career ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

15 Dec, 2024

Did you hum Bowie's "Changes" while reading the title? I hope so.

Disclaimer: this post might turn into a ramble and lead up to nothing, but let's do this!

As I mentioned in my about page, being a translator in 2024 sucks.

AI is seen as a boogeyman for a lot of people, but I think we can safely say that the speed at which companies are turning to any "AI" prefixed solution is astonishing. Seriously, where the fuck did that come from?

When it comes to the translation sector, this created a completely new specialization (aka, the only way to keep getting work) called MPTE (Machine Translation Post-Editing).

Here's a useful article by Vistatec that sums it up pretty nicely, and their description of the MPTE process.

The process itself is direct:

1. A source text feeds into the translation software.
2. The translation software does its work to output the text in the target language.
3. A professional translator reviews the target text and performs edits as needed. The result is a compromise between the speed of machine translation, especially with multilingual translations at scale, and the accuracy and nuance of human translators.

In theory, it sounds like it's not that bad, but trust me, it is. 95% of the time, the output sucks balls.

AI products have sped this process by a lot in the last two years, and it has already claimed the first victims: the technical translators (people who translate owner's manuals, user guides, etc).

For some reason —that definitely isn't related increasing profits of LSP's (Language Service Providers)—the rates for these kinds of texts came crashing down. Pretty much all technical translators now do more post-editing than translating, and are forced to work more hours to get the same paycheck they used to get. Fantastic, isn't it?

Now, while I'm not a technical translator—I time code and translate subtitles—I can see the writing on the wall for myself. I work with oNe of the biggest streaming platforms in the world and, for now, I'm safe from any rate cuts. I've also been working with MPTE for close to three years, but I'm not forced to use its suggestions and my job is not to edit the garbage that it spits out.

However, I know it's a matter of time until profits speak louder than words—in my case, words in two lines at the bottom of your screen while you munch on your snacks—and the rates come crashing down, leaving me on the path to another burnout. ¹

Now, here's my problem, dear readers, Mom, Dad, and landlord: I don't have a clue on how to leverage my skills to another career that allows me to keep a roof over my head. It's as simple as that.

I started working as a waiter when I was 19 so that I could live by myself instead of sharing a bedroom (not even a house... dear me) with other people. That turned out great! That was in my second year of university.

Now, let's laugh a little at how much rent I paid for a one-bedroom _studio in Lisbon in 2016: drum roll €320.

It wasn't the greatest apartment in the world, but it was "mine".

In 2024, the rent for one bedroom starts at roughly €400. I lived like a king!

After that, came two years when I worked, finished my degree and had the opportunity to do an internship that led to the current self-employed translator path that began in 2018. It also led to the discovery that I had anxiety after a trip to the ER due to strong chest pain, but that's a story for another time, perhaps.

If you're keeping tabs, that means that I've had this career for close to seven years now.

At first, I foolishly believed I would be able to work in this line of work for at least 20–30 years. That would be more than enough to save up and invest some money and live by the Mustachian principles with a part-time job by that time. Welp, I now know that's very unlikely.

Now, I'm 27 years old. I know that I'm still young. I'm lucky enough to have a roof over my head, a stocked fridge and pantry, and most importantly, I'm healthy. I have a ton of resources to study from and the ability to work. Don't pity me. I'm aware of my privilege.

Buuuuuut—and there's always a but—I also know that I feel lost.

It seems like the more I think about this subject, the more confused I get.

I think about my interests (mainly bicycles and books) and how I could apply that to a career change, but then I also think about not monetizing my hobbies.

I already hate working. I don't want to hate what I love doing in my free time as well.

#2024 #blog #work