The five most important challenges for a freelance translator in 2011

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Christmas is just around the corner, and another more or less successful business year has come to an end. Time to look back on what was. 2011 has been a challenging year for the freelance translator, new technologies and difficult economic circumstances profoundly changing the landscape. Let's look back at 5 of the most difficult challenges we've had to deal with in 2011.

1. A changed economy

The unstable economic, and, as a consequence, political climate has done little to help the freelance translator. While rates and interest in some language combinations have maintained the same levels and momentum, some others (such as translations into Spanish) have decreased dramatically.

2. Technology is NOT good for business

While there is no doubt that technology has made the actual translation process a LOT easier, a lot of businesses are using software and on-line applications such as the Google translation tool for draft translations, reducing the need for a linguistic expert.

3. In some countries, the economic depression has actually proved positive

There are some sectors in which companies have been obliged to look across the border more than before, being unable to sustain their activity without help from abroad. For example, historically conservative Spanish companies in the construction sector are hoping to be bought by German companies in order to save themselves from extinction, generating a need for technical/patent/legal translations.

4. Translation tools are getting better

CAT tools are getting better every day. For a freelance translator or translation agency to work without them has become difficult, if not impossible, to imagine. It seems that SDL have finally got their act together, and in the light of competition from the likes of Kilgray, for example, ironed out most of the bugs that have plagued SDL Trados for years. However, this brings new challenges to the translation desk: low Trados rates, high product prices, and a long learning curve for some of these tools, to mention but a few.

5. Instant communication


Smartphones and an increasingly mobile web mean that clients can contact us at any time of day, regardless of where they (and we) are at. Freelancers have to be constantly switched on, always connected, and able to answer phone calls and emails at any given moment. The famous "flexible timetables" of the freelancer are being replaced by a need for 24-hour availability.

Has it been a good year for you? Which of the above challenges have you experienced yourselves? Let us know in the comments. Or come back next week, when we will look at the freelance translator's challenges for 2012.

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