Invisible Work, Visible Value
If you work with direct clients, you’re running a business. You choose your projects. You set your rates. You build a reputation that no one can erase.
If you work through agencies, you’re a vendor. Your pay, your deadlines, even your visibility are decided elsewhere. It feels like freelancing, but it’s really work-for-hire.
The Paradox of Indispensability
The more essential your work, the more invisible you become. Translation agencies thrive on this. You deliver. They bill. The client applauds the brand—not you. Subtle. Insidious. Your expertise fades while your survival continues.
Visibility as Authority
Leverage is born in plain sight. Have your portfolio online. Write in your niche. Publish work that proves authorship. These are evidence of your craft, your claim to authority.
Visibility isn’t optional. It’s survival.
Wonder how freelancing through agencies may be harming your visibility? Here’s the deep dive: Hidden Costs of Translation Agencies
Highlights from Weekly Job Window
Each week, we handpick high-value roles where your language skills give you an edge.
Project Manager for Multilingual Events (Full-time, Remote) at Interprenet - See more
French LQA (Full-time, Remote) at Terra Translations - See more
English > French & English > Spanish Translators at United Nations (Remote) - See more
Localisation Lead Nordics- Marketplace (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic) at Booking dot com - See more
Associate Project Coordinator (Full-time, Remote, United States) at Centific - See more
Explore the full list and discover roles that value your expertise without limiting you to translation projects. See the full curated list here.
Curious what others think of unfair machine translation post editing (MTPE) rates? Participate in this LinkedIn poll to find out.
Until next week,
Translators’ Journal
Giving translators what they need to succeed
🌍 www.translatorsjournal.com
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