Gengo Review 2024: Dynamic Translation Jobs for Beginners

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What is Gengo?

Gengo is an online crowdsourcing translation platform owned by Lionbridge. So what they do is provide translation services to companies and they do this by paying people to do the translation. They provide translation services in over 37 languages. These include Spanish, Chinese, French, Portuguese, and many more. This means that there is a diversity of languages that require translation, implying that there’s mostly a lot of work available for translators. Also, Gengo is beginner-friendly so it doesn’t matter if you do not have any translation experience. You can always start your freelance translation journey with Gengo.

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With a supportive community, you can receive helpful feedback from professionals on Gengo to make working on the platform easier — Gengo offers a flexible schedule along with a supportive community where you can share ideas

How Does Gengo Work?

To become a translator on Gengo, you’d have to:

• Sign Up: Creating an account on the platform is free. So the first thing you’d have to do is to create an account.

• Take a Test: After creating your account, you’d have to take a two-part test to prove that you really can translate the language(s) you signed up to translate. Passing would be easy if you read through their translator resources. These resources give you tips on how to prepare for the test.

Upon approval, you can start translating on Gengo, but before that, you need to familiarize yourself with their style guide and workbench. To unlock access to more challenging projects at higher reward rates, you can try your hands on their pro qualification test and if you do pass, you unlock more projects that are going to pay you well.

How Much Can I Earn on Gengo?

Earnings vary with languages. This means that different languages pay out different amounts, as shown in the image below. Earnings are also dependent on the availability of jobs as well as customer demand.

Arabic translations pay an average of $200 per month, French pays $561 and English pays $417 — Different languages pay different amounts on Gengo

How Do I Get Paid on Gengo?

Gengo pays out via PayPal and Payoneer. PayPal is the default payout method. If you don’t change any settings after signing up, you will be paid through PayPal, to the email address you are using on the platform, whether you have a PayPal account or not (in which case, your payout will likely fail). So remember to sign up o with the email of your PayPal address.

If you prefer to get paid out through Payoneer, you’d also have to make sure that your Payoneer email address is the same as your Gengo email address.

Payouts are processed automatically, so you will need to request a payout each time you want to get paid. The minimum amount required to request a payout is $20 for Payoneer and $2 for Paypal. Payouts are processed on the 10th and 25th of every month and a request must be made at least 7 days in advance.

What Experience Do I Need To Work on Gengo?

The good thing is that you don’t need translation qualifications or experience to become a Gengo translator. You will be accepted regardless. The company will gladly work with anyone capable of passing their translation tests and consistently translating to their standards. Being a native speaker of the target language and passing the Gengo tests with flying colors is all that it takes to apply for freelance translation jobs on Gengo.

Who Can Work for Gengo?

You can work for Gengo if:

• You are a U.S citizen; OR

• If you live in the U.S. (resident alien) and are legally allowed to work in the U.S.; OR

• If you are NOT a U.S. citizen, and you live outside the U.S. (i.e. you live in any country except the U.S.)

Once your application is approved on Gengo, you can start translating on the platform and get paid for doing so. There's no need to create an invoice since payments are sent out automatically — Become a translator in a few steps, and pass the Pro qualification to unlock higher rates

You cannot work for Gengo if:

• If you are NOT a U.S. citizen, and you live inside the U.S. without permission to work; OR

• If you are based in certain countries that cannot legally conduct business with U.S. companies. Currently, these countries are Cuba, Crimea, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Please note there may be other countries restricted by law, as this changes occasionally.

So basically, Gengo accepts applicants worldwide.

Is Gengo Legit?

Absolutely. Gengo is a well-known organization that has gained a strong reputation in the translation market. They have been working with a variety of clients and providing a safe channel for both business owners and translators for a very long time.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a flexible option to capitalize on your linguistic talents and make some money, translating jobs on Gengo could be exactly what you are looking for. Gengo’s user-friendly platform, worldwide presence, and emphasis on quality are key factors that create a path for beginner translators to their desired destination.

See also>> Translation Jobs on Upwork