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During my second summer in college, I had loads of free time that I wanted to fill productively. I also wanted to make some cash, so it seemed like a good idea to use that time to try and make money online. There were various options to choose from, and one of the options was audio transcription. 4 years later, I'm a graduate, working as a community pharmacist, and still doing freelance transcription work on the side. I will be shedding light on my own experience so anyone could be able to replicate it.

What is transcription?

A lot of people mix up transcription with translation while in fact both are completely different things requiring different skill sets. Transcription is simply listening to audio or video materials and converting the speech into written text.

How does it work?

The most straightforward way to get transcription work is to work for a professional transcription website. I have been working for Speechpad for approximately 4 years now, and it has been a fruitful experience.

I open the website's dashboard, choose a file, and start transcribing. Once I finish a file and submit it, it takes some time to be reviewed (mostly in the same day) and then depending on the number of corrections made, the file receives a rating. The rating is based upon how adherent the final transcript is to the style guide which is basically a document specifying certain punctuation and grammar rules so that all the website's transcripts could be as standardized as possible. If all the submitted files are accepted, I receive bi-weekly payments from Speechpad through PayPal which is linked to my Egyptian bank account, and I can then withdraw the money when I want to.

The initial pricing of files on Speechpad is $0.25 per audio minute, meaning that a 60-minute file would yield $15 for the transcriptionist. Prices sometimes go up to $0.65 per audio minute depending on sound clearness, speakers' accents, and the file's volume. The highest-priced files are, of course, those with the worst quality.

It's important to mention that other transcription websites might have different systems in place regarding file selection, pricing, and payment schedule, but they generally tend to have similar structures.

What do you need to start?

You don't need much to start transcribing right away. Those are the basics:

• Decent English listening skills.
• Acceptable typing speed (40 words per minute or more would be a good starting point). You could check yours here.
• Good grammar and punctuation.
• Decent-quality headphones.
• Basically, the work ethic to finish and submit files before their due deadline.

Where to start?

There are numerous websites specializing in transcription. However, since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, positions have become little scarce as more and more people started looking for work-from-home jobs. This led to a higher bar for acceptance as well. Nevertheless, it's completely feasible to still be able to get accepted into one of the following websites.

• TranscribeMe ($15 to $22 per audio hour)
• GoTranscript (Up to $0.6 per audio minute)
• Rev ($0.30 to $1.10 per audio minute)
• Casting Words ($0.085 to a bit over $1 per audio minute)
• Speechpad (This is the website I work for. At the time of writing this article, hiring is suspended.)

These are by no means the only options out there, but they're the most recommended for beginners. I would recommend taking a look at other options as well.

Extra tips:

• Many, if not all, of those websites will require you to pass a grammar and a transcription test to be accepted. To increase the chances of passing, I recommend carefully reading the website's style guide before and while undertaking the test as well as strictly reviewing punctuation and grammar before submitting.
• As for software, a lot of transcriptionists use Express Scribe which is a dedicated software for transcription. I personally use oTranscribe, a very lightweight website that has customizable controls, and it gets the job done beautifully.
• I also use Grammarly's Chrome extension to proofread grammar and punctuation and catch mistakes that might have slipped by me. I wouldn't advise fully relying on it though. Sometimes you just need to transcribe what's being said regardless of its adherence to proper grammar and punctuation rules.
• As easy as it sounds, as a complete beginner, transcription wasn't a piece of cake. I was even fired from my first website, TranscribeMe, for submitting low-quality files. I started out by making around $5 per week, sometimes per month. I advise taking things slowly and persevering a little bit. With time, things started to get better and I now hold an overall rating of 98 in Speechpad and earn around $50 weekly dedicating approximately 10 hours each week to transcription. To make things clearer, an hour of my time spent transcribing would, on average, provide me with 100 Egyptian pounds.

Take away:

For me, transcription is by no means something that I see myself doing as a career. Still, at this point in my life, it’s not a bad source of extra cash. It even pays substantially better than my community pharmacist job (which is a topic for another day!). Anyway, transcription is not the only way to go. I might address other means of making money online in a further article.

If any of you guys needs help regarding transcription, don't hesitate to contact me, and if you think that this article might offer value for you or someone else, please do share it.