Get paid to type with Transcription/Captioning Jobs

If typing speed is your key skill (more than 250 CPM) then I would suggest looking for transcription jobs.

Famous sites like Rev.com, Transcriber, etc are very hard to get in for a lot of people.

So try some smaller known companies that offer such jobs on job boards. You need to contact them directly through the mail, so have a basic resume and cover letter ready. (If you don’t have that ready, skip to the end for a tip).

I worked with ASC Morningside for a brief period. You can easily pass the initial test and their work is usually corporate stuff. So it is pretty easy. (Just a bunch of uncomfortable people trying to “communicate effectively”. )

Their onboarding process took about 3 months (but that is mostly because it’s almost single-handedly being run by a very experienced woman. ) But after that, it’s pretty smooth.

You get a mail daily, download a file from their portal, and transcribe it (they will provide you a guideline according to which you will work on it. Try shooting them a mail at [email protected] and ask if they have any open positions.

List of Websites with Transcription Work Available

Rev.com is one of the most popular platform. It has a short and simple transcription test that you need to clear. It also has captioning work available.

Other options (Appen China Platform: a new platform offering rates up to 15.75$/hour for English-Hindi Transcription).

ProZ Language Job Board (One of my contacts earns 300–400$ monthly working on a transcription job on this site. She’s a housewife, I guess.)

Lionbridge Transcriber Opportunity (Might not last long)

Oneforma (has a translation and transcription section: though work available depends on different locations…

Some similar jobs are also available on ( Data Entry | Writing)

aTexto and AudioBee are new platforms that have transcription work from time to time.

how much do transcription jobs usually pay?

The pay for transcription jobs varies but expect a rate of 12$ / 30-minute of audio transcription. I should emphasize the rate*, 12$ for 30 minutes of audio transcription).*

Some websites offer a much lower rate for transcription work. You are free to take up work at lower rates, but it will be very difficult for you. It is pretty much impossible to earn a full-time income from Transcription jobs nowadays.

I consider myself a fast typer (hitting speeds up to 350 CPM). And it took me 2–3 hours of concentrated deep work to properly edit it with their format and acceptable standards.

There are several tools and tricks you can use to speed up your transcribing speed. An experienced transcriber can usually transcribe a one-hour audio file in less than 3 hours.

So don’t expect to earn more than 20–30$ per day. With discipline, you might be able to make a good income monthly (enough that you can take care of yourself, at least). But it is best done when you actually have free time and no immediate goal to work towards. It is literally trading your brainpower for money. And this job *might* become obsolete in the future (so the demand is only going down).

some transcription hacks to speed you up

Use Transcribing tools. Your VLC or Windows Media Player cannot handle the audio scrubbing required for transcription. Use a free web-app known as oTranscribe. You can upload the audio file there and properly listen to the conversation (with shortcuts to seek forward, back, speed audio back up and down.) It is a must-have in my opinion.

Some professional transcribers (people who have gamified it), have set up shortcuts for even the most common words (that their specified format expects them to use) and have increased their pay rate further.

Another option is to use an online AI transcription service (free, paid, or Pixel 4) to get a brief transcript (English transcriptions are almost flawless), and change it to the required format. It might require a completely different approach, but can further decrease your delivery time ( if done properly).

Update: Since the time I wrote this, I have learned a lot more transcription tools. Check out my latest article on Transcription tools.

Create an Amazing Graphic Resume

Some websites/platforms require you to submit a resume before they give you any kind of transcription work. You do not necessary need any kind of prior transcription experience, but it’s just a corporate formality.

It’s not very tough to make. Think of a Resume like your Insta Bio, in a more legible and stretched fashion.

And for resume, try Canva’s Graphic Resumes, they have several presets. They are free to make (without any watermark), and are super-easy to make. Just upload your photo, add basic details like your school and college experience (and overall percentage), add some buzz keywords that you can claim as having knowledge about (no matter theory or practical).

You can then save it as a pdf and use it as your resume. I personally have a color print-out of my resume as well, it’s just that much better than your half-assed, black and white resume.

A graphic resume stands out in the stack of resumes at a corporate office (whether in hardcopy or softcopy). And the benefits of having your photo add a touch of genuineness to your resume as well.

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Hello, people of Vocal. I quit my full-time desk job in search for an adventure. I wanted to work whenever, however and whereever I felt like.

Now, I write about online earning websites and tips.

My ultimate goal is to have a digital nomad lifestyle, but right now my goal is to get to 100 subscribers on Vocal. Follow my journey on https://digitalbazaari.com