Recommendations for freelance translators

Freelance translators, along with programmers and designers, are considered the most sought-after and highly paid specialists. The prospect of high earnings encourages young people to learn foreign languages. But the reality is far from what young people think about freelancing. Olesya Zaitseva, a freelancer with 15 years of experience in translation and copywriting, spoke about the main problems of beginner translators in her blog.

    1. Inflated expectations. Beginners are confident that absolutely all translators get a well-paid job, as soon as they demonstrate a high level of language proficiency. The reality is that many professionals have to contact hundreds of translation agencies and apply for dozens of orders before they can find a worthwhile project.
    2. Hope for a quick start. A translator, like other freelancers, needs time to make himself known, to earn some status. On average, this takes a year. Particularly penetrating, they create a reputation in six months. But not everyone is able to stand the test of time, many are disappointed and leave freelancing.
    3. Low level of knowledge. Even the most expensive and advanced courses in Moscow cannot provide the kind of knowledge that can be obtained while living in the country of the language being studied. Not many aspiring freelancers can afford to live abroad, which makes it hard for them to compete with more experienced freelancers.
    4. The low price trap. To earn a living, young translators take on any job. As a rule, they load themselves with such volumes that there is no time left either to study or to search for the best orders.

Where to start?

Passive job search rarely brings results. Therefore, do not waste time sending out resumes, but go to places where specific projects are offered. The first option is a translation agency. Find an agency in your city or look for a bureau for remote cooperation. But keep in mind that you will not be able to select tasks and negotiate a price. You will have to translate what they offer and when they say. At the same time, the agency will receive a good percentage of your work.

For those who want to work for themselves and look for orders on their own, there are translation exchanges. For example, the Author 24 service. On such sites, there are projects of any complexity, so there is always a task for beginners. Projects for translators are also put up on universal exchanges, but much less frequently. And the competition there is much higher, so we recommend starting with specialized services.

General tips for beginners

  1. Determine your maximum. You should clearly understand how long it will take to translate texts on different topics. Therefore, we advise you to conduct a small experiment and measure the time of work on the text for 1000 characters. It is advisable to experiment with passages of different subjects.
  2. Select topics. You don’t need to present yourself as a universal translator. It is better for a novice freelancer to choose a few topics that he really understands. Over time, this list can be expanded. Do not take on difficult topics: economics, law, medicine and business documents are not for beginners. One failed project can ruin your reputation on the stock exchange.
  3. Determine the cost of services. Beginners, as a rule, are embarrassed to discuss financial issues with customers, therefore they agree to cheap projects. We recommend that you study the pricing policy of the exchange and determine your minimum – the price for which you are willing to work. Objectively evaluate your capabilities, and boldly name the cost of services. Consider the features of each order: volume, subject, terms. For complex topics and tight deadlines, the price should be higher than usual.
  4. Do not be fooled. The issue of security for a novice freelancer is one of the fundamental ones. Unfortunately, there are customers who do not pay for projects. There are two ways to protect yourself: take an advance payment or ask for a settlement through the exchange. For example, on the Author 24 website, the system completely controls the payment process. Money is automatically transferred to the contractor after the client has accepted the order.
  5. Improve your skills. There are no limits to perfection. And even more so in the profession of a translator. No matter how busy you are, always find time to study. Seminars, webinars and a variety of courses will help you gain experience from senior colleagues and get a decent job.

When, after many sleepless nights, the diploma is finally ready, I want to pass it and forget it. But the university will not lag behind the student so easily. After all, the full text of the diploma was read only by the supervisor, and a whole commission will gather to evaluate it. Therefore, in many respects, his assessment depends on how a student defends a diploma.

So what is a successful defense?

  • Competent protection text
  • positive diploma review
  • confident answers to commission questions

In the introduction to the course it is necessary to indicate many important points. One of them is methodology. The student is required to indicate what methods he will use in the study of the topic. This is not the easiest task, and often students cannot cope with this task themselves. In this case, you can contact us. Our experts will write you a paper of any complexity, and you can discuss the price with them personally.

