Online Translator Jobs with Gengo | Full Review

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Gengo.com: Translating Work into Money

If you are fortunate enough to know more than one language and are looking to do work from home, Gengo.com may just be the opportunity for you. Their site is chock full of small and large translation jobs. All you have to do is sign up, get accepted and then choose from the available jobs they have listed. Once you select one, simply begin the required work and then get paid upon completion.

About the Company

Gengo.com was founded in 2008 in Japan. The word “gengo” means “language” in Japanese. The mission of the website is to provide an easy way for companies to go global through technology and communication that is accessible to everyone. They want you to feel like the world is speaking “your” language.

How Does Gengo.com Work?

When a company (or anyone else for that matter) requires translation services, they order the work online or use the API integration that Gengo has. An API provides a direct link between your website and Gengo so you can order your translation services directly without any manual input. You can order either plain text or documents — whatever your requirement may be.

Next, a translator will work on your project right away. Once they are done, you will get the translation to review where you can also add comments. If you need corrections, they can be done for free. When it is all completed, you can receive the work either via e-mail or over the API.

There are three different levels of work — standard, pro and proofread. Each level has its own individual projects as well as a different pay scale. The level you work on is dependent on how well you do on the translation test. (You might want to check out my post, Freelance Translation Jobs – List of Companies for more work from home jobs list this one.)

How Do You Become a Translator with Gengo.com?

If you visit the Gengo website, there is a “Become a Translator” button that you click and it takes you through the process. Signing up for an account is free and takes a minute. Next, you will be required to take a translation test. The test will be reviewed and if you pass, you can then log in and begin work. If you do not pass the test, you are allowed to retake it. You are given three opportunities to take and pass the test.

When it comes to the work, you are allowed to take as many or as few jobs as you want as long as you complete them. Many of the jobs are simple and take a very short time to complete like e-mails, short articles, blog posts and Twitter talk. However, there are some longer, more complicated projects.

Does Gengo Offer Every Language?

There are a wide variety of languages that are needed at Gengo.com such as Arabic, Dutch, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish. The languages are often paired on the jobs like they need Portuguese to French translation or Korean to Italian translation. However, some translation pairs may not be available. They seem to have turned off the English to Spanish test as they have more than enough translators for that department.

Who Can Work for Gengo.com?

As long as you pass their test, you can be located anywhere in the world. Their translators come from all over the globe. However, if you are not a United States citizen, you will have to fill out a W8-BEN tax form.

How Does Payment Work and How Much Will You Get Paid?

Payment is made on the tenth and twenty-fifth day of the month. You are paid through PayPal, but you have to make sure that you request payment before the two payment dates to ensure you get paid for your work. There is a flat fee of $1.50 when you request payment. Gengo does this to cover the cost of the PayPal and other transaction fees that they have to pay.

So how much do you get paid? According to their site, you are paid per character or word count. A breakdown of the payments is as follows:

• Standard work: three cents per word/0.018 cents per character
• Pro work: eight cents per word/0.048 cents per character
• Proofread/Ultra: four cents per word/0.024 cents per character

**The numbers above may not be exact, but to get an actual estimate – they have a calculator depending on language here that you can use to get an estimate. Just scroll down a bit and you'll see it.

The minimum amount to request a payout via Payoneer is $20. For PayPal, this minimum amount is $2.00.

The image below is taken directly from the Gengo website to help explain payments that are on the larger side a bit more:

You can also read more in-depth information on payout dates and fees for PayPal and Payoneer here.

If you do some research, you will see that these payments are a bit on the low side, but with this site, the more work you do, the more you earn so you can make up for the low pay if you do a high volume of work. Glassdoor has a review rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

Does Work Ever Get Rejected?

Gengo.com says that the rejection rate from their clients is as low as one percent. With that in mind, it would seem like you have very little chance of having your work rejected. However, if it does happen, there is a quality control team at Gengo who will review your work to see if the rejection is justified. If they think it should not have been rejected, they will ask the client to let you make the corrections or approve the work as is.

There are translation support services on Gengo that translators can use if they have a problem or a question. They also have a translation forum where translators can share ideas, solve problems and provide guidance.

Advantages to Working for Gengo.com

Aside from being able to work from home and work as much or as little as you want, you also have the added benefits of setting your own hours, not having to negotiate or bid on project salaries, getting paid twice a week without having to worry if the client paid or not, and building your translation portfolio if this is something you would like to make a career.

Gengo also provides a special “thank you” to translators who go above and beyond the call of duty. They often distribute small gifts to employees who they feel are deserving of some extra appreciation. And as their community of translators continues to grow, so will the number of rewards and incentives.

Is Gengo.com a Legitimate Work-at-Home Opportunity?

The company has been around for ten years and keeps showing signs of growing. At the bottom of their “Become a Translator” page, they show how many people signed up with them — 21,000 the last time I checked. With a high number like that, it is pretty safe to say that people are definitely taking advantage of this at-home work opportunity. However, this is not a job for everyone.

You obviously need to know one (or more) of the languages they require for translation and then you need to pass their test. If you can do that, then you have a great way to earn some extra money on the side. It is up to you how much work you want to do so your income will depend on how much you want to work. But if you take on a few small projects a day, it can definitely add up to a nice chunk of change twice a month.

Go here to register at Gengo (formerly MYGengo).