A year as a freelance
A year ago today was the first day I devoted entirely to freelance translation work. This past year has been only a modest success financially: my 2015 income was about half my 2014 income, and YTD 2016 is on a trajectory to surpass 2015, but not by very much. Only 40% or so of my freelance income has been from translation, so I am lucky to have continuing interest in my accounting and tax preparation skills. I also received help from my family, continued part-time employment for the first few months, and a nice little tax refund, so I've been able to pay the bills in spite of the drop in income.
On the plus side, I completed my NYU certificate and while I didn't pass the ATA certification exam on the first pass, I am confident of success the next time around. I am involved in the local professional translation community and have made some friends there, and I have been to a professional conference. More recently, I have begun working with a couple of new agency clients, expanding my portfolio of subjects covered and, more important, earning higher pay rates. One of them has already given me repeat business, so I know I've made a good impression, and steady work from either or both of these clients will make life a lot easier.
Steady, salaried work in this industry is hard to come by, and not necessarily well-paid when the opportunity arises, as I know from direct experience. I was told by one of my professors that it takes on average three years to make a decent living as a freelance translator; I hope that the part-time work I was doing in 2013 and 2014 shaved a piece of that three years off. In any case, things look promising, and I can live with that.
On the plus side, I completed my NYU certificate and while I didn't pass the ATA certification exam on the first pass, I am confident of success the next time around. I am involved in the local professional translation community and have made some friends there, and I have been to a professional conference. More recently, I have begun working with a couple of new agency clients, expanding my portfolio of subjects covered and, more important, earning higher pay rates. One of them has already given me repeat business, so I know I've made a good impression, and steady work from either or both of these clients will make life a lot easier.
Steady, salaried work in this industry is hard to come by, and not necessarily well-paid when the opportunity arises, as I know from direct experience. I was told by one of my professors that it takes on average three years to make a decent living as a freelance translator; I hope that the part-time work I was doing in 2013 and 2014 shaved a piece of that three years off. In any case, things look promising, and I can live with that.