The Covid-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things overnight for everyone, including how people work. One of the most significant developments around this was the transition to “work-from-home” or remote jobs. Before the pandemic, there was hesitation concerning remote working, but things have changed now. The events that unfolded have helped us to realize their importance, and there has been a massive influx of employees opting for remote jobs worldwide. As the pandemic is slowly decreasing and business is picking up speed, remote working, initially forced on employees, has become a “new normal.” According to the Talent Tech Outlook 2022 study, 82% of people prefer working from home rather than the office. The ‘remote-first model’ is not only beneficial for employees but is also beneficial for employers. A critical area that saw a rapid rise in this period was transcriptions. Simply put, it’s converting a speech or audio into written text. But, again, it doesn’t require creativity, and you can use listening and observation skills to capture the described information. You can get started with it if you have a laptop and word processing software (Notepad, Google Docs, or even MS Word). In addition, many apps and websites offer a chance to do transcription jobs from home without having to hunt for clients outside. But before we dive deep into these platforms, you must understand the benefits of a remote work opportunity. So what are you waiting for? Let’s find out.
What are the Benefits of Working From Home Jobs?
Increased productivity
Compared to the office environment, working from home offers a more tranquil setting, enabling employees to focus more on work. In addition, there are usually fewer interruptions and fewer office politics, allowing employees to focus on what matters.
Improved employee health
Remote working eliminates the requirement for a commute, which can be stressful for employees. It saves time and offers employees health benefits by getting more sleep, working out, spending more time with their families, or cooking healthy foods.
Cost saving
Both employees and employers save money from remote working. Employees save on fuel, transportation, parking, and maintenance, ultimately adding more money to their pockets. Employers save on expenses like office space, utility bills, office supplies, security, overheads, etc.
Flexibility
Work from home option offers more flexibility and agility. In addition, employees who are no longer confined to an office may be more suited to work flexible hours at their convenience, anytime during the day or even on the weekends.
Work-life balance
Remote work saves a lot of travel time. In addition, employees can utilize the same to improve their work-life balance. Whether dropping kids at school, doing household chores, running errands or working from home makes it easier to balance personal and professional life.
What is a Transcription Job?
A transcription job entails listening to audio or videos and converting them into a text format. The person who transcribes the recordings is known as a transcriptionist. Working as a transcriptionist is ideal for people looking to work from home. A wide variety of audio or videos is transcribed daily, including phone calls, meetings, seminars, lectures, etc., which means this career has endless opportunities if you work accurately and efficiently. There are multiple areas in transcription – general, legal, medical, and market research. In most cases, general transcription jobs do not require any prior knowledge. However, some experience or training is required in the case of specialized jobs like medical and legal. Various platforms available today provide easy remote jobs for transcription work. Before discussing the platforms and their features, let’s understand the technical requirements for this job.
What are the Requirements Before Applying for Transcription Jobs?
To start with a transcription job, you’ll require some essential equipment, which is as follows:
Computer: The first equipment you need to get started is a computer. Based on your preference, you can decide whether to keep a desktop, laptop, or both.
Stable Internet connection: A stable Internet connection is vital to manage your work efficiently. Since most of these companies work via a web-based system, you must have decent WiFi connectivity.
Microsoft Word: While it’s not compulsory to use MS Word for your assignments, it’s good to have since most companies accept assignments in the “.docx” or “.txt” format. If you do not have MS Word, you can also ask your employer for alternatives.
Headphones: Using headphones enables you to hear the audio files more clearly. While this isn’t compulsory, investing in good headphones can help make your work easier.
Software: Software tools like Fathom and Descript allow you to create transcripts of audio and video files. They can also help you use time productively, instantly creating transcripts from media files.
In addition to all these requirements, it’s essential to have good typing and listening skills. For example, as a freelance transcriber, most of your job entails listening to audio and video files. In such a scenario, it becomes essential to have the above skills. Here are the top work-from-home transcription job platforms to help you find transcription jobs.
Rev
Rev is among the biggest and most renowned transcription job platforms. You can sign up for the platform by taking a quiz and submitting a sample transcript for your application. Once approved, you can find high-paying transcription jobs online and work for clients worldwide. As a transcriptionist, you’ll get paid every Monday via PayPal for each transcription job completed in the past week. The platform lets freelancers decide their work frequency, helping them choose a schedule that focuses on flexibility. Rev is a good option for those who want to work on transcription jobs freelance, and it only requires a computer and a stable Internet connection.
TranscribeMe
A specialized platform dedicated to finding transcription jobs from home, TranscribeMe serves industries like legal, medical research, and education, among others. Freelancers on the portal get access to the highest pay, resources to learn and grow alongside greater flexibility to work as per their schedule. Earnings on the platform start from $15 to $22 per audio hour, and freelancers can easily make a minimum of $2,200 per month here. The platform provides personalized guidance, which is highly beneficial if you want to develop your skills and get better opportunities. What’s more, you can even apply for data annotation jobs remotely.
