Learning a language is fun and easy when you are using it casually. But to become a translator, language is the key skillset. At times, it can become boring because using a language for work will certainly kill the interest at some point in time. You can know the most important pros and cons that you should be aware of when you start working as a freelance translator.
1. You do not have to stick to a schedule
The first and the foremost thing that comes as a benefit to every online translator is working hours. You do not have to work on a fixed time. You can decide on your schedule when you want to work on a translation document.
Your working hours are dependent on the client’s requirement, and since there would be no one to manage, it is totally your discretion to choose the kind of client you want to work with and pick up the translation according to your time. As a strict schedule does not bound you, it becomes easy for you to get along with your work and enjoy it completely.
2. Creativity can lose its essence
Online translation jobs can become boring at a certain point in time because, as already mentioned, the language is used as the main tool here. You do not have the scope to use the language casually, and it is important to stick to the fundamentals along with the grammar when you are translating the document.
The client would give you a set of instructions that are required to be followed during the translation of the document, and when you start following through these things, it becomes difficult for you to innovate something using a language. This can be one of the demerits of working as a freelance translator.
3. You get to work on different projects
As a freelance translator, you will have several opportunities that come your way. It is completely your discretion to choose the kind of assignment that you want to work, and you are not restricted to one particular project at a time. If you are efficient enough, you can pick more than a couple of assignments and work in parallel, which can help you generate a lot of income.
4. Instability market
When you work as a freelance online translator, it becomes extremely difficult for you to meet the ends due to heavy competition and lack of opportunities in the market. At times, a freelance online translator would also save your problems due to the industry issues as the freelancing market is highly unstable.
5.Good opportunities
On the other hand, the freelance industry opens up a lot of opportunities through different sources. As a freelancer, you must keep your eyes open and start networking with different kinds of people.
6. Deadlines are strict
Working as a translator requires you to be extremely strict about deadlines. The clients would be completely dependent on you to get the work done, and they would also be highly demanding as there are answerable to someone else. As a freelance online translator, if you cannot meet the deadlines, you would quickly lose all your opportunities as the competition in the freelance market is extremely fast, and they would be somebody else grabbing all opportunities.
7. Work from home
When you work as an online translator, you do not have the restrictions of going to an office and working out of those premises. You are free to work out of your home, and you can also choose your own working space according to your convenience.
8. Motivation issues
You would be on your own all the time, and it requires a lot of self-motivation in place. If you lack motivation, one would soon lose out on the deadlines, and this can be a major demerit of being a translator in the freelance industry.
9. Huge demand for translators
There are a lot of foreign companies outsource in their work. Learning foreign languages is becoming one of the greatest trends, and a majority of online translators are increasing day after day. Hence, the opportunities that you can get are huge. However, you must keep upgrading yourself and understand the industry trend.
10. Loneliness
As an online translator working alone is one of the major demerits. At times working all by yourself can be really good, but in the long run, it can become extremely difficult to cope with, especially if you are an extrovert. Staying with the team will always help you solve the issues quickly, and it also helps you stay cheerful when you are low.
These are some of the major pros and cons of working as a freelance translator that an online translator must go through when deciding to start their journey in the freelancing world.
Featured Image by Memin Sito from Pixabay
