观点|国际翻译界费率也在走低吗？我们该怎么办？
圈圈有话说
在阅读前辈译员、美国翻译协会会长Cornnie Mickay这篇真实且富有指导意义的文章前，我想分享一下自己的经历。
大咖介绍看这里解惑帖|自由译者其实是在做一门生意
从2016年底开始算，我做自由译员已经快三年了，收入从最初的单价70元一路上涨，从开始的不足一万，到现在两三万之间徘徊，客户群体从国内到国外，从翻译机构到直客，走得还算顺利？（反正被前辈夸过成长得很快，未来可期hhhhhhh）
但也并不是没有遇到过瓶颈，遇到有些沮丧的时候，比如说投了N久简历，没有回应之类。也有一阵子，因为单价提升的原因，几家客户提供的稿量并没有达到当时预期。
不过自由职业嘛，总是要面对这些起起伏伏，能做的就是尽量让收入多元化和稳定了。
就我看来，译员靠国内翻译机构过万并不是一件什么难事，我们星球里的也有不少同学做到了。
所以，对于某些以为过万就是天方夜谭，一两百单价就是高价，然后天天发牢骚抱怨翻译没出路的译员，我觉得hmmmm，还能说什么呢。
至于国外翻译市场，其实我跟不少服务国外客户的资深译员聊过，基本上结论就是，如果收入都来自稳定的国外客户，一个笔译员拿到三十万应该还是希望蛮大的。至于五十万就比较吃力了。有前辈说，就算能拿到也太辛苦了，还是更追求work life balance。
当然，外包/带翻译团队/开翻译公司的另算，百万的也不是没有听说（我酸了，我觉得我不行==还是指望对象吧哈哈哈哈）。
不过，要指出的是通过前辈译员交流，以及我近距离与国外翻译机构的接触，我们还是注意到整个国际翻译市场，价格都在走低。
Cornnie前辈的分享也印证了我们的感受。不过即便这样，我们也不用太过焦虑，因为总有解决之道，总有做得出色的译员。Cornnie前辈也是表示尽管整个市场费率走低，但是自己的收入还是上升了。
最牛逼的可能就是我们的Matt大佬哈哈哈。
再说，就国内工资水平而言，三十万左右已经算不错了。
就看我们自己期望的工作量和对应收入状况了。
毕竟赚钱只是人生的一部分，过得开心才是真的。拼死拼活996，007，工作忙到赚钱也没时间花并不是什么理想的生活状态。
如果还是希望再继续提高收入的话，可能要继续深入挖掘客户，特别是直接客户，同时考虑拓展更多收入来源，比如说，开始带团队，去做培训等等等，有想法总是能走出很多路来的~
向国际翻译界大佬们看齐就是了。
顺便提一句。
其实，除了我只有/没有四六级/CATTI/非英专，能不能当翻译，人翻会不会被机翻取代这两个时不时就冒出来的蠢问题之外，“翻译行业有没有前途”这种问题也是我不想回答的傻问题之一。
什么是有前途？每个人对收入有不同的期望，每个人的基础水平也不一样，你就这么甩出这么一句话，我怎么用只言片语跟你说清楚，只会当做看不见，因为没必要浪费我的时间。
我觉得某些人应该好好琢磨下如何提问。
认真刻苦下功夫的人做什么都可能成为业界顶尖，而以问出这种小白问题的水平而言，我不觉得你做译员有什么前途。没错，被问烦的我真的要忍不住刻薄了，不管。
所以就算国际翻译市场价格走低，也等到你开始接国际单开始再说好吗？不思进取只在底层打滚的译员，整个行业有没有前途都跟你没关系，反正迟早被淘汰。
好了，废话不多说了。
我们还是来看看美国翻译协会会长Cornnie怎么看待这个问题，又有什么解决之道吧。
作为国际顶级译员，她的意见还是值得信赖的。不管怎么样，总是比国内某些夸夸其谈的翻译大V之类肯定要靠谱的多，后者跟这位从2002就开始自由笔译的人相比，算得了什么呢。
她有以下亲身经历分享给大家。
坏消息是：
翻译机构越来越效率导向，从电话联系到平台众包，跟译员的纽带有所弱化，导致译员缺乏价格谈判与沟通空间。
她与翻译机构的合作价格已经8年没变了。近两年来，联系到她的翻译机构开价还在不断走低，从某些高端项目可以接受到完全不回应，很可能已经跟翻译机构给客户的报价十分接近了。
好消息是：
1. 即使在这种大趋势下，她和一批资深译员依然实现了收入稳步增长，一半来自翻译，一半来自教育培训。同时直客数量也在增长。
2. 直客正在变得更加大方。
Cornnie的结论：
1.翻译机构给译员的价格走低原因来自客户的压力，客户总是希望获得更快速更廉价的服务。
2. 翻译机构的降价趋势很难靠一个两个译员去对抗，因为总有人会愿意去接，所以整体价格都是在走低。最终译员会分成两类，没有其他选择的译员不得不接下翻译机构的低价，而有其他选择的，则会抵抗到底，拒绝接单（圈：这两类译员我都有认识）。
3.直客费率稳中上升。有直客的译员很有可能不再愿意跟翻译机构合作。而事实上找到直客的机会不少，就看你够不够积极主动地去寻找。
Here's a question that I've heard floating around lately: is it getting harder to make a living as a freelance translator? As usual with such big-picture issues, the answer is yes/no/maybe/it depends on what you're actually asking, so let's take a closer look!
