Poll: Do you feel like you have experience to share with other professionals which would benefit them? Konuyu gönderen: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you feel like you have experience to share with other professionals which would benefit them?".
View the poll results »
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I have been translating for well over 40 years, first part-time for a few years, then full-time as staff translator at an EU Institution where I mentored several junior colleagues and after retiring from that job I have been freelancing, so I think I know a thing or two about this profession and I’m always willing to share informally what I learned but I wouldn’t do it formally as I simply don’t have the time nor the skillset required to teach…
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belçika
Local time: 21:04
Üye (2020)
Fransızca > Hollandaca
+ ...
If you are a seasoned translator who has been working for years and even decades in the freelance translation business you have obviously experience that could be shared to the benefit of other, less experienced translators.
Personally I don't feel the need to share it, apart from some randomly answered questions on Proz if I feel like it. I've also never felt the need to ask or seek for advice myself. I've always searched my own way and have actually found that being a freelancer i... See more If you are a seasoned translator who has been working for years and even decades in the freelance translation business you have obviously experience that could be shared to the benefit of other, less experienced translators.
Personally I don't feel the need to share it, apart from some randomly answered questions on Proz if I feel like it. I've also never felt the need to ask or seek for advice myself. I've always searched my own way and have actually found that being a freelancer is quite intuitive. You really don't need to read books or all sorts of advice to learn how te be a freelance translator. It's actually quite simple.
As far as sharing your experience professionally is concerned (being paid for it), I don't think a thriving translator has time for that.
[Edited at 2023-06-06 09:08 GMT]
[Edited at 2023-06-06 09:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Not really. As Lieven says, it's all pretty intuitive.
Then again, I seem to find plenty to share here...
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Kay Denney 
Fransa
Local time: 21:04
Fransızca > İngilizce
I always enjoyed having an intern when I worked at the agency. As a freelancer I don't have that possibility any more. I jumped at the chance to teach translation techniques at the school I got my master from, but January 2020 was not a good time to start. Online teaching was excruciatingly difficult, so I stopped when in September they announced that all lessons would be online until further notice.
The daughter of friends of friends has been training in translation and I willingly answe... See more I always enjoyed having an intern when I worked at the agency. As a freelancer I don't have that possibility any more. I jumped at the chance to teach translation techniques at the school I got my master from, but January 2020 was not a good time to start. Online teaching was excruciatingly difficult, so I stopped when in September they announced that all lessons would be online until further notice.
The daughter of friends of friends has been training in translation and I willingly answered all her questions, all the while feeling that my experience is not really worth sharing in that nowadays people need to learn to correct MT and AI output rather than do the job from scratch.
[Edited at 2023-06-06 10:36 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Iulia Parvu
Romanya
Local time: 22:04
Üye (2022)
İngilizce > Rumence
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| I love to share when asked to... | Jun 6, 2023 |
...my main 'problem' being that I'm not good at teaching others. Probably because I lack the patience.
| | | | Liena Vijupe
Letonya
Local time: 22:04
Üye (2014)
Fransızca > Letonca
+ ...
| Yes, but no thanks | Jun 6, 2023 |
I used to be very enthusiastic about it in the past but I've learned in life that many people just prefer complaining and, as seen on this very forum just recently, sharing your experience is considered "boasting" so I only do it when asked.
| | | | | It's not a question of having time or not... | Jun 6, 2023 |
Last year, I was offered to be a mentor at the ITIMedNet for Spanish medical translation and all I can say is that it was a wonderful experience. And my mentees were so happy that you end up realizing it's a win-win situation for both parties.
We all often say "I don't have time", but we also know that we use time for what we think it's worth the effort.
[Edited at 2023-06-06 12:46 GMT]
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I think that sharing experience is an important part of what we do.
