Home-based transcriptionist jobs are all over the internet. In fact, it is one of the most popular online jobs today. So, if you are looking for an opportunity in this industry, you will surely not run out.
Fun fact, the word “transcription” was actually derived from the Latin word “transcribere,” wherein trans means “across” and the word scribere means “write”. This has been used since the 17th Century. However, the first known use of the word was in 1598.
From the meaning of the word, transcription basically is all about listening to a recorded material or a live speech and then converting it into a written form.
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Transcription services are being widely used in different instances like transcribing interviews, lectures, webinars, court hearings, medical records, conferences, meetings, seminars, and more.
Today, transcriptionist jobs are divided into three different categories – there’s medical transcription, legal transcription, and general transcription. The two prior types or categories basically has special requirements, the latter one is the more common one. It’s actually the one that is more popular especially among work from home workers.
Transcription jobs have grown over the years especially in the medical transcription industry. In fact, in 2018 alone, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 58,000 medical transcriptionist jobs. Unfortunately, the bureau does not have exact data when it comes to legal and general transcription.
However, we thought maybe the reason for that is because of all the transcription job categories, medical transcription is the most competitive one, salary-wise. Yes, you earn a lot as a medical transcriptionist.
Don’t worry though because today, we are going to share with you, not just about medical transcription but all types of transcriptionist jobs.
So, if you are planning to work home-based and looking at the possibility of working as a transcriptionist, then this is for you.
Before we move on to the different sites and companies where you can apply for transcriptionist jobs, allow us to share with some essential information first. Specifically the following:
- What is transcriptionist?
- What are the skills required for a transcription job?
- How much does a transcriptionist make?
- Where to find transcription jobs?
WHAT IS TRANSCRIPTIONIST?
Earlier, we shared with you what transcription is all about. But what is a transcriptionist really?
According to the Transcription Certification Institute, a transcriptionist is someone considered as a “professional typist who listens to recorded or live audio files and converts into text format what they hear. They offer their services to medical, legal, and general transcription industry.”
Everyone can be a transcriptionist, but it is important to know that transcription jobs require a certain level of accuracy, confidentiality, discretion, as well as the ability to work fast and efficiently while meeting the deadlines set, and producing transcripts or written documents that are of the highest quality.
As a transcriptionist, you are expected to come up with a work that meets the highest standard (especially if you are working as a medical or legal transcriptionist wherein everything that you write becomes a basis of something, which could make or break a person).
Angie Nelson, YouTuber and the woman behind The Work At Home Wife shares insights on at home transcription jobs specifically for newbies. If you are new to this, we highly suggest checking this video out.
WHAT ARE THE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR A TRANSCRIPTION JOB?
Generally, if you aspire to become a successful transcriptionist, you must acquire the following skills:
- Excellent listening skills
- Excellent typing speed
- Excellent punctuation knowledge
- Patient
- Responsible
- Critical Thinker
- Have a comprehensive understanding of grammar and spelling intricacies
- Computer literacy
- Accurate
- Attention to detail
Meanwhile, apart from the above skills, the following are added if you want to become a medical or legal transcriptionist:
- Knowledge in medical terminology
- Knowledge in legal terminology
- Research skills and openness to learning
HOW MUCH DOES A TRANSCRIPTIONIST MAKE?
Transcription is a well-paying career that comes with a lot of opportunities. A transcriptionist earning is generally around $15. However, an advanced transcriptionist can earn between $25 and $30 per hour. With that rate, in a month, you can easily earn around $1,500 if you are working at least 2.5 hours a day for 24 days. That’s pretty good, right? Given the number of hours you need to work, and the number of days as well, you are well-compensated already.
Needless to say, you get to enjoy the freedom of setting your own work hours, and most transcriptionist jobs also allow you to work for multiple clients, which increases your chance to earn more in a month!
By the way, in 2017, according to the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary of a transcriptionist was $35,250 or roughly $17 per hour.
Please note that you can earn more if you specialize – meaning, if you work as a medical transcriptionist or as a legal transcriptionist – and also depending on your qualifications. To give you an idea, a medical transcriptionist, according to BLS in its data back in 2017 could earn up to $36,400 annually, while a legal transcriptionist earns between $20,000 and $60,000 a year.
