subject: Transcription Employment: Way Better than 8-5 [print this page] If you are a housewife, a student, a retiree, a breadwinner, or simply want extra income, then you want to try out working from home. Among the different work at home opportunities available, transcription employment could be one of the most profitable, while requiring the least amount of capital or training. General transcription work, unlike medical or legal transcription, does not require any additional training or certification. To be a transcriber requires only English skills, listening and writing. An average typing speed would be sufficient. For tools or equipment, only a computer with a high-speed Internet connection is required. As you become experienced and your typing speed increases, your productivity and earnings are expected to increase. You may add other tools to your trade by purchasing a transcription software and foot pedal that can be bought bundled together.
General transcription is needed by businesses in documenting face-to-face meetings, conference calls, focus group discussions, presentations and other events. Mass media such as TV shows, radio programs, and even podcasts require written documentation from time to time. Add to these the needs of the deaf and you get an idea of the high demand for general transcription is. By doing general transcription, it would be good to know that transcription employment is a stable industry and the popularity of new medium such as You Tube will even make more demand for transcription services.
The Internet has made transcription employment a hundred per cent work from home job opportunity. In the old days, transcription work recorded in cassettes had to be physically delivered or picked-up. Transcribers had to type and again either physically deliver his output or send by courier. Today, the transcriber only has to download his assignment, transcribe using a word processor (where correcting errors is much easier compared to using typewriters and correction tapes or liquids) and upload his output upon submission. The Internet has also made it possible for transcription companies to accept work from anywhere in the country and assign these to their employees working from home at any part of the country, at any time of the day.
Transcription companies pay well for transcriptions that are done accurately with a short turn around time. If there are other characteristics that make the transcription work more difficult such as poor recording, multiple speakers, overlapping speeches, etc. a higher rate may be charged to the customer and paid to the transcriber. Compared to an eight to five job, where a two-hour daily commute is normal, transcription employment not only pays well, but also lets you work at your own time. Whereas in a regular employment, you would have to seek approval and use leaves in order for you to attend important occasions, in transcription, you can attend all the occasions that you want, and you would still be able to work. With a laptop, idle times like waiting in line for the dentist, or waiting for kids to come out of their classes become productive earning hours for transcribers.
