Ethics I have said virtually nothing about professional ethics during the past eight articles, simply because I believe that by the time people reach adulthood, their ethics are well-entrenched and it is therefore next to useless for me to discuss the issue. However, this issue must be addressed, so take the following discussion as a series of general observations, not lectures on how you must behave in every aspect of your life. Translators are often privy to secret information, be it financial plans of a company, a pharmaceutical patent, or the specifications for a new chip. If it hasn't occurred to you that there are people who would pay a lot of money for this information, then you shouldn't take up writing mystery or spy novels. If it hasn't occurred to you that you could use financial information to make money, then Ivan Boeskey isn't your hero or idol.
Translators have to honor the agreements they make.
If you agree to do a job, then you have to do it. You can't just farm out your work and take a percentage without telling your clients that you do this. They have a right to know who is actually doing the work. If they decide to hire you, then they want you, not someone you know, to do the job. Moreover, you have to do the job the way you say you will, which often means doing what the client asks.