A Transcriptionist is a specialist in documentation. The job entails listening to voice recordings and converting them into written documents. It requires patience and serious training.

The job might involve transcribing recordings of legal, medical and other topics. Becoming a transcriptionist requires having excellent typing skills and keen hearing.

Although some professional transcriptionists prefer to specialize in a particular discipline, such as law or medical, you can do broad transcription if you like. Being a general transcriptionist is ideal for those who are just starting out because it allows them to get experience and work on a variety of themes. It may aid them in deciding whether to specialize or stay a general transcriptionist.

You’ll often listen to recordings of college lectures, judicial hearings, business meetings, personal discussions, and other forms of recordings that require a written reference while doing general transcribing work.

Document transcribing services are required by many businesses, organizations, and people. You may be assigned the work of transcribing phone conversations, teleconferences, speeches, essays, script letters, dictations, forums, meetings, reports, manuscripts, and interviews, in addition to the sorts of audio files mentioned above.

How To Start Transcriptioning

Converting a video or audio file to a written document is what transcription work entails. To be able to take what you hear and transform it into written words, you’ll need exceptional listening abilities and a strong grasp of the English language.

Transcriptionists write down conversations, interviews, programs, and lectures, among other things. They also make it easier for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate.

Many businesses, organizations, and individuals demand document transcription services. In addition to the types of audio files described above, you may be assigned the task of transcribing phone conversations, teleconferences, speeches, essays, script letters, dictations, forums, meetings, reports, manuscripts, and interviews.

There are different types of transcriptionists. The transcribing industry is typically divided into three categories: general, medical, and legal transcription.

Start by looking for general transcription jobs if you’re a newbie. This profession has a substantially lower entrance barrier, needing little or no formal education or training, as well as little prior experience.

General Transcription
Text for a range of video or audio files is provided by general transcriptionists. You could transcribe podcasts or interviews for a blogger or a writer. You may transcribe corporate meetings, college lectures, conference speeches, or marketing focus group talks.

What You Need to Get Started as a Transcriptionist

You’ll need a combination of technical skills, soft skills and equipment to become a transcriptionist. It may seem fairly simple to listen to a recording and type out what you hear, but it’s more challenging than you might think.

If you want to level up in your career and get paid better, seek out transcription training in a specialized field. As you move up the ladder, you’ll probably want to upgrade to better equipment, too.

Here are some of the skills, equipment and training you’ll need to build a career as a transcriptionist.

Skills

To work as a transcriptionist, you’ll need to have stellar listening skills, including the ability to decipher audio with heavy accents, background noises and multiple speakers. You’ll need to be able to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time. Having a quiet, dedicated workspace at home helps.

Another important skill is the ability to type fast. If you’re just starting out, a typing speed of 65 words per minute (wpm) is fine, but eventually you’ll want to aim for between 75 to 90 wpm. The more you practice, the better your speed will get.

You should have an excellent command of the English language, including grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary. You’ll want the written copy you turn in to be free of errors, so you should have good proofreading skills as well.

Having great time-management skills will help you stay on top of deadlines. It’s also essential that you’re detail-oriented and patient in this line of work. You might be listening to the same audio over and over to transcribe audio files verbatim.

Additionally, you should be a tech savvy individual who’s able to work with the necessary software and equipment.

Equipment

The equipment you’ll need to work from home as a transcriptionist will vary based on what type of work you do and the company you work for.

Some companies that hire newbies don’t require you to have much beyond a good-working computer, high-speed internet and a pair of earbuds or a headset.

Your computer or laptop should have sufficient RAM and storage space and should be able to run basic programs, such as Microsoft Word. The company you work for might require you to download specific software. Google Chrome is a helpful internet browser to use.

Your internet connection should have download and upload speeds of at least 10 mbps. Your company may have specific requirements.

If you want a career in online transcription instead of just pursuing this as a side gig for extra money, you’ll benefit from investing in noise-cancelling headphones, a mechanical keyboard, dual monitors and a foot pedal for controlling audio playback.

Downloading transcription software, such as Express Scribe, will make your work easier and help you cut down on your transcription time. There’s a free version of Express Scribe, but you can also upgrade to a professional version for less than $100. If you plan to use a foot pedal, most are compatible with this software.

You may also want to get text expander software to help you type common words and phrases faster.

If you’re a court reporter or legal transcriptionist, you’ll probably need to use stenography equipment.

Closed captions for movies and television shows are also created by broadcast captioners. Real-time captioning for live events or broadcasts is in high demand, and it pays better than post-production captioning.

Source: ThePennyHoarder

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