Poll: While working on a large project, what tires you the most?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
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Aug 1, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "While working on a large project, what tires you the most?".

This poll was originally submitted by Nihan Pekmen. View the poll results »



 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 19:33
Member (2006)
German to English
Bored? Aug 1, 2017

Why should I get bored with what I do? Nope, no boredom here!

 
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:33
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Software Problems Aug 1, 2017

It has happened to me on occasion that just when I am about to finish a large project, my CAT tool has malfunctioned spectacularly and failed to generate the target text in word format, meaning that I manually have to copy and paste each individual segment of text to a word document reproducing all the formatting as I go. This is a most troublesome problem and takes up a great deal of extra time when it happens.

 
Toni Faisal
Toni Faisal  Identity Verified
Indonesia
Local time: 01:33
English to Indonesian
+ ...
It just happened to me when I want to send package form but my client just got empty target language Aug 1, 2017

Angus Stewart wrote:

It has happened to me on occasion that just when I am about to finish a large project, my CAT tool has malfunctioned spectacularly and failed to generate the target text in word format, meaning that I manually have to copy and paste each individual segment of text to a word document reproducing all the formatting as I go. This is a most troublesome problem and takes up a great deal of extra time when it happens.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other (hardware and software problems) Aug 1, 2017

What can really upset me pretty bad are software or hardware problems! I like large projects and I don’t accept any project if the deadline is too tight or the subject matter is not interesting (I have a very curious mind) so usually they don't bore me, quite the contrary they keep me on my toes all the time. I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,0... See more
What can really upset me pretty bad are software or hardware problems! I like large projects and I don’t accept any project if the deadline is too tight or the subject matter is not interesting (I have a very curious mind) so usually they don't bore me, quite the contrary they keep me on my toes all the time. I work both with large, medium and small jobs and to manage all of them and keep clients happy and loyal I have some kind of a strategy. For large projects, I never schedule more than 2,000 words per day, leaving a couple of hours for smallish jobs from those regular clients that keep me working all year-round. This strategy has been working fine.Collapse


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 03:33
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Bored? Aug 1, 2017

Like Michael, I don't get bored. Otherwise, I'd never accept the project in the first place.

There are a number of factors that tire me, but the main ones are:

- the poor quality of the source text (you never know this until you get into a project)
- tags (most big projects are done in Trados or other CAT tools, and tags can be a real pain in the derriere)

Nevertheless, a big advantage of a big project is that you build up speed and knowledge o
... See more
Like Michael, I don't get bored. Otherwise, I'd never accept the project in the first place.

There are a number of factors that tire me, but the main ones are:

- the poor quality of the source text (you never know this until you get into a project)
- tags (most big projects are done in Trados or other CAT tools, and tags can be a real pain in the derriere)

Nevertheless, a big advantage of a big project is that you build up speed and knowledge of what you are translating, and the actual process of translation gets easier. You slip into overdrive.
Collapse


 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Everything Aug 1, 2017

Large projects are inherently boring.

You can always have too much of a good thing.

That is why I have many lovers.


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 03:33
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Just 'love' big projects Aug 1, 2017

Chris S wrote:

...You can always have too much of a good thing.

That is why I have many lovers.


This is why I give my projects sexy names such as Charlize, Natalie, Scarlett, Ava, Grace, Ingrid, Sophia, Monica or Brigitte. This will get you up at the crack of dawn!
Mantovani in the background and champagne might work for some, but not for me.


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 15:33
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Chinglish, legalese and other undue types of language Aug 1, 2017

Chinglish is most irritating and more common every day.
Legalese is rotten and drains patience.
But the worst is the papers written by students, above all in human sciences. What an incredible tallent to use undue ornaments, pedantic language and other detestable things. And I found out they are oriented to do that by their course counsellors/teachers!


 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 12:33
Dutch to English
+ ...
Poorly written/repetitive source documents Aug 1, 2017

Poorly written and/or repetitive source documents are the worst. I don't mind long or difficult documents as long as they are challenging. Tight deadlines are stressful but not tiring. I usually don't accept documents if the deadline is too tight.

 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:33
French to English
Repetition Aug 1, 2017

Tina Vonhof wrote:

Poorly written and/or repetitive source documents are the worst. I don't mind long or difficult documents as long as they are challenging. Tight deadlines are stressful but not tiring. I usually don't accept documents if the deadline is too tight.



A large project made up of bite-sized KFC pre-packaged units tends to stunt neuronal growth and my attention wonders. It's more a matter of format than content, as I find this happens even if the subject area is one I generally enjoy.

Any large Powerpoint document tends to be like this. I don't enjoy PPT documents. A good PPT is in note form, or almost as it is a supporting document for an oral presentation. It is drawn up with that in mind. Without the presenter to explain, they can often be hellish to translate. In fact, bad PPTs are easier to translate. We've all seen these: they are the ones put together by people presenting a subject they may actually know inside out, but who tend to feel more secure displaying a text on a screen that they will simply read out. Easier to translate, but horrendous to follow at a conference. Powerpoint documents are much less profitable to translate than ordinary text documents. I refuse large PPT documents.

Either of the above means I will not be that focussed and chances are that my work will not be of a quality I am happy with. I try to avoid that as it's dangerous professionally!


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
What tires me most? Other Aug 1, 2017

Other, like answering marketing polls.
Ugh, I need a nap now!




 
Vuka Mijuskovic
Vuka Mijuskovic  Identity Verified
Serbia
Local time: 19:33
English to Serbian
+ ...
Distractions and multitasking Aug 1, 2017

Being distracted or having to multitask. I hate not being 100% in the text I'm working on.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:33
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I like them! Aug 2, 2017

No problems here. So far this year I've had the following long projects:

51,100 words
31,500 words
27,600 words
26,800 words
(plus a lot of others, of course)

Two years ago I had one that was over 100,000 words.


[Edited at 2017-08-02 07:57 GMT]


 


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Poll: While working on a large project, what tires you the most?






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