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Subject: Money or Pleasure? Dear colleagues!If you face with alternative: to be a freelance translator and get much money (an exhausting work) or to be on the staff (a job which gives you more pleasure and spare time but twice less money)? What would you choose? |
| I am a freelancer because I value the choices and the freedoms it provides. For example, I can work less to earn less money, or work a lot to earn a lot. It's up to me. Working in-house takes away that freedom. On the other hand, it provides security, but only so long as your workplaces doesn't drive you crazy. Or the crisis hits. Or your boss decides to fire you. Catching my drift? |
| typo: your workplace_ |
| The matter is that I am a freelancer now. And, frankly speaking, I'm getting sick and tired of it more and more often. The main reason for it is that I'm short of time to do any other things I should and would like to - it is very annoying. Maybe it's my fault that I don't manage to arrange my working day favorably. Anyway, I suppose - sumu quiquem (каждому своё)... |
| depends on where you live, also... In US, with no socialized medicine, it's very expensive to get health insurance as a freelancer... if you're young, in good health, single... more power to you... if you have five small kids to support, better think twice about it... |
| that said... correct me if I'm wrong, but "staff translator" is almost non-existent as a category... most people who work as translators do it on a freelance basis. |
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If you can settle for less than what you're earning now, do it - you'll feel better. If you can't, how will you survive on the significantly lower salary that comes with the in-house job you're considering? |
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ahhh, but SirR... he/she already feels "better" it seems... don't fix it if it ain't broken... quote: "a job which gives you more pleasure and spare time..." |
| "If you can settle for less than what you're earning now, do it - you'll feel better." - by this, I meant "stay a freelancer, just take your workload down a notch or two or three until it feels right/good/whatever". |
| oh I see... I thought JKitten was a "staffer" and was considering becoming a freelancer, and you were addressing him/her in your previous message... |
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Please see the post from 21.02.2009 4:52 JKitten: "The matter is that I am a freelancer now." |
| oh.... ))) |
| it's like they say: "the grass is always greener..." :) |
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Thank you for your opinions. You are both right, no doubt. But there are so many pros and contras in this subject that it requires a very careful analysis of one's experience. What concerns me - I would rather work in staff - I'll feel better, as SirReal accurately guessed. On the other hand, lisulya is definitely right speaking about "staff translator" as almost non-existent category. Especially in the city I live - it's almost impossible to find a worthy job of a translator - you can only combine and use your knowledge of languages as a subordinate skill (for instance, office-manager or secretary). Money is also a very controversial matter... For me, as a married girl (no children yet) is desirable to earn - we are in urgent need of money to make some start in life. On the other hand, it's extremely important for me to be settled socially in life - to have a stable secure job (as I would like to have a child soon). Moreover, psychological comfort also does matter... |
| Staff translator =OFFICE POLITICS - have a look at the Forum discussions - you will be truly scared - freelancer - daily worries about where your next job is coming from... Не знаю, честно не знаю. |
| Вы до сих пор не указали, в какой стране живете. |
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link 21.02.2009 18:29 |
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'cos money and all this stuff. I'd had lots of plans for this 3-day 'weekend' but everything was ruined by the order I couldn't resist... Now the weekend and all the holiday is completely ruined. I had to drive my family off to the country so that I could 'enjoy' the silence of being alone and translating piles of documents. My son wanted to play with me, my wife wanted to go/eat out and my friends really wanted to have a real booze-up, but ... All's gone with my work as a freelancer. Now it's 1:20 am and I've been sitting in front of the computer for more than 7 hours and I haven't got the slightest idea when I'm going to stop for a moment (only for a moment) to have a short sleep. And all this sh*t to be continued... |
| I know the feeling. Sometimes the right choice is to resist and refuse a lucrative project. It's a tough decision, but only you can make it. |
| that's right, SirR... "Only YOU can stop forest fires" (by not starting them in the first place...) |
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link 21.02.2009 19:04 |
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Greed did me in...)) Strange thing... So far this week I refused to translate 50-page agreement referring to my 'mental fatigue', but just the day before the weekend I enslaved myself with another hard work. |
| just say "no" to greed hehee )) |
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Believe me, I know :( The last few years, until recently, I worked 60-hour weeks, driven by my family's financial aspirations. Even as we were able to afford more of the things we wanted (but didn't really need!), our relationship went downhill. We never had time to spend together, never had time to just take a moment, sit down and talk about our priorities and desires. The distance between us has grown immense. We are now on the verge of divorce. What's ironic about all this is that now I'm so depressed that I cannot handle even half the volume I used to. But I don't blame freelancing - it has nothing to do with my problems. It's my own personal decisions in life that are responsible for the mess I'm in. Workaholism isn't exclusive to freelancing. Ultimately, to have a life, you must work to live -- not live to work. |
