Maybe the construction you're looking for is something like, "This is his part-time job, but he shows great respect for the work," or, "This is a part-time position for him, but he works whole-heartedly."

YES, I think that is what I need and seek for.

The context for the expression is quite general. Anyway, I show it here for your possible reference:

I regard it as a part-time but half-assed job. I do like the job and hope one day I will acquire the professional quality in the field.

Thank you everyone for your time!

Why insist on using the expression at all? I can understand if the person does not regard this as a "real job", but half-assed is and will forever be a unprofessional way to describe a job in any respect! The sentence above is a contradiction!

Originally written by Becky Barath on May 21, 2006 6:39 PM Why insist on using the expression at all? I can understand if the person does not regard this as a "real job", but half-assed is and will forever be a unprofessional way to describe a job in any respect! The sentence above is a contradiction!

I agree with Becky here. It's hard to tell if this is a non-native speaker using the expression, and doesn't use it in an appropriate context. Yet, it is definitely not a thing to say in a published document to be translated. And if it were stated, then you just do like the TV talk shows and put a "beep" at the spot where the vulgar word is stated and just keep going. (So that would mean, don't translate it).

From this additional information, my guess is that the person is complaining about the job and the employer.  It is only a part-time job (for whatever reason) and things are not organized enough (or something like that) to the point that things are done always in a "half-assed" way, (so not very professionally).  And the second sentence is a statement indicating that the person likes the content of the job, but hopes one day to be in a better situation to do things more professionally.  And even with that, I am still probably interpreting a lot of meaning into it.

Like Becky, I would leave out the half-assed part and just translate all the rest, unless of course this translation has legal implications in which it is important to translate it (and make the author look bad).

Jeff

All of the above. "Half assed" is indeed derogative. But maybe in the context, the speaker wants to complain (as Jeff suggested)  and say something like "Yes, I have a part-time job, but I also do half of my tasks", meaning "they don`t pay me a whole salary, so I don`t complete my job either".