Poll: Do freelancers tend to plan less for the future than other professionals?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Aug 16, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do freelancers tend to plan less for the future than other professionals?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:40
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I don't know! Aug 16, 2017

I'm in need of a crystal ball again...

Crystal_ball


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 12:40
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Aug 16, 2017

I don't know about anybody else, but I have never been a great one for planning for the future.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:40
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I think they plan more Aug 16, 2017

I could be wrong, but I know in my own case that I'm careful about planning for the future because it's uncertain. When I was receiving a regular paycheck as an in-house translator I never thought about the future--though of course I was a lot younger then.

 
Toni Faisal
Toni Faisal  Identity Verified
Indonesia
Local time: 18:40
English to Indonesian
+ ...
Actually, it is a little hard to answer between yes or no... Aug 16, 2017

I/We do not know what will happen in the future regarding freelance (translator/translating). I am afraid that AI or any kinds of it will take over less or more in translation business as we have seen what machine translation can do nowadays. In my opinion, it is better prepare to mastery more languages and start to invest the money from translation for buying land or making other business that can produce stable income. The more sources of income the better feeling we get.

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 12:40
English to Italian
same here Aug 16, 2017

neilmac wrote:

I don't know about anybody else, but I have never been a great one for planning for the future.


exactly the same for me


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:40
French to English
Problem question Aug 16, 2017

Well, if you give me the time to survey:
- other professionals
- freelancers
and to analyze the results statistically, I might be able to provide something of an answer.
PIt would be helpful to indicate what you mean by "other professionals", freelancers (translators/interpreters only?) and "plan for the future".

Irony apart, I suppose the question is basically, "As a freelancer, do you plan for the future?".

Edit: Surveys aim to answer a particu
... See more
Well, if you give me the time to survey:
- other professionals
- freelancers
and to analyze the results statistically, I might be able to provide something of an answer.
PIt would be helpful to indicate what you mean by "other professionals", freelancers (translators/interpreters only?) and "plan for the future".

Irony apart, I suppose the question is basically, "As a freelancer, do you plan for the future?".

Edit: Surveys aim to answer a particular question. In order to answer that "big" question, the question put to the population being surveyed is not usually the same. Even if this is a straw poll, an asker should take the time to consider how he/she would answer his/her own question.





[Edited at 2017-08-16 10:37 GMT]
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:40
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
They should... Aug 16, 2017

I'm used to having others to do it for me, so I am lucky or spoilt, depending how you look at it.

Employees often have plans served on a plate - insurance, contributions to unemployment benefit, pension schemes, sick pay, holiday savings, you name it... at least in our molly-coddled welfare state in Northern Europe. I am enormously grateful for my pension (OK, I have earned it and saved up for it, but it's there.)

It is even more important to think about it if you do no
... See more
I'm used to having others to do it for me, so I am lucky or spoilt, depending how you look at it.

Employees often have plans served on a plate - insurance, contributions to unemployment benefit, pension schemes, sick pay, holiday savings, you name it... at least in our molly-coddled welfare state in Northern Europe. I am enormously grateful for my pension (OK, I have earned it and saved up for it, but it's there.)

It is even more important to think about it if you do not live in a welfare state with a safety net to catch those who are ill or older and not able to work as fast or for such long hours as before.
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Katrin Taouinet
Katrin Taouinet
France
Local time: 12:40
French to German
+ ...
On the contrary, freelancers may plan more than others Aug 16, 2017

I agree with some of the comments which stated that we need to plan more than those with a regular income. I plan professional and personal investments, alternative sources of income, how to plant my own food etc.
I also plan how much work I can accept in the future to not increase my income tax rate.


 
Connected Tr (X)
Connected Tr (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:40
Chinese to English
+ ...
No Aug 16, 2017

We have to plan more than people with a fixed salary. We have put money aside for taxes at the end of the year as it is not automatically deducted, plan for pensions and retirement, put money aside for time off or sickness, have an emergency fund just in case work dries up, etc. Obviously, there's a lot of uncertainty, which can make planning difficult, but I can't see how you could get by as a freelancer without some sort of plan.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:40
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
No Aug 16, 2017

but they may have less need

 
Luiz Barucke
Luiz Barucke  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:40
Spanish to Portuguese
+ ...
The question is... Aug 17, 2017

Does future tend to follow freelancers' and other professionals' plans?

 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:40
German to English
+ ...
How do "other professionals" plan for the future? Aug 17, 2017

The question is incomprehensible to me.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:40
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Aug 17, 2017

My plans for the future are the same now as they were when I worked in other professions and in-house. My purchasing and saving power is higher now than when I was a regular employee for sure. But I no longer have a severance fund, vacations, yearly bonus, etc. I keep paying social security to the government and a private retirement plan. So, no big difference. It depends on the person, not on their profession or working regime, really.

 


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Poll: Do freelancers tend to plan less for the future than other professionals?






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