Good at typing? Check out remote jobs in transcription!

Can you type quickly and accurately?  Then a transcription job might be right for you.  Best of all, many of these jobs are remote positions that let you work from home, or anywhere you choose to roam, on your own time.

 Types of transcription jobs

 All transcription jobs require you to be a fast, accurate typist.  You will also need good grammar skills and good listening skills.

• General: These transcription jobs are available for both new and experienced transcribers.  Pay is lower than medical or legal transcribing which require specialty skills.  However, you can still make decent money and pay will increase as you gain speed, skills, and experience.

• Medical: While medical transcribing pays well, you will need a special AHDI (Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity) certification in order to qualify for these jobs.

• Legal: You will usually have to have a legal background and experience in order to do legal transcribing.

 For this post we are going to focus on general transcription, as we will cover medical and legal transcription job opportunities in future posts. 

Even though this category pays less than medical and legal transcribing, there are special skills you might have that can help you earn more.  For instance, if you have experience in the topic being transcribed, or if you speak another language that would enable you to provide translation services, or if you can understand transcription tapes from those speaking in accents.

What equipment do you need for transcription jobs?

 The absolute requirements will vary from job to job.   At the most basic, you will need a computer, Microsoft Word, and a set of headphones.

Many transcription jobs will also require you to have a foot pedal (also known as a WAV pedal).  This piece of equipment allows you to use your foot to control the speed of the audio playback you are transcribing.  You can also rewind, and fast forward by tapping different parts of the foot controlled pad.  There are different styles and price points for the foot pedals, but expect this piece of equipment to set you back between $30 to $130. Use this link to explore transcriber foot pedals at Amazon.  

In addition, some jobs will require you to have transcription software, others will require you to download their proprietary transcription software.

How much do transcription jobs pay?

 The first thing to realize about transcription job payments is that they are paid by the audio hour, which is substantially different than a regular hourly rate.  You are paid by the audio hour of the recording you are transcribing.  This means that fast accurate typists will make more per regular hour than slower typists as they will be able to do more in less time. 

 Rates for freelance transcribers will generally range from about $40.00 to $100.00 per audio hour.  Again, that is per AUDIO hour of the recordings you transcribed, not the number of hours you actually worked transcribing them.

 What training do you need (and how to get it)?

 Different transcription jobs will have different requirements when it comes to training and certifications.  The good news is that you can train for transcriptions jobs online and at your own pace.

On the low end, you can find many transcription courses at Udemy.  In fact, a search under transcription yielded 240 results.  Evaluate choices carefully and read user reviews to choose courses that might be right for you.

Beyond that, there are other online trainings available.  Check out:

Transcription Certification Institute has a complete course with certification and an internship for $499.  They also have a job board and lots of resources for transcribers and those hoping to become transcribers.

Also check out Transcription Essentials, an online community forum of transcription professionals where you will find valuable, relevant, useful information regardless of your skill or experience levels. It’s a good place to learn, network, check out potential employers, and more.

 Where to find transcription jobs

 Below are a few places where you can find freelance transcription jobs.  There are many others.  As with all online job opportunities, watch out for potential scams.  That said there are many legit transcription jobs available.  Here are some places to get you started: 

• 3 Play Media: Provides captioning and transcript services in English and/or Spanish.

• Babbletype: Provides market research transcriptions services.

• Capital Typing: Provides transcription and translation services.

• Crowd Surf: Provides transcription and captioning services.

• Go Transcript: Hires freelancers for worldwide transcription jobs.

• Hollywood Transcriptions: Provides transcription and captioning services.

• Quicktate: Transcribes voicemail messages, memos, letters, legal files, medical files, recordings of phone calls, conference calls, and other audio files.

• Rev: Provides transcription, captioning, and subtitling services.

• Scribie: Provides transcription services.

• Speak Write: Provides general, Spanish, and legal transcription services. 

• Speech Pad: Provides subtitle and captioning, general, and foreign language transcription services.

• Tigerfish: Provides general transcription services.

• Transcribe Me: Provides general, medical, and legal transcribing services.