ProZ.com Blog

CAT tools in 2023: part four

September 21, 2023

Tell a friend...

If you are looking for a new CAT tool, having a wider array of options to choose from can be great, but it can also make the decision process more confusing, too. If you are searching for your first CAT tool, feedback from fellow translators on what they use and why is the first thing you might seek out (and is probably why you are reading this, if you are in that situation). But how did those translators giving you recommendations choose their primary CAT tool?

Jared Tabor

CAT tools in 2023: part three

September 17, 2023

Ten years on... comparisons with the 2013 report

The big players in CAT tools in 2013 are still with us in 2023, but in some cases you will see that popularity and use have changed. MemoQ has moved from third into second position as the most reported CAT tool, for example. Tools such as XTM, MetaTexis, and Wordbee made interesting jumps in the percentages of translators reporting using them. And Memsource, which was relatively very new to the game in 2013, has moved up most notably since then, going on to occupy third place as the most widely-reported CAT tool.

Jared Tabor

CAT tools in 2023: part two

September 15, 2023

Who uses a CAT tool

Just over 93% of full-time professional translators use at least one CAT tool. Not a surprising percentage, especially if you take into account that ten years ago, the percentage of translators using a CAT tool was already at or above 80%, and the trend has been steadily upward.

Jared Tabor

CAT tools in 2023: part one

September 12, 2023

The first full ProZ.com report on Computer-aided Translation (CAT) tools was published in 2013. In the last ten years, translation-related technology has changed a lot. And more recently, some things have started to change at a pace which can leave your head spinning. But some things have not changed, at the same time. Let’s get into it.

Jared Tabor

Remote interpreters in 2023: part three

September 6, 2023

Jared Tabor

Remote interpreters in 2023: part two

August 30, 2023

Jared Tabor

Remote interpreters in 2023: part one

August 25, 2023

If you read last year’s ProZ.com industry report for freelancers-- or maybe you heard the audio version narrated by Paul Urwin on the ProZ.com podcast-- you may remember that we looked at two main trends that were affecting interpreters...

Jared Tabor

Survey on rates, earnings, income among language professionals

August 22, 2023

I am currently running a survey aimed at getting some insight on issues surrounding earnings, income, rates and other financial considerations among language professionals. The survey consists of 25 questions, and takes about eight minutes to complete. Would you be willing to add your input?

Complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LVBW3X5

Jared Tabor

New industry report on CAT tools now available

August 10, 2023

A follow up to the report on CAT tools from 2013 has been published. A lot has changed in ten years. And other things have not.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: Outlook

December 29, 2022

Freelance language professionals' outlooks on the future of their work and careers run the gamut, of course. But in general, positivity is up and negativity is down from 2020. The percentage of language professionals who would recommend their line of work to someone who is currently weighing their career options is also up slightly, which is good-- the industry will need all the new talent it can get.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: Clients

December 28, 2022

Let's take a look at freelance language professionals and their clients.

In 2022, a higher percentage of translators reported not having any "regular" clients at the moment: 15%, versus less than 10% in the previous 14 years. Of course, "regular" is somewhat subjective, but it might be slightly more meaningful than a simple total number of clients. The largest group, between 20 and 30% over the last 14 years, report working with 4 to 6 "regular" clients at a time.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: Income, planning, investments

December 27, 2022

So let’s talk money.

One tendency is to focus too sharply on rates. To be fair, a successful freelancer pays attention to their rates, charges accordingly for their work, and sets rates which allow them to deliver good work and make the living they want to make. However, it can be easy to miss the “income forest” if one is staring too hard at an individual “rate tree”.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: A demographic interlude

December 26, 2022

Because everyone likes a nice chart or graph, right? Here we go.

Years in the industry

Respondents to surveys and other participants in this report are a relatively “mature” crowd in terms of professional experience. Almost half fall into the range of between six and eighteen years in the industry.

Surveys outside of the ProZ.com site indicate the percentage of newer language professionals may be higher than shown here, however, with 10% having been in the industry for just under two years, and another 10% in the 2 - 4 year range.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: Turnover and Attention Economy

December 21, 2022

You win some, you lose some

The percentage of people who are leaving the industry had declined somewhat by 2019. Just under 21% said they were planning on leaving, or had already left the industry. There was a small uptick in this percentage in 2022, to 23%.

Now, bear in mind that these percentages include people who are considering leaving but who have not yet left, and they also likely leave out some who have already left as well. In 2022, roughly 37% of freelance translators and interpreters reported knowing friends or colleagues who had left the industry in the past couple of years.

Jared Tabor

Trends in the language services industry: The continued rise of the remote interpreter

December 19, 2022

There was probably a sort of Golden Age of the Interpreter, where technology had gotten good enough to support and facilitate an interpreter’s work, but where for the most part the interpreter needed to be on site. So you saw a lot of interpreters traveling here and there, near and far, to work at conferences, job sites, business meetings, court hearings, and so on. It sounds almost glamorous, doesn’t it?

Tech advances then reached a point where those plane tickets and travel expenses began to dry up, as it became easier and easier and more and more cost effective to bring the interpreter onto the scene either over the phone or virtually. Not only can remote interpreting be more cost effective, it can also be safer-- think of military applications, war zones, language support during epidemics, and so on. Smart phones allowed us to go mobile with a distant interpreter, and platforms geared towards finding and engaging with a distant interpreter began to pop up across the internet.

Jared Tabor

CAT tools in 2023: part four

Tell a friend...

CAT tools in 2023: part three

Ten years on... comparisons with the 2013 report

CAT tools in 2023: part two

Who uses a CAT tool

CAT tools in 2023: part one

Remote interpreters in 2023: part three

Remote interpreters in 2023: part two

Remote interpreters in 2023: part one

Survey on rates, earnings, income among language professionals

New industry report on CAT tools now available

Trends in the language services industry: Outlook

Trends in the language services industry: Clients

Trends in the language services industry: Income, planning, investments

Trends in the language services industry: A demographic interlude

Years in the industry

Trends in the language services industry: Turnover and Attention Economy

You win some, you lose some

Trends in the language services industry: The continued rise of the remote interpreter

Subscribe to Email Updates

Lists by Topic

Posts by Topic

Listen to the ProZ.com Podcast

Recent Posts

ProZ.com Headquarters

ProZ.com Argentina

ProZ.com Ukraine