Translators generally work in the field because they enjoy translating and, at the same time, can earn a living at it. Translation – like many other liberal professions – is a purpose-driven activity that demands constant decision making on a daily basis, with the concomitant risk that a wrong decision can have a negative impact on the translator in terms of economics and reputation.

Freelance translators are especially vulnerable to financial risks because they are often one-person businesses in which one slow-paying or non-paying client can cause cash flow problems, wreaking tremendous havoc on their business and personal finances.

While there’s no way (other than asking for full payment in advance) to be 100% sure that a potential client will be a reliable payer or not, there are a number of steps you can take that will minimize your financial risk when considering a project from a client.

1. Know the client. You want all the details you can find: full company name, address, telephone number, email and Tax ID. Emails from sites like Gmail, Yahoo, hotmail and so on are a warning flag: legitimate businesses have their own websites and their own email addresses. You can use Google Maps to get a look at their address, which should appear appropriate for a business. You’ll also want to check this information against the purchase order (more than that below).

2. Explore the client’s payment history. There are several sites that have information about translation agencies’ payment reliability. One of the most popular is ProZ’s Blue Board, which is available at www.proz.com/blueboard/. On the Blue Board, ProZ members rate the client from 1-5 and may leave a short comment about their experience with the agency. Another excellent option is Payment Practices at www.paymentpractices.net. The annual subscription fee is $19.99/€19.99, but you can check out the service with its seven-day free trial. Subscribers can check the PP database of more than 11,000 translation agencies for responses and comments, and use its PP Reliability Score and Translator Approval Scores, along with translator feedback, to decide whether to work for a particular client. Translation Ethics, at translationethics.blogspot.com.es publishes a blacklist of agencies, scammers, non-payers and low-payers. For a list of email addresses related to suspected scammers (payment issues are not addressed), see www.translator-scammers.com, which lists over 3,800 suspected scammers and warns translators about the latest trends in scamming. Finally, Black Sheep, at www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=4871593, has an active internet community that shares information on agencies with payment issues.

3. Look at the files provided for translation. Examine them thoroughly and identify the steps you will need to take in order to deliver a quality translation to your client on time. These steps include: making an accurate word count (again, to be checked against the PO), estimating any significant research to be done before the translation, format conversions (if required) and any page formatting to be taken care of after the translation itself is finished. If extensive pre- or post-translation work is needed, note this for inclusion in the quote.

4. Agree on a delivery time with your client. Remember, the translator is doing the actual work, and is the best person to estimate how long it will take to do the translation and any formatting to the professional standard required. Experienced translators know what volume they can produce on a given day, and they should not allow clients to push them into making an unrealistic time commitment, no matter how “urgent” the project is. Because translation has become a globalized industry, it is essential to specify the time zone…and to take it into account when calculating the time the translator will need to complete the project.

5. Agree on a rate for the project. Do not assume that the rate proposed by the agency is to be paid for all words; many agencies expect discounts on words or phrases that repeat within a document or set of documents, or are already in a translation memory supplied by the client to the translator. Rates vary widely across languages, times zones and geographical locations. Don’t forget to establish when and how the job is to be paid: upon delivery, or 30, 45 or 60 days after reception of the invoice via check, bank transfer, PayPal, etc. Some agencies will accept invoices only on the last day of the month and calculate payment from that date, so this should be clarified before accepting the project.

6. Get a purchase order BEFORE beginning work. This is highly advisable with all clients, but absolutely essential when working with a new client. A purchase order must include all the information listed in the preceding points – client’s full business name, address, telephone/fax number, tax ID and email, job description (ID number, file number, project name, etc.), documents to be translated, source and destination languages, services to be provided (translation, editing, formatting, transcription, etc.), delivery format and deadline (date and time, with time zone specified), rate agreed on – including any discounts for matches/fuzzies if using a CAT tool) – and exact payment terms.

A legitimate client will have no problem providing you with all of the above; after all, it’s in both the client’s and the translator’s interest to have the project’s responsibilities and obligations spelled out so that everyone knows his job and what is required.

Bad clients, scammers and non-payers will often give you the runaround when you ask for a PO, change the project conditions (rate or deadline) after you’ve begun translating, or offer to issue one after the project is delivered. There is no logical reason for a translator to accept this behavior, as it simply increases risk and reduces guarantees for the translator while doing the exact opposite for the client, who is seeking to protect himself at the translator’s expense.

Freelance translators need to work, but this need must not blind them to another, greater need: to be able to collect, as agreed on, the money earned.

In a world whose globalized market means that the positive or negative evolution of one nation’s economy can have effects – sometimes devastating – across the planet, there is one industry that has continued to grow both in complexity and extension due to a seemingly never-ending demand for information sharing: the translation industry. Recent studies from Common Sense Advisory reveal that the translation industry is estimated to be worth over $33.5 billion globally, with predictions by some that it could reach $39 billion by 2018. In the US, this means some additional 12,400 jobs – a 36% increase – by 2019. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also predicts a whopping 46% percent growth between 2012 and 2022, far greater than the average 11% growth for all careers.

Two factors are driving this exponential growth, and both seem to be long-term trends: businesses expanding to new markets abroad, and increased immigration

With this increasing demand for translators, it’s logical to ask how exactly does one become a translator.

Most translators arrive at their profession via two main paths: education or practical experience.

More and more universities are offering degrees or professional certificates in translation (or translation and interpreting), and there are also, of course, the traditional on-campus programs as well.

Another option, and one that is actually quite common, is to use the experience gained from working as a professional in another field – law, architecture and medicine are common – and apply it to translation work.

Speaking a second language, though, is not enough: Regardless of the path chosen, there are requirements that any translator must meet, and these include native-level language ability in the language you wish to translate into (professional translators generally translate into their native language only); an outstanding knowledge of the foreign language you are translating from, including cultural nuances; excellent writing skills (you must be able not only to understand the source text, but also replicate its style and register); analytical skills (to understand what you read); research skills (for terminology); and IT skills (technology plays an increasingly important role in today’s translation industry, and is key to an efficient business operation).

And there’s another personality trait that can make you a top-level translator: curiosity. Curiosity drives the translator to learn new skills, look up unfamiliar words, research unfamiliar subjects and, in general, to nose around the topic of the translation at hand until he not only understands the words in the translation, but the concept as well.

Most translators work as freelancers; in the US, earnings average about $45,000 a year. However, depending on the language combination (translating from French into Chinese, for example, commands a higher rate than translating from Spanish into English) and the industry (a local community center or a Fortune-500 company), salaries can run into six figures.

One downside to the industry is the fact that there are few official standards that place limits on who can call themselves a translator, and few official bodies that certify translators (the main body in the US is the American Translators Association). As a result, the industry has been flooded with amateurs who attempt to compete with professionals, which makes degrees and certifications invaluable tools when offering translation services.

The exponential growth of the translation industry has opened the door to language lovers who have the skills and knowledge – and are willing to expend the time and effort to develop them to their fullest potential – to create communication bridges worldwide, and translation professionals are always glad to welcome fellow professional translators into the world of multilingual communication.