An agency asks to complete an information security course Thread poster: Nikolay Novitskiy
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Nikolay Novitskiy 
Russian Federation
Local time: 06:59
Member (2018)
English to Russian
An agency I'm working with just asked me to complete an information security course. They aren't going to pay me anything for doing this, and the course will take about and hour and a half. I can tell the course duration for sure because they already had asked me to complete the same course a year ago. (They say it's time to "refresh" my knowledge now).
I'm still thinking about weather I should take the course or not - they gave me a very large task from them last year, still. Howev... See more An agency I'm working with just asked me to complete an information security course. They aren't going to pay me anything for doing this, and the course will take about and hour and a half. I can tell the course duration for sure because they already had asked me to complete the same course a year ago. (They say it's time to "refresh" my knowledge now).
I'm still thinking about weather I should take the course or not - they gave me a very large task from them last year, still. However, completing the course guarantees me nothing, except for that I "remain" in their vendors base.
The course itself is nothing more but a mix of obvious facts. Like "you should have your passwords encrypted" and "don't show your passwords to strangers", etc.
Did you have anything like this in your business practice? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:59
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Your decision | Nov 30, 2021 |
Nikolay Novitskiy wrote:
An agency I'm working with just asked me to complete an information security course. They aren't going to pay me anything for doing this, and the course will take about and hour and a half. I can tell the course duration for sure because they already had asked me to complete the same course a year ago. (They say it's time to "refresh" my knowledge now).
I'm still thinking about weather I should take the course or not - they gave me a very large task from them last year, still. However, completing the course guarantees me nothing, except for that I "remain" in their vendors base.
The course itself is nothing more but a mix of obvious facts. Like "you should have your passwords encrypted" and "don't show your passwords to strangers", etc.
Did you have anything like this in your business practice?
In my experience, the more NDAs, tests, and other bureaucratic tasks an agency asks you to do, usually unpaid, requiring a lot of time, and possibly leaving you open to future litigation, the less likely it is that they will give you work.
Unless those people have proven themselves, over time, to be professional and efficient, have been giving you a lot of work for many years, and you completely trust them in every way, I would drop them like a hot potato.
| | | | William Tierney
United States
Local time: 21:59
Member (2002)
Arabic to English
| Is there a certificate? | Nov 30, 2021 |
I have to do a Infosec security course to interpret in US federal court. I receive a certificate, which I can show to others to demonstrate my attention to cybersecurity. If your client does not provide a training certificate, ask them to provide one.
| | | | Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 06:59
Member (2018)
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER | There is a certificate | Nov 30, 2021 |
Thank you William. The client answered they will offer an ISO certificate, if I successfully complete the course.
[Edited at 2021-11-30 14:34 GMT]
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| I am very wary of things like that | Dec 1, 2021 |
I too have not been impressed by demands of this kind from agencies.
I once spent several hours of a holiday weekend struggling to install and learn to use a CAT tool that an agency told me was 'very popular' with their translators.
I could not use my own terminology base and TMs or download anything, so the system knocked me back to the beginner stage every time. Being online, it was slow and clunky compared with my own local CAT. And I have never heard of a translator who li... See more I too have not been impressed by demands of this kind from agencies.
I once spent several hours of a holiday weekend struggling to install and learn to use a CAT tool that an agency told me was 'very popular' with their translators.
I could not use my own terminology base and TMs or download anything, so the system knocked me back to the beginner stage every time. Being online, it was slow and clunky compared with my own local CAT. And I have never heard of a translator who liked it.
The agency had just taken over one of my good clients, or I would never have wasted my time on it, but I never worked for the new conglomeration.
Similar things have happened after other mergers. I fail to understand why some agencies insist on hours of unpaid messing about, while others simply send a couple of pages of terms and conditions that anyone can understand, just for the sake of good order. Then they note which subject fields you work with, so they can match translators and jobs properly. Finally, they pay reasonably without wasting everybody's time!
Tell the agency you are not an employee, and that you charge for your time. But don't waste a lot of time haggling with them - it weakens your argument! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Agencies, security and certificates | Dec 2, 2021 |
To complete a course, material has to be read, questions have to be answered. This means the application translator has at least taken the time to read through some texts on the subject and given thought to the whole thing. (That is not the case if you just have to tick a box and sign an undertaking).
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| On the flip side | Dec 2, 2021 |
If it makes enough contenders go "nah, no way", this would create a little-known licensing-style barrier and weed out the competition.
I would say it depends on how much work you currently get through them and whether or not you expect half their database self-disqualifying to be of much benefit to you.
Barriers to entry, while obnoxious, can also keep an opportunity that would otherwise get overrun by cheap noobz viable for a while.
PS also, if you DON'T g... See more If it makes enough contenders go "nah, no way", this would create a little-known licensing-style barrier and weed out the competition.
I would say it depends on how much work you currently get through them and whether or not you expect half their database self-disqualifying to be of much benefit to you.
Barriers to entry, while obnoxious, can also keep an opportunity that would otherwise get overrun by cheap noobz viable for a while.
PS also, if you DON'T get that much work from them, this could be a good moment to experiment with raising rates (by a lot!). Oddly, that can sometimes work out pretty well.
[Edited at 2021-12-02 18:21 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:59
Serbian to English
+ ...
Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:
To complete a course, material has to be read, questions have to be answered. This means the application translator has at least taken the time to read through some texts on the subject and given thought to the whole thing. (That is not the case if you just have to tick a box and sign an undertaking).
Compared to all the dangers of the Internet, the Wild West was a like a kindergarten.
In an hour or two, all you'll learn is just the most basic basics. Akin to "securing your front door" with a piece of string.
The only reason there is not more security breaches than what actually happens is that no one is interested, with or without some "instant security courses".
For all practical purposes, this "information security course" is only marginally better than nothing - sounds like just one more box to tick, with very little real added value. Also good as a probably counterproductive "annoyance factor" ...
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