ProZ.com Blog | translation (3)

Surviving cataclysms in the language services industry

September 7, 2023

In the rapidly evolving landscape of translation and interpreting, the advent of Machine Translation (MT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a cataclysmic shift that requires professionals to adapt and rethink their roles. Claudia Brauer, a distinguished figure in the industry, will be shedding light on this pressing matter during our Pre-ITD Meetup event: Surviving cataclysms in the language services industry. In this blog post, We'll provide you with additional insights about the subject and explain the significance of watching the Meetup.

Angela Luana Zalazar Aguirre

Meet the trainer: Tess Whitty

August 2, 2023

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Meet the speakers of the ProZ/TV event on artificial intelligence in Spanish.

July 24, 2023

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

ProZ/TV event: Power Up Your Translation Work with ChatGPT

June 20, 2023

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Guest post: Boost Your Translation Efficiency with ChatGPT, CotranslatorAI, and Shortcuts: Overcoming Workflow Pitfalls (Part 3)

May 8, 2023

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Guest post: Maximize Your Translation Potential with ChatGPT: Expand Beyond Your Client'sPlatform (Part2)

May 8, 2023

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Guest post: Revolutionize Your Translation Process with ChatGPT: Moving Beyond Sentence-by-Sentence Translation

May 4, 2023

I’m happy to present a guest blog post for translators and interpreters who are interested in boosting their speed and elevate their craft with the ChatGPT featuring Steven S. Bammel and Revolutionize Your Translation Process with ChatGPT: Moving Beyond Sentence-by-Sentence Translation.

Steven S. Bammel, PhD, is a seasoned technical translator specializing in Korean-to-English translation who is actively harnessing the power of AI-based tools like ChatGPT to revolutionize translation work. As the President of Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc., he has nearly 30 years of experience in Korea, business, and translation fields.

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Guest post: Tips for Getting Started as a Tech Translator

February 21, 2023

I’m happy to present a guest blog post for translators and interpreters who are getting started in their careers featuring Tianci Hu Marrero (Iggee) and Tips to Get Started as a Tech Translator.

Iggee is a full-time freelance translator and software developer based in New York. In the 7 years of her career, she has worked on numerous tech translation projects such as blockchain whitepaper, software localization, optical hardware, and API documentation.

Helen Shepelenko | Head of Training, Tools and Events at ProZ

Middlebury Institute of International Studies Scholarship for ProZ.com members

January 5, 2023

Dear members, ProZ.com paying members are now eligible for a 25% scholarship toward the following Middlebury Institute in-person or online, degree or nondegree localization programs:

Rocio Palacios

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

Surviving cataclysms in the language services industry

Meet the trainer: Tess Whitty

Meet the speakers of the ProZ/TV event on artificial intelligence in Spanish.

ProZ/TV event: Power Up Your Translation Work with ChatGPT

Guest post: Boost Your Translation Efficiency with ChatGPT, CotranslatorAI, and Shortcuts: Overcoming Workflow Pitfalls (Part 3)

Guest post: Maximize Your Translation Potential with ChatGPT: Expand Beyond Your Client'sPlatform (Part2)

Guest post: Revolutionize Your Translation Process with ChatGPT: Moving Beyond Sentence-by-Sentence Translation

Guest post: Tips for Getting Started as a Tech Translator

Middlebury Institute of International Studies Scholarship for ProZ.com members

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

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