Digital Nomad Gigs: Online Transcription

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This post started as a quick note to some friends who were interested in working from home, choosing their own hours while earning USD. Once I realized that I'd hit more than 1,000 words I thought, "Why not turn it into a Steemit post and reach even more people?" So, here it is:

There is a huge demand for people to turn audio files into text documents. Business meetings, interviews, focus groups, even church sermons are sent in as audio or video recordings and sent back as a Word document. Computers can’t handle more than one voice at a time (yet) so companies pay people to do provide this service. There are loads of companies that offer this service but a lot of them won’t allow non-US or non-UK people to work for them.

The two companies I’ve found that allow anyone to join up are www.gotranscript.com and www.rev.com. GoTranscript is much easier to get into and stay with but they pay about half of what Rev pays. Rev is pretty difficult to get into and they are much stricter when it comes to the quality that they demand from their people. But, the pay from $0.45 per audio minute where GoTranscript pays from $0.23 per audio minute.
Both companies require you to do a qualifying exam where you get a file to transcribe to show you have what it takes. If you pass, GoTranscript takes about a week (if memory serves) to set you up. Rev can take months and depending on their level of demand and current worker numbers, might just tell you to come back later and try again even if you do excellent on the test.

Once you’re in both companies work on a rating system. Every file you do in the beginning gets checked by a reviewer and assigned a score out of 5 based on accuracy, formatting and so on. GT checks all your files and Rev checks about one in five once you've been with them for a while and maintain a good rating. Most files also require you to type in what is called clean verbatim. You type pretty much everything you hear the speakers say, but leave out uhm’s and crutch words like ‘like’. You won’t believe how many times some people use the word ‘like’ in a sentence… Both companies provide you with the rules according to which you have to type though. They aren’t 100% identical so be careful when you do switch.

The great part is that you get to choose which files you work on and also how much you want to work. If you want to only do one file a day then that’s fine. If you want to smash three or four a day then that’s cool too. The more you do, the more you get paid. File lengths can vary from a few minutes to almost two hours in length. There can also be anything from one to more than twenty speakers in any given file. I personally prefer doing interviews with only two speakers since you do have to keep track of the voices but it comes down to personal preference. There are a LOT of focus group files out there. Length of audio also determines how quickly you need to complete and submit the files. An hour long file on Rev tends to be due in about 18-24 hours. I don’t remember how long GoTranscript gave since I haven’t worked with them since getting accepted to Rev.

In terms of work volume I’ve yet to see either of these sites be without work, especially once your rating is high enough that you get first pick of the files. Both companies track your hours transcribed and rating and once certain thresholds are met you get first access to files (with the others of your level of course). In the beginning there might by relatively quiet times and Monday mornings seems to be rather dead. That said they both usually have a couple of hundred files to choose from. At this moment Rev has 448 files going.

One thing to keep in mind is that it takes time to turn audio into text. I average about 10 minutes of audio per hour of typing. Some files are faster. Some can be a lot slower depending on the speakers. Some people talk really fast. Some can’t seem to construct coherent sentences. Some have tough accents. Obviously practice makes perfect. Rev’s system also allows you to slow down or speed up audio and also to create shortcuts for words. You could, for example, type ‘bc’ and the system types ‘because’ for you. It speeds things up immensely. Some files require a lot of Google-ing for place names or terms. Medical files especially can be a pain if the doctor starts talking about very technical stuff. Interviews with IT people can also be tough if you’re unfamiliar with IT jargon. Some clients do provide a glossary of terms to use but in the end Google is your friend.

You obviously need a decent internet connection if you want to work online. Both companies pay in USD and pay via PayPal once a week. Your week with Rev runs Sunday to Saturday and GoTransript runs Monday to Sunday (I think. It’s been a while), with both paying on a Monday. You will therefore need said PayPal account and link it to an FNB online banking account to be able to draw it to a South African account. It usually takes another week to clear through FNB as well. If you are interested in pursuing this I would recommend you start with GoTranscript and build your skills there. Once you’re confident you can start applying to Rev since they do take time to let people in.

Once you’re in it’s important to be very careful with your accuracy and formatting. Your rating is based on averages and both companies expect you to do well to stay in the program. GT expects an average of 3.5 out of 5 while Rev demands 4.5 out of 5. Dip below this and you’re out. GT gives you 20 files to learn on and will then look at your rating and decide whether you are good enough or not. Rev gives you 100 audio minutes to work through before doing the same. I’d therefore advise taking your time at first. Pick files with clear speakers and make sure you deliver the best file you can. Take it slow. Learn the rules. Build your confidence. Double or triple check your file once you’re done. It’s amazing how something that you can’t decipher becomes clear when you listen to it a second time around.

Here’s the sign up link for GoTranscript: https://gotranscript.com/transcription-jobs/apply

This is the link for Rev: https://www.rev.com/freelancers

I hope you find this information valuable and hopefully make some money on the side too! To give you an idea of what's possible, there's a guy that types for Rev that can do a 10 minute file in 17 minutes and makes about $500 a week. How's that for motivation?

Disclaimer: This information is based on my personal experience working for these companies. Individual experiences may differ.