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I want to go full-time: should I be a freelancer or an agency?
Thread poster: Maryse Trevithick
Maryse Trevithick
Maryse Trevithick  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:18
English to Arabic
+ ...
Jul 15, 2001

HI.I am professional freelance translator / interpreter and been translating part time for about 6 years. I would like to make it as my full time profession, but not sure if I should stay as a freelance translator seeking jobs from agencies and individuals, or try to establish my own agency with my own network of translators & interpreters. What\'s the pros and cons and what do you think would be more beneficial for me on all levels.



Thanks in advance.
 
Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Local time: 09:18
German to English
+ ...
What a great question! Nov 15, 2001

In short: been there, done that!



It is really a personal decision. You must ask yourself these questions: Do I enjoy being a translator? Do I want to spend most of my days managing and organizing other translators?



My personal experience was that I stopped being a translator myself: when you operate your own agency, you will have your hands full organizing teams of translators, proofreaders, editors, etc. In my case, there simply was no time left for me ... See more
In short: been there, done that!



It is really a personal decision. You must ask yourself these questions: Do I enjoy being a translator? Do I want to spend most of my days managing and organizing other translators?



My personal experience was that I stopped being a translator myself: when you operate your own agency, you will have your hands full organizing teams of translators, proofreaders, editors, etc. In my case, there simply was no time left for me to do translations of my own anymore. As a result, I decided to go back to being an independent freelancer.



If you work in a language combination that is rarely requested, you should consider starting your own agency in order to increase your span and earnings. However, this is clearly not the case here: you work with English, French AND Arabic (!). Without any doubt, you could certainly make a good living just working for yourself.



It\'s been a while since you posted your question, so let us know how things have shaped up for you in the meantime. ▲ Collapse
 


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I want to go full-time: should I be a freelancer or an agency?







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