You see, a transcriptionist does have endless earning possibilities.
WHERE TO FIND TRANSCRIPTION JOBS?
As mentioned, today we are going to share with you some sites and/or companies that offer transcription jobs. Please note that the requirements for the job vary depending on the company.
– Accutran Global
Accutran Global is ideal for newbies in the transcription world. The company is always on the lookout for new transcribers who work from home. So, make sure once an opportunity from Accutran Global comes, you grab it.
However, it is not ideal for those who have other responsibilities as the company expects you to finish work as soon as possible or to put it simply, you cannot have any distractions that may cause a delay in your turnaround times.
When working for this company, you have to take note that they have peak times when there are tons of work, and they also have non-peak times when work is scarce or in some instances, none at all.
They pay their transcriptionists on a per word basis, which starts from $0.005. Payments are done on every 15th of the month.
Requirements include the passing of the company’s transcription test.
– Birch Creek Communications
Birch Creek Communications is a company that often looks for legal and corporate transcriptionists.
When it comes to transcription jobs online for newbies, this company is a good choice as working for them allows you to practice areas of transcription that usually require a couple of years of experience.
When it comes to the salary rate, the transcription pay rate varies depending on the type and the length of the file assigned to you.
If you are interested in the land a job in Birch Creek Communications, you may send them an email, and go through their screening process.
At Birch Creek, the legal transcription job rate is at $0.75 to $1.75 per page, while their corporate transcription rate ranges from $0.40 to $1.00 per audio minute.
By the way, you must be a U.S. citizen to qualify, and also, a background check may be required.
– Daily Transcription
If you are looking for corporate, legal, and entertainment transcription that has a same-day turnaround time, then Daily Transcription is for you.
At Daily Transcription, though, work is available on an as-needed basis, which means, there are no guaranteed hours or amount of work available on a day to day basis.
The company, however, is always looking for transcriptionists regardless of experience level as long as they pass the qualifications, and pass the test.
At Daily Transcription, the salary rate ranges from $0.75 to $1.10 per minute of video transcribed for general transcription. As for other fields like translation, CCSL, as well as captioning (which the company also offers), the pay rate is higher.
Please note also that they online hire people from the U.S and Canada, and that payments are made on a weekly basis through a check.
– CastingWords
There are two ways for you to land in a transcriptionist job at CastingWords — either though CastingWords Workshop or through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
Unlike the previous ones we mentioned, with CastingWords Workshop, they offer transcriptionist jobs online in 66 countries. So, if you are not the U.S. or Canadian citizen who’s looking for a transcription job, this one’s ideal for you.
Meanwhile, if you are going to look for jobs through Mechanical Turk, it may be a bit challenging because you will never know what task you will find. Needless to say, there are instances when tasks are not available at all.
The pay rate at CastingWords varies on a job to job basis. But to give you an idea, the pay rate is around $1.20 per audio minute for a bad quality audio file and $0.60 for a good quality audio file.
– Appenscribe
Appenscribe is a company that offers global transcriptionist jobs online, which means, if you are fluent in multiple languages, the more work is available for you.
The thing is, work is not always readily available at Appenscribe. However, once work is available, you can “claim” them any time you want to. If you are interested to work on other projects that are non-transcription, you may also do so especially if you want to earn more.
If you are interested to get a job through Appenscribe, start it by registering an account on their website, and then make sure to pass two little transcription tests.
The pay rate is on a case to case basis. However, according to some of their contractors, the rate is roughly $0.0005 per word. Payments are made twice a month.
– GMR Transcription
GMR Transcription provides transcriptionist jobs consistently. In fact, one of their projects, which is medical condition reviews, has enough work available. If you are interested, you must be willing to transcribe and proof at the same time a 60-minute audio file per day to land for the job.
The good thing about it is, it is open to anyone — whether you have or you do not have a work experience particularly in typing jobs.
– Scribie
Scribie is one of the popular online transcription companies. In fact, it is where most aspiring transcriptionists look for transcription jobs online. No wonder why the company has a waiting list of thousands, and let us repeat that, thousands!
