We all are different, and thus what is good for others may not work specifically for you. A professional translator career is not an exception either. In the long run, no one but you decides whether translation work at home is your shawshank redemption from office routine. We have already covered the essentials each newbie in freelance translating should be aware of in one of our posts. So this one will show the discrepancies between in-house and home based translators.
The following differences are no secret and can be easily found on the Net, so we will briefly take a look at their strong sides:
| Freelance translating | In-house translating |
| Flexibility is at the heart of freelancing — you decide where, when, and how to work. | Permanent workflow, an opportunity to focus only on the process of translating. |
| Ability to choose what and for whom to translate. | Insurance, annual leave, possible promotion. |
| Additional business-related and managerial tasks — selecting either a full-time or part time job translator, how to negotiate certain issues, how to get an order, etc. | Stable income, communication with colleagues and fellows, no need to spend your time on self-promotion, etc. |
As we can see, each way is not perfect (what has one, the second one lacks), and it is normal! Everything depends on your individual preferences. For some people, taking every order they are assigned to is much safer than struggling for a place under the sun as freelancers do.
You should realize that the freedom freelancing gives you has an opposite side — from time to time you may go without any orders, which means a lower income. Stay at home translation jobs force you to take more responsibility, to be more persistent, and even courageous. Before your redemption from the way-too-stable office cell, ask yourself if you are ready to work really hard, compete with thousands of hungry translators, and stay strong when there is nothing but rejections.
We hope these arguments will help you strategize and smooth things out. In the meantime, having considered the pros and cons of both types, Jobs for Editors offers the vacancy of an editor, which has similar terms with paid online translation jobs as follows:
- Competitive salary twice per month
- Freedom to choose orders you like
- Permanent workflow
- Ability to work during out-of-office working hours and take the workload that suits you
As you can see, there are many advantages. It is great to know that the world is your oyster and choices define who we are. Fear not and make yours!