In the introduction to the course it is necessary to indicate many important points. One of them is methodology. The student is required to indicate what methods he will use in the study of the topic. This is not the easiest task, and often students cannot cope with this task themselves. In this case, you can contact us. Our experts will write you a paper of any complexity, and you can discuss the price with them personally.

In the introduction to the course it is necessary to indicate many important points. One of them is methodology. The student is required to indicate what methods he will use in the study of the topic. This is not the easiest task, and often students cannot cope with this task themselves. In this case, you can contact us. Our experts will write you a paper of any complexity, and you can discuss the price with them personally.

In the introduction to the course it is necessary to indicate many important points. One of them is methodology. The student is required to indicate what methods he will use in the study of the topic. This is not the easiest task, and often students cannot cope with this task themselves. In this case, you can contact us. Our experts will write you a paper of any complexity, and you can discuss the price with them personally.

Speech structure

Of course, what exactly to say in the defense depends mainly on the topic of the thesis and on what exactly is written in it, but there are general recommendations that are suitable for everyone.

  • First of all, we need to greet the members of the evaluation committee. (“Dear members of the attestation commission! Your attention is presented to the final qualifying work on the topic …”)
  • Introductory part. Here you need to reveal the topic and identify the issues that are raised in the work.
  • Relevance of the topic. At this stage, it is important to prove the relevance of the chosen topic and the degree of its development in other people’s works. Indicate the subject, object, objectives and purpose of the study.
  • Theme disclosure structure. Here you just need to list the paragraphs that are in the work and briefly describe them.
  • Problem statement. To confirm the relevance of the topic, it is necessary to state the problem and indicate the debatable opinions on this matter.
  • Conclusions. At the end of the speech, the commission should hear the conclusions that the student came to in the course of writing the diploma, in which there are ways and methods for solving the stated problems.

On the one hand, it seems that it is much easier to write a graduation speech than the diploma itself. However, high-quality speech is a skillful squeeze out of the work, as well as its competent presentation. And it often happens that a diploma is written with the highest score, and a student gets a worse grade. Therefore, if there is a lack of self-confidence, you can order a speech on our website. And then the probability of failure due to bad speech will disappear. After all, we give a twenty-day guarantee for the work, and if something does not suit you, you can demand that the author finalize the order for free. We make sure that students are satisfied, so if the final version of the work does not meet the stated requirements, you will get your money back.

Formal requirements

When writing a speech for a thesis, you must also take into account that there are purely formal requirements.

  • Time. Do not forget that there are many students, but the commission is one. Therefore, the time for a defensive speech is regulated and ranges from 5 to 7 minutes. At the same time, you should remember about the time that will be spent on commission questions.
  • Intonation. Where, no matter how on the defense of a diploma, is it important to win over listeners? Therefore, it is better not to read the speech monotonously, making accents with intonation.
  • Style. When presenting a speech, it should be remembered that the main goal is understanding on the part of the commission. Therefore, you should not be too smart, but you can’t switch to colloquial speech either. In this matter, you need to observe the golden mean.
  • Pronouns. As in the diploma itself, it is important to remember during the defense that although the author of the diploma is clearly spelled out, there are a lot of true owners of knowledge reflected in the work (the authors of all the sources the student relied on plus the supervisor), so first-person pronouns are not appropriate here.
  • Questions. After the end of the speech, questions from the commission will inevitably follow, and you need to be ready for them. Suggested questions should be written down in the course of writing the thesis, work through all the questions that arose during the pre-defense, and you can also look at the questions at the end of chapters from textbooks on this topic.
  • Pre-protection. In such a matter as defending a diploma, it is better not to be presumptuous and neglect pre-defense. On it, you can practice giving a speech and write down possible questions from the audience. This will allow you to feel more confident in the official defense.

Of course, these are only recommendations, and no one forces you to strictly follow them. However, the rejection of some positions during the defense will create additional questions from the certification committee, which is not always loyal. Therefore, it is best to think through all possible questions and answer them in advance in a defensive speech. Then the teachers will have a minimum of questions, and they will be grateful for the saved time.