Work Home Job Idea: Transcription

So who are transcriptionists? Transcriptionists are independent contractors who create typed reports of recorded information. The documents are formatted to the company's specifications. To give you an example of how this works, let's say that company A has a professor as a client. The professor wants his recorded lectures transcribed verbatim. This is where the transcriptionist comes in. Company A hires you to transcribe the professor's lectures. Sounds easy enough right? Well not necessarily. Let's go over more of what's required, types of transcription, and how to find companies to apply to.

It takes a lot more than a good ear to become a transcriptionist. But being a great listener is an important skill. Transcriptionists also possess excellent english and grammar skills, be fast typists, and work good under pressure. Being able to meet deadlines and ensure accuracy are also important.

There are three types of transcription: general, legal, and medical.

General transcription can involve transcribing seminars, speeches, sermons, lectures, meetings, conference, calls, focus groups and more.

Legal transcription is a more specialized transcription position focusing on court documents, depositions, hearing, investigations, and interrogations. Knowing legal terminology will be a requirement prior to applying.

Medical transcription concentrates on doctor notes, emergency reports, operative reports, X-rays, psychiatric evaluations, clinicals, pathology reports, lab reports and more. This type of transcription requires certification. AHDI has a great list of approved medical transcription schools listed on their site. You can also try learning on your own with Online Free Medical Transcription Course.You can also start transcribing with companies in your local area to gain some experience.

For all types of transcription, you'll need some basic equipment; computer with good speakers, a printer and some quality headphones. Obviously, you will need access to the internet for downloading and uploading files. You will also need a foot petal to control audio playback and a software program to playback audio files (Express Scribe is a great free program for this type of work). A word processing program will also be needed. If you do not have a Microsoft Office edition, you can download Open Office for free.

If you are looking to get into transcription, the best way would be to practice transcribing some audio files and look into applying to companies that hire with no experience. Speak-Write is one of them and there are many more. Don't let the challenge scare you. This field is very demanding but worth the time it takes to achieve successful.