When you’re first making the decision to become a translator, it can be quite difficult to determine whether one should become a freelance translator or seek employment with a translation agency. What are the pros and cons of each choice? The purpose of this post is to provide a little information on both options in the hope that it may help up-and-coming translators make the right decision for their own particular circumstance.

Becoming a Freelance Translator

There are obvious advantages in deciding to become a freelance translator. For starters, there’s the freedom of being able to organise your own personal time, in your own location. Because you won’t be reporting for work at an office at a specific time, you’ll have the freedom to work comfortably from an area in your own home and determine your own schedule and working conditions. And, of course, there’s the advantage of income: once you’ve become well established in the translation industry the jobs that you’re successful in completing will place you in a financially advantageous position, much more so than when compared to working with a translation agency.

Knowing When to Take Time off

However, there’s always a price for independence. When faced with a lot of work an independent translator is always tempted to take on more work than they’re really capable of handling, and it can be quite difficult to know where to draw this line. Should one keep on working during the weekends, or should one take a break? After all, you never know when you may come upon lean times and regret taking time off. So the temptation is always there to continue working day and night to keep up with the workload. Obviously this is not a healthy way to approach your job, and one must be very strict about taking time off - completely away from your work situation.

Having to Manage Your Own Business

Another disadvantage about working for oneself is that the situation can (and does) arise that, when it’s time to collect payment on a translation, things don’t always go as planned. Because you, as the translator, are the person responsible for the entire project, including payment, you must be extremely organised and business-savvy, and protect yourself against clients who may not be so eager to settle your account. There’s no point putting in so much hard work and time, only to struggle or even fail to receive payment at the end of the project.

The Social Aspect

The factor to consider when becoming a freelance translator is the social aspect. We know that working alone at home can be a very productive situation when it comes to work output, but we should always remember that working in a group environment is much more conducive to a healthy career because it nourishes us and helps us grow as a translator.