A Freelance Translator’s Data-Driven Journey to Analytics

SUM of Annual Earnings adjusted to inflation from each company I worked with as a freelance translator (Specific values omitted). Colors represent three disctint periods in my journey, each ending with a milestone challenge that significantly impacted my career.

BEGINNING

The day is January 1, 2015. After 26 years living in Turkey, I left my winter coat on the airport seat, perhaps as a deliberate act of leaving behind the past. The decision to shed the weight of that winter coat symbolized more than just a change in climate; it marked a conscious choice to let go of the familiar and step into the unknown. While uncertainty might unsettle some, I’m at ease with it, finding it more like a puzzle to solve than something daunting.

Arriving in the Philippines to spend the rest of my life with my then-fiançé-now-wife, my objective was clear: embark on a new phase in my professional journey as a freelance translator, embracing the independence as well as challenges that it brings. Having spent the preceding year working in-office for NR, a Turkish translation office, I envisioned a simple plan — to continue contributing to NR’s projects, this time as a freelancer without a salary-based contract, while actively exploring other opportunities that awaited me.

This strategy bore fruit for a while. Discovering Erenoglu allowed me to negotiate more favorable terms in future projects. With the momentum from this success, I continued to broaden my client base, welcoming Nova and Language Connect into my portfolio.

Distribution of Annual Earnings per Company Adjusted to Inflation (Specific values omitted). Colors represent each company I worked with as a freelance translator during my career.

Yet, just like any carefully devised plan, it was bound to eventually run into some issues. The ever-changing nature of freelancing brought about troubles I hadn’t initially anticipated.

In 2017, my freelancing career encountered its first major hurdle with the rapid and significant decline in the value of the Turkish lira. This economic crisis had a profound impact on my income, creating a ripple effect that prompted a reassessment of my freelancing strategies.

Line chart for minimum TRY-PHP conversion rate by year relative to total earnings received (in PHP) per year from companies based in Turkey adjusted to inflation. Start of collaboration with Testronic towards the end of 2017 marks the shift in income dynamics post-2018.

Faced with the challenge, I had to find a solution that would insulate my income from the fluctuations of the Turkish lira. The key lay in reaching the foreign market and expand my income streams by accepting work in foreign currencies.

EXPANSION

It was also during this period that I made the pivotal decision to specialize in video game localization. Video games have always been my passion and I saw this time of crisis as an opportunity to make it a part of my professional life. I looked for a company based abroad that specialized in video game localization, and the turning point came when I discovered Testronic, a UK-based video game localization company.

Collaborating with Testronic allowed me to delve deeper into my passion for video games while contributing to the industry I loved. Testronic’s projects enriched my portfolio, while providing a stable and rewarding collaboration that endured the fluctuations in the industry.

Bar chart representing the share of total earnings received from each company up to the end of 2023, remarking the impact of Testronic on my career.

Over the next three years, I gradually distanced myself from engagements with Turkish companies, focusing my efforts on projects within the international market. This strategic shift helped stabilize my earnings and opened up new avenues for working with clients abroad.

However, similar to countless professionals worldwide, I experienced the most challenging financial year of my career in 2020. The global events of 2020 impacted the translation industry much like the other sectors. As a freelancer, I suddenly found myself in a landscape fraught with uncertainty, where projects got postponed, and economic instability became a prevailing theme.

Despite the setbacks, this challenging period provided me with resilience and adaptability. It prompted a reevaluation of my freelancing strategies, pushing me to explore new opportunities and expand both my skill set and my portfolio.

As the world grappled with unforeseen circumstances, I embraced the spirit of adaptability and innovation to navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving freelancing landscape.

DIVERSIFY

I learnt that some potential challenges were brought out by specialization in the translation industry, such as market volatility and the risk of over-specialization. It was time to diversify my portfolio.

I was involved in three high-level projects at Translated, an Italian online localization company, translating for prominent US-based companies. I started accepting work in different fields from various clients.

These efforts and strategies helped me survive the year, which ultimately concluded with the lowest-income in my freelance career.

As the challenges of 2020 gradually subsided, the subsequent years, 2021 and 2022, emerged as beacons of positive change in my freelancing journey. These years marked a distinct shift from the past uncertainties, bringing renewed opportunities and a more stable environment. It was also during this time period when I almost completely stopped working with clients from Turkey.

Another huge discovery for me during this period was Wordkeepers, a Barcelona-based Turkish video game localization company. Some of the projects that we worked together have, honestly, been a dream come true.

The transition that I was aiming for was complete. At this point, I was eagerly anticipating the future of my career.

A treemap showcasing the difference in earnings received from companies based in Turkey vs. those based abroad, pointing out the huge decline in earnings through collaboration with companies based in Turkey after the events of 2020.

The previous year, 2023, introduced a new set of struggles. The widespread acceptance of AI posed a growing threat to my future prospects as a translator. The reliable stream of projects I initially enjoyed began to fluctuate, prompting a reflection on the sustainability of my chosen path.

During this period of reflection, a new field picked my interest. What started as a personal exploration quickly evolved into a geniuine fascination with data. I decided to find ways to leverage my skills as a freelance translator to transition into data analytics. I embarked on an adventure of learning, embracing online courses, certifications, and hands-on projects that bridged the gap between my linguistic background and the analytical mindset required in the world of data.

CONCLUSION

In retrospect, my arrival in the Philippines was not just a geographical transition. It was the starting point of a journey that unfolded over the years. The resilience developed through navigating the challenges of freelancing, coupled with the newfound interest in data analytics, led me to this moment in time.

Gantt Chart Timeline demonstrating companies that I have worked with during my career and key milestones from the start, through strategic shifts, to overcoming challenges. Each bar represents a period of growth and adaptation in my freelance translator story.

As the chapters of my freelance story continue to unfold, each page introduces new lessons, challenges, and moments of growth. What began as a clear plan on that first day of 2015 has transformed into a narrative of resilience, adaptability, and the perpetual pursuit of growth.