Where does this perception come from?
为什么我们会觉得自由译员谋生似乎越来越艰难了？
-As compared to when I started freelancing in 2002, the agency market is definitely more commoditized. It seems almost quaint to think that even my larger agency clients used to call on the phone to ask if I was available for a particular project--and start the conversation with "How was your weekend?"--as compared to the "come and get it" systems that many agencies use now. It seems to me that very few large agencies want--or even have the bandwidth to cultivate--a personal relationship with most of their translators. Most agencies have moved to using online application portals--surely more efficient for them--that force you to enter one number for your rate, leaving no room for negotiation or conversation.
-Downward price pressure is also a factor. I work with both agencies and direct clients, and I've been charging my agency clients the same rates for about eight years, simply because they are unwilling or unable to pay more. If I raise my rates, I will no longer get work from them. That--flat rates for eight years--is bad enough, but lately the agency rates situation seems worse to me. I no longer proactively apply to agencies, but when agencies contact me, I do respond, and I ask them to approve my rates before I go through their application process. Lately (let's say within the past two years), the typical agency's response has gone from "that's on the high end of what we pay for French to English, but for certain projects, it would be doable," to:
No response at all, which leads me to believe that they're looking to pay significantly less than what I charge
A "not in a million years" response, such as "That's actually almost as much as we charge the end client, so there is no way we can pay that" (which an agency responded to me last week).
But then, there's the flip side
-My overall income--and the overall incomes of lots of experienced translators I work with--has risen steadily throughout my freelance career, and it continues to do so. I earn about half of my income from translation and about half from teaching and training, although this year, due to a few new large direct clients, I'll probably be more like 60/40.
-I find that direct clients are perhaps more amenable to my rates than they were a few years ago, and certainly not less amenable.
-Anecdotally, I've talked to other experienced translators who say the same thing:
"I broke six figures this year and don't even feel like it was that difficult"
"I've increased my income by $20,000 by contacting one new prospective client every week"
从这句话中其实我们可以注意到一个点。就Cornnie那个level上可称之为experienced的译员，收入大概也是在100,000美元左右，即10万美元。
我还随手查了下美国译员的收入。
So, what's going on?
Of course, I can't say for sure. But I'll offer a few theories:
-The commoditization of agency work is likely to continue, because (I think) it comes from the pressure agencies get from their own end clients, not from the agencies themselves. I really think that agencies--like the rest of us--know that quality work is not cheap, that pitting five agencies against each other to see who can do the job fastest or cheapest does not result in the best finished product, etc. etc., but agencies also have to stay in business, and I'm guessing that an ever-increasing percentage of their work comes from end clients with the "faster, cheaper" mindset.
-The time to resist downward price pressure in the agency market has passed. The reality is that resistance only works if everyone resists, and when agencies started pushing down rates, many translators went along with it, for lack of other options. My sense is that translators generally fall into two buckets: a) those who really need agencies' work and thus do not resist downward price pressure because they have no other clients, and b) translators who have a lot of other clients, and "resist" downward price pressure by leaving, and no longer working with low-paying agencies. Because more people--at least in the US--are drawn to freelance work, even low-paying agencies seem to have a steady supply of freelancers.
-Direct client rates are likely to remain higher and more stable. Again, I'm not an economist--so really, who knows? However, I do think that in general translators who work with direct clients are less interested in competing on price. They/we are more likely to simply turn down a job if a client wants to pay less; there's also plenty of direct client work out there for people who are willing to assertively look for it. Just this year, I've gotten two new five-figure direct clients through a pretty basic marketing campaign--that kind of work is definitely out there if you look for it.
In sum, I think that the translation world is becoming more polarized (perhaps like the world in general).
很拉风的圈圈
感谢看到耐心看到最后的你。
发个福利，转发这篇文章到朋友圈，顺便留个言，下周一我会通过谷歌的随机数生成器，抽两个同学免费加入价值200元的圈圈知识星球哦。
不知道有多少同学会耐心看到最后哈哈哈~~