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Being asked to work for free - what to do?
Thread poster: Mariela Jung
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Priorities Feb 2, 2021

If you’ve done all your paid translation work, and all your chores, walked the dog, tidied the shed, watered the plants and put all your books and CDs in alphabetical order and you still can’t think of anything better to do, go for it.

Mervyn Henderson (X)
Axelle H.
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
Morano El-Kholy
Josephine Cassar
P.L.F. Persio
 
Rachel Fell
Rachel Fell  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:39
French to English
+ ...
Dubious Feb 2, 2021

Why did they not tell you in the first place that it was to be unpaid?

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
Josephine Cassar
Sheila Wilson
ahartje
P.L.F. Persio
Mariela Jung
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:39
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Getting a project off the ground Feb 2, 2021

I have translated for free for academics on two occasions. The first was for my Danish brother-in-law, who needed a quick translation, and I needed experience. I was not up to professional standard, and we both knew it, but between us we produced a good result. I did several more translations for him over the years. He wrote excellent English, but said it sounded like German, and he certainly had his idiosyncrasies
Funds we
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I have translated for free for academics on two occasions. The first was for my Danish brother-in-law, who needed a quick translation, and I needed experience. I was not up to professional standard, and we both knew it, but between us we produced a good result. I did several more translations for him over the years. He wrote excellent English, but said it sounded like German, and he certainly had his idiosyncrasies
Funds were often short for new projects, and I did not always get paid, but once the team had done some work and got it acknowledged, there were usually budgets for translation, as mentioned above.

The other 'client' was a fellow supporter of an NGO that I also work for directly. The translations might be related to our favourite NGO, as he writes articles and books in that field, but he also does independent research in other fields. There too, money might be tight in the early stages, but later on the university paid quite well.

I would not take on a project like that unless I really knew the client and his/her background.
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Josephine Cassar
Sheila Wilson
ahartje
expressisverbis
P.L.F. Persio
 
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
+ ...
Personally Feb 2, 2021

I would ask how much they are being paid for the job of screening "unwitting volunteers".

Then turn it down. Unless it's like Harvard or something (but it won't be, because people line up to pay big money for any kind of certification on Harvard letterhead)

[Edited at 2021-02-02 15:24 GMT]


P.L.F. Persio
Mariela Jung
Agnes Fatrai
 
ahartje
ahartje
Portugal
Local time: 14:39
Member (2006)
German to Portuguese
+ ...
What volume are we talking about? Feb 2, 2021

If it is just about less than 500 words, it could be interesting to see what happens. Any volume of more than 1000 words seems to be an attempt to (mis)use you and your abilities.

[Bearbeitet am 2021-02-02 15:59 GMT]


expressisverbis
 
David Haglund
David Haglund  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 15:39
Member (2012)
English to Swedish
Don't do it Feb 3, 2021

I don't work for free. As a former boss once said: "This is a company, not a fricking charity".

If you do it for free for an organization you are passionate about, then it's a hobby. But if you have no interest in their cause, then you should treat it as work.


Adieu
 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 15:39
Italian to English
Ivy League Feb 3, 2021

texjax DDS PhD wrote:

"Respectable universities" don't exploit anyone.


I recently read of an Ivy League university (probably "the" university everyone thinks of when they think of Ivy League) asking a black woman to give a guest lecture for free. So "respectable universities" unfortunately can and do.

I don't think anyone should be asking anyone to work for free, unless it's for a truly noble cause.


Arabic & More
P.L.F. Persio
 
mik dicorato
mik dicorato  Identity Verified
Italy
English to Italian
+ ...
what about 0,024 Usd per word? Feb 3, 2021

Mariela Jung wrote:In the passt I received an offer of 0,024 Usd per word. Is it a mistake? I know about minimum 0.05 per word

I recently applied for a job and got a reply today. They said that they liked my profile, but the job is actually a "volunteer" opportunity, for "respectable universities". With this, I would gain a certificate(!), and they would keep my CV for paid opportunities in the future.
I wonder: what do you do when asked to work for free?
Have any volunteer opportunity actually led to a paid job for you?
Thank you!


 
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Being asked to work for free - what to do?







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