Professional translators charge a wide variety of rates.
The job of a translator centers around the production of written documents in foreign languages. Employers contract professional translators to help them with cross-cultural communication, enlisting their aid to translate materials from source languages into other tongues. Translators must be fluent in at least two languages and possess strong writing and editing skills. Attention to detail and a firm understanding of colloquial phrases and specialized terms also serve as crucial tools for all translators. Many translators make substantial money for their work, while others use translation as a supplemental source of freelance income.
Factors Influencing Earnings
The earnings of translators vary greatly depending on a number of factors. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the primary factors influencing the earnings of translators include language sets, years of experience, formal education and certifications, mastery of specialized industry terminology and general employment circumstances. The type of employer will go a long way in determining how much a translator makes, as will the nature of the subject matter. For instance, translators working on classified documents for the government or highly specific medical documents for a major healthcare agency tend to make much more than those who work on simpler projects for low profile clients.
Average Overall Earnings
Calculating a precise average salary for translators poses challenges since many translators work on a part-time or freelance basis, thereby distorting the overall figures. According to 2008 statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual income of translators falls around $39,000. This same set of data shows that the middle 50 percent of translators bring in between $29,000 and $52,000 each year. The bottom 10 percent earn less than $22,000 per year, while the top 10 percent make more than $69,000.
Hourly Rates
Translators working in-house at firms and agencies generally earn a set salary for their work. According to 2004 data from CollegeGrad.com, salaried translators had median hourly earnings of approximately $16. The top 10 percent earned more than $27 per hour, while the lowest 10 percent made below $10 per hour. Obviously, these figures have risen gradually with inflation, but they still provide a rough estimate of the going rates.
Volume-based Rates
For those freelance translators who are not salaried, earnings tend to fluctuate depending on the availability of work. Freelancers in such situations usually charge volume-based rates for their services. For example, many translators arrange contracts that pay them per word or per page. Rates vary enormously from employer to employer, so there is no set average for this pay scale.
Job Outlook
The good news for translators and those individuals considering entering the field is that the U.S. Department of Labor expects a 22 percent increase in translation jobs during the period between 2008 and 2018. This percentage ranks above the combined average percentage for growth in all occupations.
