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Getting started without any academic degree
Thread poster: Sergey Lev
Sergey Lev
Sergey Lev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:57
English to Russian
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TOPIC STARTER
2020 Jan 18, 2021

Not as bad as it could have been, I earned a lot more than in 2019, but the stress that kept accumulating throughout the year resulted in a lot of poor judgements of all kinds and many passing regrets. In particular, not being cautious enough in dealing with people has eventually cost me multiple baskets with a lot of eggs, several times in different areas of my life. Can't help noticing the parallel with various other points of my life path. Dealt with that before, so I can deal with the afterm... See more
Not as bad as it could have been, I earned a lot more than in 2019, but the stress that kept accumulating throughout the year resulted in a lot of poor judgements of all kinds and many passing regrets. In particular, not being cautious enough in dealing with people has eventually cost me multiple baskets with a lot of eggs, several times in different areas of my life. Can't help noticing the parallel with various other points of my life path. Dealt with that before, so I can deal with the aftermath of 2020 as well. Now that another part of my life is already a thing of the past that can't be returned, this freedom is actually welcome. Maybe I'll finally have the time to sort out my thoughts and finish the giant pile of things I couldn't finish or even start doing since a while back, provided I don't get killed by anything this year has in store for me. What I'm certain of is that I can't afford making any plans for this year. 2020 has proved that you can't put your trust in the future, not just to me, but to the entire world.

P.S. As years pass by, my desire to have a time machine just keeps increasing.
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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:57
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Another year, another update Jan 18, 2021

Sergey Lev wrote:
Not as bad as it could have been, I earned a lot more than in 2019

Interesting to hear how you have been getting on. From the career perspective, that sounds pretty good for somebody who began this thread four years ago worried about his lack of qualifications. Congratulations.

but the stress that kept accumulating throughout the year resulted in a lot of poor judgements of all kinds and many passing regrets.

Well, if the regrets are passing they shouldn't pose too much of a problem, should they?
Less flippantly, it's been an unusually stressful year for most people, so I wouldn't read too much into your behaviour, or its outcomes, in one, highly unusual twelve-month period.

What I'm certain of is that I can't afford making any plans for this year. 2020 has proved that you can't put your trust in the future, not just to me, but to the entire world.

I don't agree. I have concluded that while we couldn't have really foreseen what happened in 2020, a lot of people could have been better prepared for hardship, including myself.

In general, (a) most people should spend less money on fripperies or luxuries such as overseas holidays, (b) thus allowing them to set aside a decent chunk of money for a rainy day, or a rainy year, and (c) freelancers should work to diversify their income streams so that they are not excessively dependent on one client, sector, or country.

But for many people the above still wouldn't have been enough to offset the turmoil of the past twelve months, and it's hardly fair to blame the man in the street for not expecting a global pandemic. (I still have work to do on all three points, by the way, so I'm not casting stones.)

P.S. As years pass by, my desire to have a time machine just keeps increasing.

Not a good sign. Everyone thinks wistfully of what could have been at some point, but if it's colouring your life to this degree then you may have a problem. Sounds like it really is time to "sort out" your thoughts.

Dan

[Edited at 2021-01-18 07:53 GMT]


Sergey Lev
 
Sergey Lev
Sergey Lev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:57
English to Russian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for your thoughts Jan 18, 2021

Less flippantly, it's been an unusually stressful year for most people, so I wouldn't read too much into your behaviour, or its outcomes, in one, highly unusual twelve-month period.

The knowledge that last year was stressful for everyone, often in worse ways, significantly eased the impact from the blows I personally took.

In general, (a) most people should spend less money on fripperies or luxuries such as overseas holidays, (b) thus allowing them to set aside a decent chunk of money for a rainy day, or a rainy year, and (c) freelancers should work to diversify their income streams so that they are not excessively dependent on one client, sector, or country.

Absolutely. I thought I had been doing well strategically, then I analyzed my spendings carefully and was actually terrified at how much I had really spent in 2020 without a need to (even excluding the first vacation trip in two years), nearly 4 times of the amount I thought I would be spending when I calculated my self-sustainability threshold. If I allow that wastefulness to continue, even with my current savings I won't last 10 years without any more income (which is only a hypothetical situation), more so because the deposit interest rates are now lower.

Not a good sign. Everyone thinks wistfully of what could have been at some point, but if it's colouring your life to this degree then you may have a problem.

Perhaps my words emphasize it more than I feel it. It's like wishing you had invested in bitcoins before they took off, or hadn't said something to someone that made a bad impact, or showed more care, or avoided going somewhere at the wrong time, or invested more in the successful stock, based on your knowledge of the consequences in the now. It would be nice to get a time machine to fix your mistakes and prevent making more in the future, but if there isn't one, I don't obsess over what I can't do anything about. Sure, if I hadn't made my mistakes, I would have been better off, but I'm fairly well off right now regardless. What actually troubles me is not doing anything about things I can do something about at any time, or procrastination. A well-paying gig certainly has severely exacerbated this habit of mine to a worrying, practically self-destructive extent.

[Edited at 2021-01-18 09:45 GMT]


 
Adieu
Adieu  Identity Verified
Ukrainian to English
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If you're looking to work for RF rates Jan 19, 2021

See if you can find a connection that gets you a test or a first order from a market research firm. There's a few that specialize in contracting local field work for multinationals, which pretty much never pay for translations to their native language pair (so Norwegian state owned enterprises, Korean chaebols, Slovenian big pharma etc. ALL contract Russian market research work IN ENGLISH).

The connection is important, almost all such jobs are obtained through personal ins with some
... See more
See if you can find a connection that gets you a test or a first order from a market research firm. There's a few that specialize in contracting local field work for multinationals, which pretty much never pay for translations to their native language pair (so Norwegian state owned enterprises, Korean chaebols, Slovenian big pharma etc. ALL contract Russian market research work IN ENGLISH).

The connection is important, almost all such jobs are obtained through personal ins with somebody at the companies.

I worked for a couple such outfits 10-15 years ago in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They used to pay $5 - 12.50 / 1800 symbols or $5 - 7.50 / PPT slide, although those were better economic times.

This is actually a lot more than it looks to be at first glance, because 95% of their stuff is translating focus group or interview transcripts with random Vasya Pupkins... no review process, no serious interest in consistent terminology or QC, to be translated as fast as you can type. You quickly realize there isn't much to be done here and polished quality would be pointless, because almost none of their respondents ever bother to speak in complete sentences. Goes about 5x faster than, say, medical or industrial texts (except for reports, which you actually have to polish).

Caution: they're all VERY inconsistent about timely payment. Paperwork and taxes may be fictitious or altogether non-existent. Payment in envelopes in various or even mixed currencies once every couple months and only after some effort to chase them down is pretty "normal".

PS my information is dated ~10 years.
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Sergey Lev
Sergey Lev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:57
English to Russian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I'm not. Jan 20, 2021

Thanks for the effort it took to write that, but I ceased pursuing any local opportunities a few years ago. I also don't work with known inconsistent payers. Don't see any point in being a bottom feeder as long as I can find better jobs for better prices that match my skill set better.

Dan Lucas
 
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