There are so many online job opportunities out here, and transcription is one we hear about one too often. Worldwide transcription jobs have existed for decades and are still prominent today.
There are many companies hiring transcriptionists, worldwide as well as specific to some geographical locations. My focus in this post is on those I believe, based on my research, are still worth doing in 2020.
There are several transcription jobs worldwide that let you work from home.
It isn’t mandatory to have a university degree before being a transcriptionist. Nevertheless, it’s highly recommended that you possess some skills or amount of training to get you up to speed with transcription.
You should at least possess good typing speed, great spelling, and grammar skills, given the competitive nature of the transcription market.
You can either treat transcription as a full-time job or just a side hustle, depending on your priorities.
Below is a list of my favorite 10 best-reviewed companies offering transcription jobs.
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GoTranscript
GoTranscript hires both transcriptionists (for audio and video transcription) and translators of text and audio files. They accept worldwide applicants and you have to identify yourself with a real-time photo of yourself.
They have a good turnaround time (6 hours for 10-minute media). Generally, the industry standard is 4 hours for 60 minutes of audio. Therefore, you can still do just fine if you’re a slow typer.
GoTranscript is also a great place for clients to find transcriptionists, for their business.
Payments: Weekly via Payoneer or PayPal.
Pay rate: Up to $0.6 per minute of audio transcribed.
Requires no prior transcription experience.
Upwork
This is one of the largest freelancer markets in the world and an ideal place for beginners to kick-start a freelance career. Upwork posts millions of jobs annually, including transcription jobs worldwide.
Payments: Usually via PayPal, Payoneer, local bank transfer, U.S. Dollar Wire Transfer, Instant Pay, and M-Pesa.
Payrate: There’s no base pay rate. It’s more of an agreement between you and your client. You set your pay rates and charge as low or as high as you can, depending on your experience level. Of course, as a beginner, with little experience, you shouldn’t charge high and come off as a greedy incompetent freelancer.
Rev
This is a large network offering transcription jobs worldwide. Rev has over 50, 000 freelancers.
You need a great typing speed, good listening, and language skills. Rev has great clients like Amazon, Facebook, and Google. As a transcriptionist for Rev, you’ll have hundreds of projects at your disposal daily. Therefore, you can never really run out of jobs to do.
You don’t need prior experience to work for Rev.
Payments: Weekly via PayPal
Payrate: $0.3 to $1.1 per audio minute
TranscribeMe
This is a great option for newbies. All you need is a computer with a reliable Internet connection, and the ability to transcribe audio and/or video in any of the languages supported by TranscribeMe.
You need to take a qualification exam and wait for a reply within 12 business days.
Payrate: According to TranscribeMe, monthly average earnings are $250 whereas their top experienced transcriptionists can earn up to $2,200. Transcriptionists with specialized backgrounds in Medical & Legal are paid more.
Payment: Anytime via PayPal
Casting Words
This is an old technology-oriented transcription firm.
Casting Words may not require you to take a qualification test, before being hired. This depends on your experience level. There’s a huge list of available jobs, you can choose from, once hired.
Payment: Weekly via PayPal
Payrate: Between 0.085 cents and a bit over $1 per audio minute transcribed. There’s a grading system that affects how much more you can earn.
Way With Words
No prior experience is required, but you need to demonstrate a solid mastery of the English language. This is because their qualification tests are one of the toughest in this industry. Employee reviews say they have great audio quality files, available for transcription. There’s nothing more annoying than transcribing poor audio quality files.
Payment: Monthly via PayPal
Payrate: $0.45 to $1.73 per audio minute
CrowdSurf
They pride themselves with creating high-quality video captions so that even hearing-impaired and second language viewers can enjoy online media. Videos are divided into 5 to 30-second clips to ease the tasks for transcriptionists.
You need to create a Work Market account, review their guidelines, and take a brief transcription test. Also, you have to provide valid proof of your identity.
A good mastery of the English language is a must and you have to be detail-oriented at proofreading and editing.
Payrate: This depends on your level of proficiency and the amount of work completed. It ranges from $0.03-$0.20 per media minute plus additional bonus rates.
Payment: Via Work Market. Also, you can withdraw funds via bank electronic transfer, Paypal, or WM Visa Card.
Babbletype
Babbletype is quite selective in their choice of applicants. Generally, you should possess a high degree of skill in listening, language, and the ability to deal with sophisticated transcript formats.
There’s a video on the website to help you self-determine if you and Babbletype are a potential fit for each other. Also, you have to take a transcription test as a major aspect of the application process. This video also explains how to complete the test.
Payrate: $2 to $33 hourly
Payment: Weekly via PayPal
Transcription Hub
Transcription Hub evaluates transcriptionists for on-time and quality work before they can get on-boarded to their Live Transcription Marketplace. As a result, transcribers are rated (Gold, Siver, or Bronze) based on their evaluation.
To create an account, you need to register and fill up a form, after which you’ll receive an email containing a 10-minute audio test file for transcription. I recommend that you sign up only when you’re ready to take up the qualification test within the next 24hours.
Payrate: From $0.71 per minute
Payment: Via PayPal
Dictate Express
You’ll be required to take a qualification test before being hired. Generally, this consists of a spelling test, a comma use test, a confusing-words test, and a 4-minute audio transcription test. The required passing scores are quite high (> 90%) because the tests are “open-book”.
Dictate Express expects some level of commitment from their transcriptionists. Usually, a minimum production requirement of 45 minutes per day.
Payment: Semi-monthly invoice payments through Direct Deposit.
Payrate: $0.3 to $0.5 per line, transcribed.
You can enroll in many courses online, to garner the right skills and techniques to carry out transcription jobs worldwide. I recommend the Transcription Skills- Learn Beginning to Advanced Skills course on Udemy or a free mini-course.
If transcription isn’t your thing, check out this Beginner Friendly 3-Step Formula Webinar for another way to make money online (on the Side) today.
