Job offer - Institute of Applied Education

Lingua 5B wrote:

Are you only paid upon sales of the product, or is there also a base pay? If it's the former, I would stay away.

Jacqueline Burke wrote:

I just got a job offer from the Institute of Applied Education. They translate Udemy courses and the translators get 25% of the profits the translated course generates. They also said that one course usually makes about $3000-$4000 a year, but of course that could be way less.

I just started out as a freelance translator and I am not sure what to think about that. Has anybody ever worked for them? What do you think about that?

Mirko Mainardi wrote:



Did you do some research on them? If I'm not mistaken, that company was founded in August (2016). Not sure how they can say how much revenue a course usually generates in a year, if that's the case. Maybe based on similar courses, but still...

Mirko Mainardi wrote:



Did you do some research on them? If I'm not mistaken, that company was founded in August (2016). Not sure how they can say how much revenue a course usually generates in a year, if that's the case. Maybe based on similar courses, but still...

Lingua 5B wrote:



If it's based on similar courses, it means they are copy-cats with competitors - thus less likely to sell the product.

Mirko Mainardi wrote:

Did you do some research on them? If I'm not mistaken, that company was founded in August (2016). Not sure how they can say how much revenue a course usually generates in a year, if that's the case. Maybe based on similar courses, but still...

Sheila Wilson wrote:


It sounds to me as though they are basing their volumes on very shaky foundations: someone else's. They must be citing every customer they've every had in their over-the-top web publicity.

It doesn't seem to be an out-and-out scam (as for as I can make out), so it has that going for it. But you may well do the work and receive nothing for your efforts. Can you afford that risk? You say you stand to get paid $750-1000 a year, presumably for years to come? Well, how much work are you going to have to do up-front for that? And how damaged will you and your business be if you receive $0? You don't have to tell us the answers to those questions but you do have to think very carefully about them, and then make your decision. And if you do decide to do it, don't let yourself be discouraged if nothing comes of it - it was your decision, after all. On the other hand, you never know - you might be able to retire on the proceeds!

Philippe Etienne wrote:

Whether this business is legitimate or not, you're not into financing joint-ventures, are you? Investors who believe in a business put money in because it's their job to assess the risk. They also spread it investing in different projects.
I don't think it's wise as a translator to bet your time (which is money) on wind and good intentions. Even with your name in the translated version.
But if you have assessed that the risk is worth taking, like an investor would do, then why not. It's like buying shares from the same company on the stock market and hoping it will strive.

It reminds me a surrealistic job interview I had a long time ago: After talking shop, the boss asked whether I'd be interested in investing in his business to create a new department! As a job seeker, I thought the idea was pretty cynical.

Philippe