Pay recommendations
How much are language specialists paid? What to consider when negotiating wages or fees?
To make sure language specialists are paid a fair wage, we have cooperated with our umbrella organization, Akava Special Branches, to create minimum pay recommendations. We have compiled such recommendations for sign language interpreters and translators.
For sign language interpreters, the recommendations are further divided into hourly paid and monthly salaried workers. Recommendations for translators apply to those who work in the private sector and for whom at least 50% of their work consists of translating.
When applying for a job or negotiating salary, linguists can use these guidelines as the basis for their desired salary. Besides the recommendations, responsibility, knowledge, and experience required in the position also affect salary. It is also good to think about your skills and the potential workload.
However, many language specialists in Finland are self-employed, entrepreneurs, or freelancers. It is crucial to clearly distinguish between salaried work and work on commission. This distinction not only affects the way you are paid, but also what overheads you need to cover yourself. Our members can consult the Akava Special Branches legal team to help determine those distinctions before signing any contracts.
Under Finnish law, Language Experts is unfortunately unable to give any exact numbers when advising our self-employed members on what to ask from their commissioners. We can still give recommendations on what factors to consider in those situations.
Our office helps members free of charge via email at toimisto@kieliasiantuntijat.fi.