Little anecdote: at a company where I once worked, I tried to convince a technician to teach his young assistant the ropes and the answer I got was "It took me years to learn to use these machines - I didn't receive any help from anyone, and I'm not going to give away what I know. He can learn the way I did". Some time later, a new department was set up. The technician couldn't take it on because he was the only on... See more I think that sharing experience is an important part of what we do.
Little anecdote: at a company where I once worked, I tried to convince a technician to teach his young assistant the ropes and the answer I got was "It took me years to learn to use these machines - I didn't receive any help from anyone, and I'm not going to give away what I know. He can learn the way I did". Some time later, a new department was set up. The technician couldn't take it on because he was the only one who knew how to use the machines, so the young assistant was given the new post and became head of the department. The technician started drinking even more than before and ultimately, in a fit of rage, left the company.
I have plenty of experience I can share with others - it does cost me time but I've found that, in the end, it all comes back to me with interest. Not directly, but indirectly through others. You get known, others are more far more willing to help you and really there are no downsides. You may receive nothing but the pleasure of assisting, but it's unlikely. I recently spent part of an afternoon with a young translator, explaining things about the market. She learnt, but then so did I, from her feedback, her questions, her ideas. It helped me order my thoughts - and we had a lovely walk down by the sea, which is always a pleasure, followed by an aperitivo.
Simon ▲ Collapse
| | | | Philip Lees
Yunanistan
Local time: 22:04
Yunanca > İngilizce
I have lots of experience and I'd be quite happy to share it, but whether it would actually benefit anybody else is another question.
I think most people have to learn by making their own mistakes, just as I did.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portekiz
Local time: 20:04
Üye (2015)
İngilizce > Portekizce
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| Very wise answers | Jun 7, 2023 |
Liena Vijupe wrote:
I used to be very enthusiastic about it in the past but I've learned in life that many people just prefer complaining and, as seen on this very forum just recently, sharing your experience is considered "boasting" so I only do it when asked.
Philip Lees wrote:
I have lots of experience and I'd be quite happy to share it, but whether it would actually benefit anybody else is another question.
I think most people have to learn by making their own mistakes, just as I did.
I share the same views!
| | | | Tom in London
Birleşik Krallık
Local time: 20:04
Üye (2008)
İtalyanca > İngilizce
ProZ.com Staff wrote:
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you feel like you have experience to share with other professionals which would benefit them?". View the poll results »
I know a thing or two about clients in Italy who don't pay. I know how to make them pay, but my "method" only works on condition that the person I'm helping does *exactly* what I tell them to do and *nothing else*
[Edited at 2023-06-08 12:03 GMT]
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I do case studies in our work chat showing people how to translate and how not to translate. Some are learning my lessons, while others seem to ignore them. Meaningful, well-researched translations are not easy to create, so certain folks, especially the younger ones, prefer to take a pro forma approach to managing the "source to target" workflow. As a result, when I get to review translations of texts I've partly translated before, I can tell "my" segments (as uploaded to the TM) from "non-my" ... See more I do case studies in our work chat showing people how to translate and how not to translate. Some are learning my lessons, while others seem to ignore them. Meaningful, well-researched translations are not easy to create, so certain folks, especially the younger ones, prefer to take a pro forma approach to managing the "source to target" workflow. As a result, when I get to review translations of texts I've partly translated before, I can tell "my" segments (as uploaded to the TM) from "non-my" segments right off the bat, without much reading. However, the magic that happens when you take someone who doesn't know how and transform them into someone who knows how is just as enigmatic to me as it is to some other posters in this thread. I wouldn't brag about being able to make that magic happen. Oh, and I'm on vacation now, so our translators' chat is nearly dead
[Edited at 2023-06-08 12:39 GMT]
[Edited at 2023-06-08 14:13 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The mystery method | Jun 8, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote:
I know a thing or two about clients in Italy who don't pay. I know how to make them pay, but my "method" only works on condition that the person I'm helping does *exactly* what I tell them to do and *nothing else*
[Edited at 2023-06-08 12:03 GMT]
... and this "method" will forever remain a *closely* guarded secret...
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