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Effects of COVID-19 on the translation industry
Thread poster: Nicholas Isard
Nicholas Isard
Nicholas Isard  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:53
Member (2020)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Profile May 21, 2020

Hi Cristiano,

You might want to check the English on your profile page, as there are multiple mistakes. Given that you translate from English, it might be a good idea to fix that. Not a criticism, just some constructive advice.

Best,
NIck


 
Marge Hogarty
Marge Hogarty  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:53
French to English
Just getting started Jun 5, 2020

My confinement inspired me to get going and put my French to English translation ability and training to good use. I am spending most of my time learning about the business and doing some sample translations in my fields of interest. This may be a bad time to start this, but I am confident that I will make some progress.

[Edited at 2020-06-05 12:56 GMT]


 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 10:53
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Very bad here too Jun 5, 2020

Very bad and getting worse in Brazil, which is a worsening of a serious crisis that has gripped the country for at least five years.
The worst is having to wait up to 60 days for payment, in the terrible situation the country is going through.
I'm even considering getting a second job.


Yaotl Altan
 
gmarton22gma
gmarton22gma
Bangladesh
The number of patient is increasing everyday! Jun 8, 2020

The Pandemic Covid-19 has taken lost of valuable life so far. And still the number of patients are increasing everyday. We are all waiting to see the remedy or a vaccine. Let see what happen next.

 
David Mossop
David Mossop  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:53
Member (2010)
German to English
DE-EN marketing translations completely dried up Jun 23, 2020

My personal experience is, sadly, a very negative one. All of my (agency) clients are based in the DACH area, and I do mostly marketing/tourism/PR-style translations. March started out okay but then things massively tailed off; my earnings in April were down around 30-40%, and May and June have been catastrophically slow - business is now down by 60-70% for me. I am using this time to take stock and decide whether I want to remain in this industry, or if this is a sign that it is time to retrain... See more
My personal experience is, sadly, a very negative one. All of my (agency) clients are based in the DACH area, and I do mostly marketing/tourism/PR-style translations. March started out okay but then things massively tailed off; my earnings in April were down around 30-40%, and May and June have been catastrophically slow - business is now down by 60-70% for me. I am using this time to take stock and decide whether I want to remain in this industry, or if this is a sign that it is time to retrain / change career.Collapse


Angela B
 
Edwin den Boer
Edwin den Boer  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 14:53
Member (2009)
English to Dutch
Please don't cough on the gloating tech bro Jun 28, 2020

Wow, I didn't know the crisis affected translators this much. I was lucky to start working for an HR technology company recently. In March, April and May, COVID-19 was my bread and butter, as my main client switched into high gear to change its processes and help its users.

Software localization, my usual specialization, is like the cockroach of the translation industry, and will probably outlive humanity. I didn't notice any downturn during the Great Recession either. I don't want
... See more
Wow, I didn't know the crisis affected translators this much. I was lucky to start working for an HR technology company recently. In March, April and May, COVID-19 was my bread and butter, as my main client switched into high gear to change its processes and help its users.

Software localization, my usual specialization, is like the cockroach of the translation industry, and will probably outlive humanity. I didn't notice any downturn during the Great Recession either. I don't want to gloat, I want to show how big the differences between industries and individuals are. I had a bad year in 2018, got back on my feet in 2019 and will pay off my debts this year.

Voluntary quarantaine did affect me. I had a fever in March, which was probably influenza. Testing wasn't available - we now know it would have been possible, but the Dutch government decided not to test civilians with light symptoms. This was part of the 'herd immunity' strategy; containing or eliminating the virus was considered impossible. The policy was managing the level of infections, and they backtracked so much it's unclear what the current policy is. I'm shocked at how ill-prepared our experts were.

Many people assume that freelancers are used to working from home, but I was used to working in a rented office for two or three days a week. Last year, I'd switched from a fixed desk in a classroom-sized office to a flexible spot in a huge open-plan office. I'm still not sure whether it's a good idea to go back there. Now I'm wrestling with questions I can't answer at the moment:

- Why am I living in the city when everything is done remotely?
- Why would I keep living in a country that doesn't protect my health?

Thanks to massive subsidies, the economic shock in the Netherlands wasn't as big as in the US. But now we're entering a period when the government is saying "Everything's reopening, it will be fine," while businesses are saying "We can't keep operating at half capacity."

If you're bored and you're getting income support, maybe you could volunteer as a translator for activist groups like Masks4All, Masks4All Czechia or Containment Nu in the Netherlands.
Collapse


Yaotl Altan
 
Yaotl Altan
Yaotl Altan  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 07:53
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Dismantled Jan 28, 2021

Edwin den Boer wrote:
...

- Why am I living in the city when everything is done remotely?
- Why would I keep living in a country that doesn't protect my health?

Thanks to massive subsidies, the economic shock in the Netherlands wasn't as big as in the US. But now we're entering a period when the government is saying "Everything's reopening, it will be fine," while businesses are saying "We can't keep operating at half capacity."

If you're bored and you're getting income support, maybe you could volunteer as a translator for activist groups like Masks4All, Masks4All Czechia or Containment Nu in the Netherlands.


Many countries dismantled their public health systems and covid19 caught us without proper infrastructure.


 
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Effects of COVID-19 on the translation industry






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