Poll: Would you advise beginning translators to accept pro bono work? Autor vlákna: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Would you advise beginning translators to accept pro bono work?".
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First of all, a beginner translator when starting to work professionally, should be at a stage where he/she produces decent work, even if it takes ten times as long, and requires hiring an editor. Then, I don’t see why pro bono work should be substandard, especially as it is very likely that the translation will not be reviewed by another translator. Then again, if you start by doing work for free, when someone offers you a rock-bottom rate it will seem a fortune…
| | | | Gerard Barry
Německo
Local time: 02:44
němčina -> angličtina
Yes, but only as a form of charity work, not with a view to working as a professional translator, because the latter is finished as a job in my view.
| | | | | Yes, I would advise it! | Jan 2 |
I think that pro bono work is a good way to gain experience and then help you to get a paid translation job later.
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Oscar Núñez Alfaro wrote:
I think that pro bono work is a good way to gain experience and then help you to get a paid translation job later.
...when you don't depend mainly on income generated by translation work, e.g. when your spouse earns the main income or when still living with your parents.
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After about three years as a translator, I started doing some pro bono work for a charity. After some months, they gave my name to an art critic, who passed it on to a gallery. A month later, I was working for three galleries in Tuscany. One of these gave my name to a museum, this time in Rome. From there, it went on to museums, galleries and publishers in Venice, Turin, Florence, Naples, Milan, and various countries around the world... It was entirely thanks to the charity work that I started w... See more After about three years as a translator, I started doing some pro bono work for a charity. After some months, they gave my name to an art critic, who passed it on to a gallery. A month later, I was working for three galleries in Tuscany. One of these gave my name to a museum, this time in Rome. From there, it went on to museums, galleries and publishers in Venice, Turin, Florence, Naples, Milan, and various countries around the world... It was entirely thanks to the charity work that I started working in the art world.
These days, there's no guarantee that this will happen to anyone other than ChatGPT, whose name appears to be doing the rounds much faster than mine ever did, at the same price as my charity work, but I'm very glad I accepted the unpaid job all those years ago.
I'd tend to give other types of advice these days, such as looking for another job, but working for a charity can be quite rewarding. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Nizozemsko
Local time: 02:44
Člen (2006)
angličtina -> afrikánština
+ ...
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
Then, I don’t see why pro bono work should be substandard...
I agree, but what happens here is that the term "pro bono" is used by some/many people to mean "volunteer translation" or "charity translation". So, my response in the poll assumed that that is what the asker meant.
Volunteer translation can be done by anyone, even non-professionals. The main thing is that you try your best, with your best knowledge. The advantage of doing volunteer translation for a new professional translator is that it the professional is going to try to do a professional job of it. The volunteer translation is an opportunity for the beginner professional to put theory into practice.
For larger volunteer translation projects with many volunteer translators, it is useful for the client to give volunteers a quick half-day course in translation, to teach them the basics (i.e. to get those pesky misconceptions out of their brains and show them a few useful tricks). A person who attended such a course will deliver a much, much better translation, even if the level of quality is nowhere near that of an experienced professional translator.
True pro bono work is when you do real, actual, high-quality professional work, and the only difference is that you don't get money for it. But you're still responsible (usually even liable) for the quality of the work.
If a beginner wants to do pro bono work, they can, but they must make absolutely sure that the client understands that they are a rank beginner and that the quality of the translation is likely to be quite low. "I'm a beginner. The translation is likely going to contain mistakes. Some of those mistakes may be critical. I'm a good person, I'm hard-working, I have good work-ethic, I studied theory of translation, etc. But I will likely make mistakes that I'm not even aware of. Please do not use my services unless you absolutely have no other choice."
(And even then: most translators believe it is unethical for a translator to accept work that he is unsuited for, even if the client is 100% aware of this fact and has been made explicitly aware of the risks of this for himself, his business, his organization, etc.)
Added: Some people use the term "pro bono" exclusively in a legal context. In that sense, translating for asylum seekers would be "pro bono". But poor translation in such situations lead to miscarriages of justice. Volunteer translation should be employed in such scenarios only if mistranslations would merely cause an inconvenience (for all parties involved).
