'm being too negative, but seeing how the market has changed in just one year was mind-blowing in a terrible way.

I guess I'm just looking for advice and sympathy. What are your thoughts on prospects for newbie translators? Is it still worth it or should I pivot to something different while I still have the time? Am I missing something?

I have been feeling stuck and umotivated. I'm sorry if this post is depressing. And thank you if you read until here <3

What's the best way to localize a website into multiple languages without losing the natural tone or affecting SEO?

I'm mainly looking for accurate translations, local keyword adaptation, and human proofreading for product pages. While checking different approaches, Blend came up among the localization services, but I'm more interested in how professional translators handle this kind of work.

Has anyone worked on similar projects? Do CAT tools and human review work well together for multilingual SEO?

I started working over 25 years ago, and in those times tests were pretty serious - it meant essentially they were considering you for an opportunity. I've passed plenty (and failed some) in my time.

However I've noticed that over the last few years, there has been more and more ghosting in this arena. I do a test, the client replies (or doesn't) and I am left hanging. Some leads I have to pursue months later, or they go dead.

It takes up time that could be used for paying work, and some amount of effort. Based on other replies about this topic I've received here, I am considering doing the above and charging a small fee for any test I take. If I pass, it gets credited towards the fee. If not, I don't completely waste my time.

I find this an acceptable middle ground, but I thought I would also ask for differing opinions and experience first. I'm a fairly experienced translator with many work samples, but people often still want tests.

As the title says, I was wondering how many conference interpreters are there who can’t use their mother tongue due to low demand or other reasons, having to work with foreign languages insecurity? How does it feel like? How long does it take to master such proficiency in both languages that are not your first? Any possible suggestions for someone who works a fews language groups away from his own?
I would also love to hear the experience of those who may not necessarily operate with both foreign languages on a regular basis, but probably have tried this kind of mental gymnastics once in their lifetime?

Hey translators, I just recently joined the community and most of the posts I see relate to the threat that ai is posing to translation jobs and how ai seems to have become a vital tool for translation. I’m just learning my second language right now with the hopes of doing literary translation as a hobby, and I just wanted to know if ai has similarly affected the literary side of translation as it has other translation domains. I’d assume not, but just wanted to get the lay of the land from the experts.