My colleague Corinne McKay published a very interesting post on her blog last week, the theme of which I would like to take up here, as well. It fits the end of the year and the usual review I do. She posed five questions, which I will try to answer. Here they are: 

1: Are you happy with how much you earned, as compared
with how much you worked? 

Yes. Of course, earning more is always nice, and all, but I have successfully upped my prices a little with some clients, and not one of them complained about it. So I will continue to do this step by step, not only next year, but continuously. After all, inflation isn’t stopping, either, and with time, my experience and expertise is growing, as well. My pay should reflect that, too, shouldn’t it? 

The first class of the new Fachakademie where I teach graduating was definitely one of the big ones! I also gained two new regular clients in my favorite specialty (classical music!), plus some others, and I was able to do more interpreting – one of the things I had hoped for this year.

That would be my motorcycle accident the beginning of July. Of course, I obviously had a host of guardian angels at the time, otherwise I might not be here now and doing as well as I am, but the repercussions are still reverberating through my life both physically and mentally – the summer holiday was canceled, and I really felt that lack of vacation and getting away these last weeks. So I’ve really been looking forward to a week of wellness and doing nothing but read over New Year’s, I can tell you!

Sort of. Mostly, the challenge consisted of the time constraint and the resulting organizational juggling of work, school and private life (important!).

I would love to do (even) more interpreting, not just next year but generally. I was able to do more this year, already, but I would love for it to reach a balance of 50% interpreting and 50% translating in the long run. This probably won’t happen within a year, but the increase this past year is encouraging.

The “other job” – teaching – is something I would also like to continue, I’m just not sure with how many hours per week. My job is secure, even if it officially is temporary, but my subjects are considered extra special, so they’ll keep me as long as I am willing (and the school exists). This school year, I have less hours than the year before, which is fine by me. More than 12 is definitely not an option. Less than 8 is probably not worth it, though, so we’ll have to see how the academic year 2016/2017 pans out. I also don’t want to teach anything other than interpreting and the CAT tools, plus at-sight translation, so if the interpreting class doesn’t get together next year, I’ll have to see how that’s going to work. But for now, I love teaching and would like to continue doing it. 

Looking 10 years into the future is quite far for me. I’m happy with the way things are right now and wouldn’t mind it being that way then, as well (except for the interpreting, of course).

So on that note, I would like to wish you all a happy new year that will turn out as you hope and then some! 😉 See you in 2016!