[Edited at 2026-01-04 08:26 GMT]
| | | | Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 20:44
španělština -> angličtina
+ ...
| Advice - addressed to NGOs and individuals in need of quality translations, not newbie translators | Jan 5 |
If you are tempted to cut your costs through the engagement of any 'beginning translator' (or interpreter) keen to get involved in 'pro bono' work as a means of getting some basic work experience, you need think very carefully about the eventual risks to your project, to your worthy cause, to the sectors of the community you seek to serve, to your public image and, indeed, your legal liability, if that 'beginning translator' makes a mess of the translations.
If your project - be it ... See more If you are tempted to cut your costs through the engagement of any 'beginning translator' (or interpreter) keen to get involved in 'pro bono' work as a means of getting some basic work experience, you need think very carefully about the eventual risks to your project, to your worthy cause, to the sectors of the community you seek to serve, to your public image and, indeed, your legal liability, if that 'beginning translator' makes a mess of the translations.
If your project - be it in humanitarian aid, support for the elderly, legal/medical/administrative assistance to immigrants, or whatever - is being run by, or in association with, skilled and knowledgeable professionals with years of hands-on experience of the 'real world' outside college, does it really make sense to entrust the translation of your documents to anyone who's less prepared than yourselves?
JL ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
Velká Británie
Local time: 01:44
italština -> angličtina
| Ciò che non ha prezzo non ha valore | Jan 5 |
A common Italian proverb.
“What has no price has no value.”
If you want your work to be worth nothing, do it for nothing.
[Edited at 2026-01-05 13:43 GMT]
| | | | Jennifer Levey
Chile
Local time: 20:44
španělština -> angličtina
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
A common Italian proverb.
“What has no price has no value.”
If you want your work to be worth nothing, do it for nothing.
[Edited at 2026-01-05 13:43 GMT]
And there are far too many people - on both sides of the 'pro bono' debate - who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
JL
| | | | IrinaN (X)
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 19:44
angličtina -> ruština
+ ...
Simon Turner wrote:
After about three years as a translator
But what have you been doing before that, what were your qualifications, specializations, education, practical experience? Why did you approach translation as a trade? Were you initially picked only because your work was free, no questions asked? Without this supporting information your great and admirable (sincerely, no pun intended) success story is worthless for the purpose of help and advice, sorry. By all means, you have no obligation to report . This is nobody's business and your unequivocal right to disclose only as much as you wish, or nothing. I'm suggesting my purely rhetorical, "no response required" question only to make a point. There are beginners and beginners...
For the sake of argument, what should be taken for "a beginner" as part of the equation? Should three years be factored in? Poll question OPs, even if they make some sense once in a rare while, usually fail to clearly define any terminology they suggest, habitually leaving us in darkness. I don't know how to prove or disprove anything when I don't understand the meaning of the key words thrown at me.
On a lighter side - without an ounce of doubt about your work, it's great, nevertheless, that a magical spec of luck had landed on your shoulder. Beginners have no idea what a huge role it plays in translator's life yet sometimes it misses even the best Not every charity ends in profit.
| | | | Bruxit1225 (X)
Francie
Local time: 02:44
angličtina -> francouzština
+ ...
| “What has no price has no value.” Not necessarily. | Jan 5 |
Tom in London wrote:
A common Italian proverb.
“What has no price has no value.”
If you want your work to be worth nothing, do it for nothing.
[Edited at 2026-01-05 13:43 GMT]
Retired translators who help small NGOs that can't afford professional rates supply high-quality work at no cost.
That said, back on topic: I agree that beginning translators should not accept pro bono work if their translation is not checked by an experienced colleague.
[Edited at 2026-01-06 05:09 GMT]
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| Activism or personal beliefs | Jan 7 |
I think the only situation where a translator (whether a newbie, experienced, or retired) could do pro bono/volunteering work is if they have a personal interest in helping spread awareness or doing activism with NGOs.
Otherwise, it would only be a waste of time and energy that can't last long, because nothing is free in life.
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