Job Discussion Forums

[jasperella]

A student has asked me to proof-read a paper for university, and I have no idea what the going rates are here (Brno).
Could anyone help me out? Thanks!

[Arab Strap]

The simple answer to this is���it depends.

I used to charge between 50 and 100 CZK a page when I was working with agencies in Brno.

It also depends on how well it's been translated, I mean 100CZK is fine for easy work but if it�s something technical and it's taking you hours on end it's hardly worth it when you could be spending your time teaching at 300CZK an hour.

Is this just a paper or a thesis? If it's the latter then you could give an overall price instead of by page.

Also remember that students are not the wealthiest of people and any work I did on papers etc was more of a favour for a few piva than anything else.

If you want to make some money out of this then hook yourself up with a translator who gets regular work, have a computer handy and broker some kind of deal. Make sure that the translator knows his/her stuff meaning you'll not be sweating too much into the wee small hours sitting with a dictionary trying to decipher his/her Czenglish.

It can bring in a nice wee bit of pocket money but it's not regular work you can rely on to pay the rent and your pivo tab.

You should also ask around, your colleagues etc.

If you want you can PM on the who, what, where and whys of Brno, I am no longer there but I'm in touch with teaching buddies in town and I'm back every summer for 2 or 3 months.

Nezavislost za Skostko

[jasperella]

Ok, thanks for all the info...I see what you mean about it being a case by case thing. The guy is a student of mine, and he's a uni lecturer not student, so has a bit more cash. I think he's publishing a research paper. It's economics, not exactly my strong point, and 21 pages (inc bibliography and various graphs and equations). He needed to submit it, so I asked for 1500 total. Fair?

[merlin]

For a Uni student - something like 25 crowns a page. Seriously. watever you ask, it'll seem like way too much for the student and he'll think you're ripping him off. He works for peanuts so why shouldn't you, right?

A lot of times you have to look ahead and see when it isn't even worth your time to consider it. Usually unless they're being compensated by some sort of organization you'll be working for charity.

In the professional world how much you charge depends on if it's a one-time deal with lots of time or if some guy call you on Saturday afternoon to proofread an overdue project. The question at that point is how much he's able to pay.