| oops ... :-(( |
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link 21.02.2009 19:43 |
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Oh I do feel sorry... Anyway my wife understands me, and we are in complete rapport, but as I'm practically a bread-winner of the family I've gotta work hard. In fact my official job is a teacher in a private school of foreign languages and due to my flexible schedule I've got enough time to do some (well, not some, but lots of) freelancing, that yields me much better return (and 'worse' return too, kinda sleepless nights). Don't speak too soon ....((( |
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link 21.02.2009 19:45 |
| my last phrase concerned only me, not anybody else |
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"Anyway my wife understands me, and we are in complete rapport, but as I'm practically a bread-winner of the family I've gotta work hard." Yeah, I thought so too. But putting all your eggs in one basket, i.e. solving all your problems with money, is almost always the wrong way to go. You shouldn't let income & finances take over your personal/family life - especially when you are doing well. P.S. It's "the bread-winner of the family" - HTH. |
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link 21.02.2009 19:56 |
| Sorry for asking - what does HTH stand for? |
| "Hope This Helps" |
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link 21.02.2009 20:02 |
| :-))) I C |
| sorry to hear it, SirR :( I think men are more prone to that kind of thing than us women... hope you get it sorted soon! admitting you have a problem is half the battle! :) |
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Go slow, first. The very subject is simplistic. Money buys pleasure. Period. Re.: If you face with alternative An alternative, you mean? Or THE alternative. I face THE alternative all the time. Re.: : to be a freelance translator and get much money (an exhausting work) or to be on the staff (a job which gives you more pleasure and spare time but twice less money)? What would you choose? Simplistic again. Uninformed question, I'm afraid. Who says that you'd be better as a free lance than on staff, first? Second, I don't know any free lance who "gets exhasiting work." Third, who said you are happier on staff? Fourth, do you know you may slave on staff worse than on your own? Fifth (or first, for that matter), quite a few staffers are somewhat better off, you know. SirReal wrote: 1. I am a freelancer because I value the choices and the freedoms it provides. Fine. Are you really as free as you claim? Say, the night when you job is due, а у вас еще конь не валялся, потому что вы еще прошлый заказ не выполнили? (Btw, you wrote more about that below). 2. Working in-house takes away that freedom. Fine too. Tell me why my firm hasn't taken mine? :) Shall I tell you what really can do (or where I can go) between 9.00 am and 6 pm? :) 3. On the other hand, it provides security, I doesn't. Take my word for it. 4. (as long as ) your workplaces doesn't drive you crazy Depends on you, by and large. Your personality 5. Or the crisis hits. Or your boss decides to fire you. True. But not "or." "And," rather. 6. Catching my drift? No.:) JKitten wrote: 1. The matter is that I am a freelancer now. And, frankly speaking, Experiment. If you can afford to. Go on staff and see how it feels. 2. Anyway, I suppose - sumu quiquem (каждому своё)... Too early for epitaphs. Еще не вечер (с). lisulya wrote: "staff translator" is almost non-existent as a category.. Too bad. How come you didn't know? (Mind, I don't mean "I told you so"). Make good research first. I mean real good. JKitten wrote: Money is also a very controversial matter... For me, as a married girl (no children yet) is desirable to earn - we are in urgent need of money to make some start in life. On the other hand, it's extremely important for me to be settled socially in life - to have a stable secure job (as I would like to have a child soon). Moreover, psychological comfort also does matter... Stop then clinging to what you THINK is your asset (translation skills). Move on. Retrain. Reinvent yourself. Reengineer. Many translators do it all the time here as they see opportunity. Ask d. A couple of guys I know own gas pump chains in across Midwest. Harry Johnson wrote: 1. I'd had lots of plans for this 3-day 'weekend' but everything was ruined by the order I couldn't resist... Man. Here is the ugly truth: Better much work than no work at all. You get my drift if you listen to your car radio. 2. My son wanted to play with me, Hmmm... Too bad, man. I was caught like you every weekend 20 years ago ... И я тогда упустил, потерял сына... My life's biggest loss as a free lance. Find time and play with the kid the soonest possible. Now. Switch off your PC and go and play. An hour at least. Promise another hour tomorrow and make your promise good. I mean it. Or you have it eventually worse than with your wife’s could shoulder. I know what I'm talking about. 3. Greed did me in...)) It wasn't greed. Your gut feeling told you if you rejected, even once, you might never get another assignment from that client, right? That drove me all the time until I went on staff, money or not. ЗЫ. SR. Sorry to hear of your marriage failing (esp over your work). |
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Sjoe, the gist of my answer, stripped of any personal details, was expressed as follows: === If you can't, how will you survive on the significantly lower salary that comes with the in-house job you're considering? I hope you do catch my drift now. As you said, money buys pleasure. I do have a part-time in-house job that is almost completely unregulated, both in terms of time and effort - unregulated meaning I can come and go as I please and reject work assignments if I don't feel like doing them. I am appreciated there, and that is one of two reasons I am still an employee with them (the other being I need official employment to get foreign visas, consumer financing, etc). But jobs like that are hard to come by. Freelancing, however, if done right, does make you free - even if you get there through trial and error, and some failures along the way. |