Scribie is not just limited to American or Canadian residents. They, in fact, hire transcriptionists from all over the world.
The pay rate at Scribie is at $10 per audio hour. Payments are made through PayPal.
What’s nice Scribie, and probably one of the reasons why a lot of transcriptionists or aspiring ones aim to work for the company is that they give a $10 bonus if you are able to complete three hours of audio in a month, which basically compensates its low pay rate compared to other transcription companies.
Another thing to like about Scribie is that they do not have cash limits and require no commitment at all, which means you can work as much or as little as you want, and when you want to. Such a good deal, right?
– TranscribeMe
If you are an English and/or a Spanish transcriptionist, TranscribeMe is perfect for you. The company offers transcription jobs online for both.
Interested individuals will have to fill out their online form, and once done, they will be directed to take a test.
Once the applicant passes the test, someone from the company’s Operations Department will get in touch with her within 48 hours to discuss further steps. If the applicant fails, she can always retake the exam in 24 hours. Just fair, right?
With TranscribeMe, all transcribers are pain on a per audio hour basis, and payments are made every week. So, expect to always have something to look forward to at the end of every week!
– Ubiqus
Ubiqus has so much to offer when it comes to transcription jobs — the choices vary from medical transcription to verbatim transcription as well as summary writing tasks. All of these are open to newbies as well.
The secret to getting more transcription gigs through Ubiqus is by providing same day and next day transcripts.
To be part of their pool of transcriptionists, you will need to successfully pass the company’s application process. At this time, they are only open for native English-speaking, U.S. residents.
At Ubiqus, all transcriptionists start out receiving the same pay rate — regardless of your skills and experience. Payments are made every two weeks.
– 3Play Media
Apart from transcriptionist jobs, 3Play Media also offers editor posts. So, if you want to do editing jobs, you are also welcome at 3Play Media.
If you are interested to be part of their team, all you have to do is pass a series of skill and proficiency tests. Also, you must be able to type at least 75 words per minute. Another qualification is that you must be proficient in an internet research. It would be a plus if you are proficient in using Microsoft Excel.
The pay rate at 3Play Media varies per project. But to give you an idea, contractors earn anywhere between $10 and $30 depending on the person’s typing speed and efficiency.
– 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP
1-888-TYPE-IT-UP is formerly known as Verbal Fusion. Of all the transcription companies for newbies, 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP pays the best starting salary rate.
However, unlike the other transcription companies, applicants will have to pay a $35 entrance exam fee to be considered for the job. According to 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP, the fee is to help make the number of applicants more manageable. With such a requirement, they are now able to respond within weeks to successful applicants instead of months.
To land a job at 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP, you must be a U.S. resident. You will also be required to fill out a short questionnaire. As part of their hiring process, you will be contacted and will be asked to take a short transcription test. If you pass the test, you will immediately be hired as one of their contractors.
– SpeechPad
SpeechPad is a U.S. transcription company that also provides transcription job opportunities to both old and new transcriptionists and typists.
SpeechPad is known to offer different transcription services like voice-to-text transcription, audio-to-text transcription, insurance transcription, as well as video, speech-to-text, and Mp3-to-text transcription jobs.
Currently, transcription work at SpeechPad ranges from $0.10 to $0.40 per minute. Payments are made every two weeks via PayPal.
– Neal R. Gross
Neal R. Gross also opens transcription job opportunities for both old and new transcriptionists. The company has legal transcriptionist jobs available for those who want to get into this kind of job.
To be able to land a job at Neal R. Gross, you must have the ability to return files the next day, work at least 30 hours a week and must be able to type at least 60 words per minute. If you think you have what takes, just send them your resume and cover letter through the contact form available on their website.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON TRANSCRIPTIONIST JOBS
Transcription is one of the booming industries when it comes to working from home. It comes with a lot of opportunities not just to those who have experience working in this field, but more so, to those who are just starting.
With all the list of companies/sites that offer transcriptionist jobs that we shared, have you decided where to send the application yet? If you haven’t, that’s totally fine. Take your time.
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