A catfish perspective – understanding bottom feeders in the translation market

 

[catfish]

“The agency offered three cents a word! How shameful! Even worse, there are translators that will agree to it!” Almost every experienced and not a few not-so-experienced translators have expressed that anger and probably quite often. The existence of the rock-bottom market creates the hostile angry thoughts that high street stores have in reaction to a Walmart branch. This low-price niche seems an insult, if not a threat, to the profession. However, putting emotion side, there are solid, if not always justifiable, reasons, why certain agencies offer so little and certain translators are willing to take those offers. In practice, the “high street” translator can and should ignore this market as it does not actually pose an actual threat.

There is an economic basis for agencies offering low rates, whether it is type and location of their customers, their business location, their marketing limitations or their business strategy. Many agencies, especially small ones outside of the expensive European/US markets, work with customers that have low demands in terms of quality and even lower budgets in terms of their ability to pay for translation. A classic example is Russia, where traditionally business used Russian native speakers to translate into English and, in many cases, t at local rates. Furthermore, for agencies working in countries with low-costs, notably in many parts of India and China, agencies earn reasonable profit even if they do not add excessive profit in the price-to-customer. A far more common cause of such rates is the inability of an agency to negotiate higher rates. For example, in Israel, some agencies succeed in attaining much higher rates than others even if they work the same market. Finally, of growing importance, worldwide LSPs (Language Service Providers), such as RSW and TransPerfect, use volume to cover their expenses and make profits, with their revenue reaching very high levels. Of course, some agencies do offer low rates to translators but charge high rates to the customers, earning disproportionally high profits, but this is not always the case. Thus, many agencies often offer low rates for legitimate business reasons.

Many translators often accept these rates for legitimate business reasons as well as ignorance First, newcomers to the professions often treat these low-paying jobs as a practical way to gain experience. If translation is a second income, the amounts they earn, however low, may provide a significant boost to their income, especially in poorer countries. As a primary income, the cost of living varies significantly between country to country, meaning that these rates may be higher than other available income options where they live. Sadly, many translators have no margin for slow months and must take on any relevant job.  Of course, many translators taking on these jobs are unaware that they can attain higher rates through active marketing in their country or abroad. They erroneously believe that these low rates are the market. Still, one person's "shocking rates" is another's way out of poverty.

If, as in all markets, the low budget niche exists and may be expanding, experience translators need to stop wasting energy on decrying it and focus on the better-paying niches. First, low-cost translating has always existed to one extent or another with Google Translate, machine translation and AI expanding customer options. There is no point in complaining about the rain. That said, many specialist niches not only involve deep-pocketed payers but also require high quality translation. Such niches include the medical, legal and financial fields. Another strategy is to leverage AI in translation and/or administrative tasks to increase productivity, thus creating more opportunity for high income. Translators that are so interested have a wide choice of webinars and methods. In the long term, it is possible that AI will not be able to provide the quality required by many translation buyers, causing disappointment and leading these customers to return to reliable human translators, this time with a better understanding of the cost/quality payoff. Finally, as there is no translation market in the sense that translation buyers and providers lack convenient and complete access to all offers, translators have to seek out those customers that are willing to pay the rates they wish to receive even if they are higher than the budget ones too often seen in forums. Many customers still value quality and reliability. It is a matter of finding them. That is a far better use of one’s time and energy.

Catfish are a very successful species of bottom feeders. They may look ugly (unless you are fond of long fish whiskers) but not only do they thrive, they serve an important purpose in the biosystem. Likewise, inexpensive rates interest a wide community of translation buyers and providers. At the same time, numerous companies in many industries worldwide need and demand high quality translators and are willing to pay for it. It takes effort and knowledge to reach them but they are a better option for many experienced translators. As Voltaire would say, cultivate your garden.