Speakers: Peter Sedy
Please tell us your name, where you're from and a bit about your background
Peter Sedy: Hi. My name is Peter. I was born and raised in the United States, but I've been living in Germany for the past 30 years or so now. That's where I'm based. I am an English teacher here for TESOL and I've also been doing some translating and communications consulting here and there as well, but mostly teaching. So, that's my background.
What made you originally start thinking about a proofreading course or a career in freelancing?
Peter Sedy: Actually, my very first job out of school when I finished university was a proofreading job at a pharmaceutical company. But then I drifted over into teaching when I moved to Europe. But now, yeah, it's a natural fit for me to be proofreading because it fits in with my linguistics background, with the teaching that I've been doing. And it was actually kind of born of necessity when the teaching courses that I was doing were all moved online because of the lockdowns. And, yeah, so I was looking for alternatives that I could do from home from the computer, and proofreading was a natural fit for that.
What was your overall experience with our Becoming A Proofreader course? What did you like in particular?
Peter Sedy: Yeah, I have to say I learned quite a bit from the proofreading course because compared to what I was doing when I was starting proofreading in the pharmaceutical industry, there's a lot more detail and a lot more information, for example, style guides and things that I didn't need to deal with when I was starting out in the proofreading world. I really like the fact that the course is catered to your own speed. So, there was no regular, for example, appointments where I had to be online with a teacher who was waiting for me. It was all just me and the computer alone. I could set my own pace and it was very practical for me, as I'm freelance self-employed here. And so, whenever I had time I could do a little bit of the course and it was at my own pace and my own schedule and was very practical and convenient for me in this regard. So, I found that very helpful and very practical.
What was your experience with our guaranteed work offer with Proofed? How has the course helped you reach your goals?
Peter Sedy: Yeah, so once I finished the Becoming A Proofreader course and I passed the final assignment, I was offered a freelance contract with Proofed, and I have to say that's been very convenient for me. You can take work that's available when you can. There's no need to if you can't—if you don't have the time. So, I find it very practical in that respect. I can supplement my income, my main income, which is still teaching. But actually after the lockdowns and when I was forced to teach online, I got very comfortable, and I realized how much extra time I was losing by having to get dressed up and commute to different universities around the city as a freelance instructor, and that was all done away with when I was working at home online. I was very comfortable, and I liked that so much that I'm considering kind of a transition away from teaching into more working at home. And this is where the proofreading online with Proofed is very convenient. I like that a lot, and hopefully I can eventually shift away from the teaching and do more proofreading work online, and eventually, as I said, make that transition. Yeah, so I'm very happy with the situation right now, with Proofed, with the freelance work because I can set my own speed, and I can take on whatever jobs are available there whenever I have the time.
What would you say to someone thinking about taking the course?
Peter Sedy: Yeah, I would say to someone who's thinking about taking the course, you need a good level of self-discipline because there's no one breathing down your neck, for example, a teacher that is expecting you to finish assignments and get the schedule. It's just you working at the computer, and you have to work at your own pace. And you have to do the mini- quizzes and the assignments to finish all the stages of the complete program. So, you need to be able to push yourself to get things done within a reasonable timeframe. And maybe a basic level of understanding of grammar and language. I mean, someone with linguistics background maybe has an advantage to those that have no idea about that stuff because it's centered around that. With proofreading you have to know the language to be able to do a good job at it. So, that'll be my advice for people interested in taking the course. Yeah, hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
