Rates of pay for translators in the UK
What is it about?
This paper explores the thorny question of rates of pay received by translators in the UK. Translators increasingly feel that they are underpaid and under threat. Unfortunately, however, there has been relatively little work to date in this area. We explore how money relates to status, perceptions, and regulation, and question how translators themselves, translation associations, and academic institutions can contribute to improving rate-setting practices in the translation industry.
Why is it important?
With technologies such as Neural Machine Translation and Uberized workflows developing at pace, translators feel more at risk than ever before. It is vitally important for the long-term sustainability of the profession that we initiate these conversations about rates of pay and try to uncover ways in which we can seek to make positive changes.