Work from home transcription jobs can earn you a respectable income.
According to ZipRecruiter, transcription jobs pay $28/hour on average. Payscale gives a range between $10-28, while Indeed says it’s around $15/hr. That’s more than double the average national minimum wage.
However, this amount may be higher or lower, depending on several factors. Here’s all you need to know about earning through transcription jobs at home.
Is Transcription Worth Your Time?
You will want to know whether the job is worthwhile, right?
Based on the various job sites, you can make between $10 and $28 every hour. This translates to $80 to $224 per day if you work eight hours each day.
That is definitely a good work at home opportunity. Even if you choose to work part-time.
But, it’s important to remember that how much you actually make will depend on several factors.
For starters, you need to be good at listening to audio files in English. So to succeed in work at home transcription, you’ll want to brush up on your skills by taking a Basic English Skills course.
Secondly, your typing speed is important. You get paid per audio minute – which is why you must be able to type fast enough to complete the work on each audio hour in the shortest time possible.
Thirdly, you’ve got to have the right transcription tools for the job. We’ll explain more about this later on.
Additionally, each company pays a different rate. Work from home online sites pay anywhere from $0.30 to $1.20 per audio minute.
This figure also depends on the hours you put in. If you work from home part-time, you will make less per audio hour than a full-time transcriptionist.
At this point, it’s important to note the difference between audio hours and working hours, especially for new transcribers. An audio hour is how much time you spend listening to the audio but it may take considerably more time to type.
It takes an average of four hours to work on an hour-long audio. So when you calculate the rate any company is offering, remember to consider that. For example, if they offer $20 per audio hour, you will make around $5 per hour.
Finally, the specialized field of transcription you work in will influence how much you are going to make in your home transcription job. Here are a couple of specialized fields you can get into:
Work At Home Medical Transcription
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says medical transcription jobs pay over $51,000 per year. This means you can make over $4,000 per month. These jobs usually pay per line rather than per audio minute.
Legal Transcription
Zip Recruiters places the top earnings in legal transcription at $14,000 to $130,000, with an average of $55,000 per year. You will need specialized training or a legal background to succeed in this field.
Where Do You Get Transcription Jobs?
There are a few options available to get work from home transcription jobs, including:
- Take Accounts
This is one of the most common ways of getting jobs. There are plenty of work from home online sites you can apply to. Each company has different entry requirements but most will require you to have a stable internet connection and pass a test before you start working.
- Bidding Sites
Here you register with the site and then post your service or apply for transcription work. Some of these include Upwork, Fiverr, and People per Hour, which all allow you to bid for your working rate.
- Independent Clients
This is simply pitching to a company or individual in need of transcription services. You get to charge your own rates for the work you do on each audio file. If you deliver high quality service, you may end up with regular clients.
Remember to get legal contracts in place if you decide to go this route.
How to Get Started Earning From Home in Transcription Jobs
To work from home transcribing audio files is quite straightforward; simply listen and type out what you hear. All you need to work from home is a laptop and an internet connection.
However, while it may be true that anyone can transcribe, not everyone will make real money out of it. To stand out from the crowd and make a decent income working from home, here’s what you need to do:
Take Fundamental Training
Like any other work, you need to acquire the basic skills to succeed. The starting point is taking a few courses to get your going. Enroll in relevant Small Revolution courses to get the basics you need for your work in transcription.
Buy The Right Tools
Having the right tools will make all the difference in your work. You will need these tools to make sure your output per audio hour is worthwhile, so you can maximize your earning for each piece of work.
Here are a few of the work from home tools you will need:
- Good Headset
You need this if you want to hear the audio files clearly.
- Foot Pedal
This will help you control audio playback with your feet, freeing your hands up for typing.
- Transcription Software
You will need good transcribing software to get the job done. Good software has an easy to use interface and allows you to start and stop audio easily. More to that, you should be able to connect your foot pedal to the system so you can use your fingers solely for typing.
Some good software tools include Express Scribe and OTranscribe.
- Text Expanding Software
Apart from transcribing software, you will also need text expanding software. As you type, the expander will fill out your words, allowing you to type faster. The end goal is to maximize your time so you can earn more. Tools such as PhraseExpress, Breevy, and FastFox are some good options you can try,
- Voice Recognition Software
It’s also worth mentioning voice recognition software here. You might need to give your hands and your back a rest sometimes. This is when using your voice to type comes in handy.
Tools like Dragon, Google Docs voice typing, and ListNote are great options.
- Audio Enhancement Software
You will also need auditor enhancers. You can find these as downloadable extensions. Most of them work by clearing background noises and amplifying voices.
Just remember to check if the company provides software that is compatible with the transcription tool you are working with.
Improve Your Presentation
There’s nothing as off-putting for any client company as poor work. To avoid a shoddy product, learn how to use editing tools to improve your work. This course will teach you how to effectively use the Grammarly editing tool in your work.
To sum it up, working from home doing transcription work is well worth your time investment. With that in mind, it’s important to get the right tools and skills to maximize your earnings.
Having the right skills will make all the difference between racking in dollars and lounging at home in frustration. Enroll in Small Revolution courses today to equip yourself with the skills to get started.
