Online transcription jobs is how I got started freelancing in 2011.
Working on transcribing audio whenever my toddler slept or went to nursery. It was very rewarding and fun job to do.Plus you can hear some really interesting audio sometimes.
Keep reading for the best transcription sites for beginners and what you need to know before you get started.
Related | Start a copywriting business instead with these 3 steps.
What is a transcriptionist?
To make money online transcribing, you need to start with having the skills and equipment to become a transcriptionist. Skills needed to be a transcriptionist are
- Fast and accurate typing skills
- Grammar and proofreading skills
- Time management
For training as a transcriptionist, you can get free online course with Udemy called ‘How to Transcribe and Excel In General Transcription’
In the course you’ll learn
- Punctuation and grammar
- Transcribe audios with multiple speakers
- Proofreading
- Sentence structure
- Time management
Getting started as a transcriptionist you need to be aware of these two things.
- The average pay per minute of audio starts at 15p per minute
- You can expect to take 4 hours transcribing just 1 hour of audio
Equipment that you need as a transcriptionist are
Now you know what you need to be a transcriptionist and use these websites to find transcription jobs.
9 Places To Find Online Transcription Jobs Hiring Worldwide
Rev.com
Rev has 3 available positions for freelancers who want to be a transcriptionist which are
- Transcriptionist: Converting spoken English audio into a written document
- Captioner: Transcribe spoken English and add captions to video
- Subtitler: Translate spoken words on screen and add subtitles to video
Your pay rate at Rev depends on the job you do.
If you’re a transcriptionist or a captioner, the rates range from $.40 per audio or video minute, to $.75 per audio or video minute.
On average, people are able to transcribe or caption about 20 minutes of audio or video per hour, which works out to $8.00 – $15.00 per hour.
Take Note
There are 3 positions freelancers can take at Take Note, these are
- Transcriber
- Notetaker
- Proofreader
For verbatim transcription, the rates of pay start at £0.46 per minute of audio which averages about £25 per hour.
This increases depending on the number of speakers in the audio.
Quicktate/iDictate
Transcribers hired by Quicktate are expected to transcribe a number of documents as assigned by the company.
Some of these documents include
- Medical files
- Legal files
- Phone call recordings
Audio files may be 2-3 minutes, while other recordings may be 2-3 hours.
They pay weekly via PayPal but has a very low rate of pay at $8 per hour of audio.
Keep this in mind when applying.
Scribie
With Scribie you can preview and choose which files you want to work on.
So if there’s a file that’s too long or difficult for you to work on, you can just not do it rather than it just forced on you.
According to the website, they pay their freelancers $5 – $20 per hour of audio.
They go even further and state that beginners who are doing 8 hours a day of audio are earning $400 a month.
(Remember how long it actually does take to do 1 hour of audio)
However for every 3 hours of audio you do each month, they give a $5 bonus.
As your skills grow as a transcriber, your pay does go up.
Hollywood Transcriptions
Meet the basics requirements as a transcriber (grammar and typing speed) then fill in the online application and attach your CV for consideration to one of their freelancers.
The rate of pay per hour or minute of audio is unknown, but if you apply and are successful, you can find out then.
Crowdsurf
Crowdsurf works with freelancers who have little or no previous transcription experience.
Also they provide all of the training and support you need wich is absolutely ideal when you’re a beginner.
The estimated total pay for a Transcriptionist at Crowd Surf is $21 per hour.
This is pretty good pay for a beginner and on top of that they are giving you all the help you need.
GoTranscript
Earn $150 – $1215 monthly transcribing audio for GoTranscript.
There is a constant stream of projects to work on everyday that you can choose from.
You can check out the project and decide if it’s somethinjg you want to be doing or not.
Way With Words
Earn between $0.45 – $1.73 per audio minute with Way With Words.
If you’ve got an eye for detail, accuracy, and can understand the various English accents then apply for a job with this company.
Casting Words
Are you a super fast writer?
Apply with Casting Words today and you can expect to be paid $0.08 per minute of audio by PayPal on Fridays.
In A Nutshell,
Transcription jobs are a great way to get started freelance writing. As you get faster typing you’ll be able to earn more money. Earn more by taking on clients outside of the platforms and charge higher rates.
Before you get started transcribing make sure you’re all setup.
Setup with these ergonomic products for the home office so you don’t get back problems doing your transcription jobs.