SpeakWrite
SpeakWrite is one of the premier portals for finding remote transcription jobs online. Freelancers can work across industries (legal, protective services, medical research, etc.) while setting up their schedules. They can even choose jobs, making it easy to earn additional cash using their skills. You only need word processing software, an Internet connection, and at least 4 hours to work per week. The company has certain policies around quality and professionalism, which is why they only accept 1% of applicants. They also have an app for freelancers to apply and manage their work. In addition, transcriptionists with Spanish proficiency can also apply to the platform.
Speechpad
Speechpad is a remote transcription jobs platform that pays you per minute (anywhere between $2-$5). The team at Speechpad is fully-remote and creates tools that make it easy for transcribers to work on assignments, helping them be productive and make more money. You can even get opportunities to grow in your roles, which leads to better payouts and responsibility. The platform is not just limited to transcriptions; it also has projects for translations, reviews, and captions.
GoTranscript
With a dedicated platform for freelance transcription jobs, GoTranscript has a robust network of freelance transcriptionists worldwide. All you need to get started is an Internet connection and a computer. Freelancers work flexible hours and can choose their projects. The projects usually span different industries, and you can receive feedback that improves your skills. The support team is quite reliable and friendly, and the languages supported here include Danish, Arabic, Indian, Greek, Korean, Finnish, and Hebrew, among others.
CastingWords
With over 10,000 customers, CastingWords is a premium work-from-home transcription jobs portal with per-minute pricing and hires freelancers via their Workshop portal & Upwork. You are usually asked to work on projects that convert audio transcripts into plain text, HTML, and MS Word formats. To be eligible for work, you’ll need to apply by taking a sample assessment on the Workshop portal. Once approved, you can easily get new assignments regularly.
GMR Transcription
GMR Transcription is one of the most renowned companies in the transcription space. The company regularly advertises remote transcription jobs, hiring people with excellent typing, observation, and listening skills. They have a robust feedback system that helps you become more productive, upskill and work on exciting projects. This platform has a lot of requirements for Spanish transcribers. You’re the perfect fit for this company if you have a stable WiFi connection alongside a computer, MS Word, and headphones.
Quicktate
Quicktate is a user-friendly freelance jobs portal that allows you to earn by transcribing audio or video recordings. It offers various transcription jobs, including legal notes, medical reports, letters, memos, etc. The platform also allows you to work on jobs that use different languages, which ensures increased participation worldwide. It pays you for every word you transcribe; the best part is you can encash your earnings weekly. To sign up for Quicktate, you must be above 18 years of age and hold a PayPal account.
Scribie
Scribie is among the most popular transcription job platforms and is highly trusted by many clients. It allows you to work at your convenience and earn up to $20 per audio hour. Scribie makes the job of a transcriptionist easier by providing automated transcripts that help to save a lot of time. All you need to do is clear a test to start your journey on Scribie. After certification, you will become a transcriber, and based on your performance, you can be promoted to the reviewer, proofreader, and QC.
Ditto
Ditto Transcripts is a well-suited platform for a remote transcription job. It mainly aims for transcription relating to law-enforcements, general, medical, financial, and legal. Ditto has a vast clientele, including renowned law firms, enforcement agencies, hospitals, Fortune 500 companies, etc. As Ditto is purely USA-based, it mostly hires qualified American transcriptionists who offer quality transcripts with 99% accuracy. It allows you to earn up to $ 1.10 per minute by transcribing audio and video files.
CrowdSurf
Crowdsurf is a popular transcription platform for freelancers offering video captions for the deaf alongside second-language viewers. It offers short transcription tasks available all day so that you can work according to your convenience. Before onboarding, you must pass an assessment to join the platform as a freelance transcriber.
AVERBACH
Averbach is an excellent option for people looking for work-from-home transcription jobs. It offers competitive pay, regular file – $1 per audio minute, same day and overnight files – $1.50 per audio minute, which results in roughly $20 to $30 per work hour for skilled transcriptionists. Before starting your journey as a transcriber on Averbach, you must clear a skill test and have a PayPal account.
Conclusion
It is everything you need to know to get started with work-from-home transcription job platforms. Thanks to the rapid rise in the number of companies, the demand for transcription services has increased exponentially. If you have exceptional hearing and typing skills, ample opportunities are available. While you can get clients outside these platforms, the process usually takes longer and is more challenging. Using these remote transcription job boards gives you access to a readymade client pool to work with. With the kind of pay most of them offer, you can easily earn up to $2500 per month. You must, however, understand your responsibilities as a freelancer to manage deadlines properly. Your future work depends on how well you do a given task. We hope that this article was helpful to you and can help you get started as a remote worker. You may also explore some best tools that transcribe video to text.
