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Rate for specialized translations and proofreading
Автор темы: Pabulo
Pabulo
Pabulo
Aug 28, 2009

I would like to know what is a reasonable payment per word when translating technical medical texts for a pharmaceutical company? And for a proof reader?

Thanks a lot.

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2009-08-28 03:34 GMT]
 
Penelope Ausejo
Penelope Ausejo  Identity Verified
Испания
Local time: 01:25
английский => испанский
+ ...
Language combination? Aug 28, 2009

In which language combination?
 
Pabulo
Pabulo
Автор темы
English to portuguese Aug 28, 2009

English to Portuguese
 
Mary O’Connor (X)
Mary O’Connor (X)  Identity Verified
Канада
французский => английский
+ ...
It all depends on the market. And what your client is willing to pay. Aug 28, 2009

Hi
I have had to review my rate over the years and have different rates for different clients. It all depends on the standard of living of the country you are living in, your expertise and what the client is willing to pay.
Contact translation agencies in your area and see what they charge. Then at least you know the competition.

I hope this helps in some way
 
Andreas Nieckele
Andreas Nieckele  Identity Verified
Бразилия
Local time: 20:25
английский => португальский
short answer Aug 28, 2009

$0.10 - $0.14 USD per source word (translation)

This is not set in stone of course...
 
Pabulo
Pabulo
Автор темы
Proofreading Aug 28, 2009

How much would you ask for a A4 size proofreading page (400 words) of specialized medical text?

Thanks again.
 
Kevin Lossner
Kevin Lossner  Identity Verified
Португалия
Local time: 00:25
немецкий => английский
+ ...
Charge by the hour for proofreading Aug 28, 2009

If you don't, you'll end up getting sucker-punched at some point.

As a rule of thumb I figure that bilingual checking of a well-translated document that is not particularly complex will take me about 1/3 the time I would require to translate, so I use this as a basis for estimating time. However, with long documents there are often traps that are not apparent with a quick read-through. Also, correcting diagrams and other embedded structures may be rather time-consuming. Doing editi... See more
If you don't, you'll end up getting sucker-punched at some point.

As a rule of thumb I figure that bilingual checking of a well-translated document that is not particularly complex will take me about 1/3 the time I would require to translate, so I use this as a basis for estimating time. However, with long documents there are often traps that are not apparent with a quick read-through. Also, correcting diagrams and other embedded structures may be rather time-consuming. Doing editing/proofreading at piecework rates is usually a rather silly endeavor.

An honestly accounted hourly fee is really the fairest solution for all concerned; if the documents being checked are of good quality, the work will go quickly, and the client will save a bundle compared to typical piecework rates. If the client is a loser who sends you MT content that you have to retranslate, then the charge reflects this in an appropriate way.

I find it is usually appropriate to set the hourly rate near or above the average that one earns by translating materials of a given type. I find editing work annoying, so I have recently decided that I will probably set my hourly fee for such services at about double what I would make translating. In the end this will be cheaper for the client, because the higher rate will distract me from explosive outbursts of "How the Hell could anyone write anything this stupid?", which tend to add to the time required to finish a job. ▲ Collapse
 
AlisaIWW
AlisaIWW
США
русский => английский
+ ...
Good point Ken. Oct 3, 2009

In the end this will be cheaper for the client, because the higher rate will distract me from explosive outbursts of "How the Hell could anyone write anything this stupid?", which tend to add to the time required to finish a job.
I would have laughed my socks off if it weren't such a recent experience...:-\
 


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Rate for specialized translations and proofreading







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