Transcription Jobs Online for Beginners
Transcription work is near and dear to me. It is the very first (of many) work from home jobs I ever held.
After I quit my job to become a freelance writer, I had to have some kind of money coming in until my writing career took off.
And that’s when I found my first transcription job by accident while looking for writing gigs on Craigslist.
Although I did not have transcription experience, I applied and was (thankfully) hired after I passed a transcription test.
That job introduced me to the work-from-home world, and I’ve been working remotely ever since.
Working as a transcriptionist helped me through a difficult financial time.
And so when someone reaches out to me about working from home or making extra money online, I’m always quick to suggest transcription work.
Fortunately, there are companies who offer transcription jobs online for beginners. In fact, I’ve compiled a list of 19+ transcription jobs online — no experience required!
Ready to jump right in and build your own transcription career? That’s the spirit! I highly recommend taking one (or both) free mini courses over at TranscribeAnywhere.
One is a general transcription course and the other is a legal transcription course.
Taking them will give you a much better understanding of what it takes to become a successful transcriptionist and whether it’s the right career path for you.
1. Accutran Global
Accutran Global is “always” interested in hearing from new transcribers. However, you need to click on the “Apply for Work” button from their jobs page to see if they’re actively accepting applicants.
Keep in mind, they have peak times when there is a ton of work and non-peak times of the year when there may be no work at all.
Pay rate is by the word ($0.005 to start).
Payments are made on the 15th of each month.
You will need to pass a transcription test to be considered. Accutran Global is not ideal for parents or caregivers who are responsible for others; you are expected to finish claimed work ASAP. In other words, you cannot have any distractions that delay your turnaround times.
2. Appenscribe
Appenscribe offers global transcription jobs online. So if you are fluent in multiple languages, you will have more work available to you.
To get started, you will need to register an account and pass two small transcription tests. Contractors report different pay rates, but you can expect a rate of about $0.005 per word. Payments are made twice a month via PayPal.
Work is not always available through Appenscribe, but when work is available, you can claim it any time day or night! There are non-transcription projects available at times too, if you want to expand your work-from-home earnings.
3. Bam!
Bam! mostly offers entertainment transcription services, but they also do legal, corporate, finance, research and general transcription projects, too. If you can pass a skills test, they will consider you as a contractor.
Their application is not found on their site. You will have to contact them via their contact form or email them at bam@bamtranscription.com to express your interest as a potential typist.
4. Speech Ink
Speech Ink hires typists via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. You need to sign up for an MTurk Account to get started.
(Note: Several of the transcription companies on this list use MTurk to assign work and make payments).
Once you’re signed up, you can search for Speech Ink jobs via MTurk platform. From there, claim jobs and complete them. Some jobs may have “qualifications.” These qualifications may be as simple as agreeing to terms of service or require a small test.
Speech Ink rates the quality of your work and awards bonuses based on accuracy!
Don’t forget, you can jump right into the world of legal transcription by taking the free legal transcription course at Transcribe Anywhere.
5. CastingWords
CastingWords has two ways for transcriptionists to find work: The CastingWords Workshop and Mechanical Turk. Through their Workshop, they offer transcription jobs online in 66 countries. For US workers, they only accept applicants from certain states.
Through Mechanical Turk (MT) you’ll never know what you will find–sometimes there are a ton of HITS (MT lingo for jobs) and other times, there is hardly anything. The pay rates vary from job to job, but all you need is $1.00 in your account to request payout.
6. Crowdsurf
Like CastingWords, Crowdsurf posts their transcription jobs online through Mechanical Turk. They offer short transcription and captioning tasks. To get started you need an MT account.
You will accept and work on Crowdsurf jobs through the MT platform and receive payments this way, too. If you’ve never heard of MT, it’s an Amazon company. There are hundreds of thousands transcription and non-transcription jobs posted here at any given time.
7. Daily Transcription
Daily Transcription provides corporate, legal, and entertainment transcription with same day turnaround times (hence the name!). There are no guaranteed hours or amount of work available, but they are always looking for transcriptionists at all experience levels as long as they are reliable.
Work is available on an as-needed basis. To get started, you just need to submit a short form and then head over to their testing page.
8. Go Transcript
Go Transcript offers beginner transcription jobs worldwide. This is a great opportunity for international candidates with zero typing experience to get started.
Typists are paid up to $0.60 per video minute. Average earnings on the platform come out to $150 per month. However, top earners can cash out more than $1200 monthly.
9. GMR Transcription
GMR Transcription has general transcription positions available consistently. One of their projects (medical condition interviews) has enough work available that you must be willing to transcribe and proof 60 minutes of audio per day to be considered.
Remember, an audio minute and a real minute are two different things. These opportunities are open to typists with no experience as long as you can pass the test.
You can also find beginner translation jobs available through GMR Transcription.
10. Neal R. Gross
This is another great opportunity for beginners seeking transcription jobs online. Neal R. Gross has legal transcription opportunities available (which usually requires a couple years of experience!).
What you will need is the ability to return files the next day, type at least 60 WPM, and be able to work at least 30 hours per week (if you type the bare minimum of 60 WPM, this would equal about 5 hours of audio per week). You will need to submit a resume and cover letter through the contact form on their web page to get started.
11. Babble Type
According to its site, Babble Type is “always looking for new transcriptionists, editors, and translators.”
Once you visit their site, you’ll be asked to watch a short video. This will help you determine whether you’re a good fit for Babble Type or not. From there, job seekers will need to fill out an application and test to be considered for paid work.
12. Scribie
Scribie is where many aspiring typists go when they first look for transcription jobs online. There is a waiting list of thousands (yes, thousands!). They hire worldwide and pay via PayPal. The pay rate is $10.00/audio hour.
If you complete three hours of audio in a month, you get a bonus $10.00. There are pros and cons to Scribie. The cons are the low pay. Even as far as transcription jobs online for beginners goes, they pay pretty low. But on a positive note, there are no cash out limits and no commitments (work as much or as little as you want, when you want!).
13. Tigerfish
Tigerfish offers flexible transcription jobs online. They have a ton of different project types available (focus groups, interviews, law enforcement, documentaries). You will have to complete three five-minute tests in order to be considered for paid projects.
These five-minute tests should take you about 20 minutes each to complete (if you are going way over the 20-minute mark per test, transcribing may not be worthwhile for you).
Please note, Tigerfish is not always accepting new transcriptionists.
14. Transcriptions ‘N’ Translations
Miami-based Transcriptions ‘N’ Translations does transcription projects for big names like Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. If you can pass a skills test, you can contract with them.
To get started, you need to submit your resume along with a short form located on their website.
15. TranscribeMe!
TranscribeMe! posts transcription jobs online for English and Spanish typists. The first step is filling out a form. After that, you will be directed to take a test.
If you pass, someone from their Operations Department will contact you within 48 hours to discuss the next steps (don’t worry, if you fail, you can retake the exam in 24 hours). Transcribers get paid per audio hour. Payments are made every week.
16. Ubiqus
From medical transcription to verbatim transcription and even summary writers, Ubiqus offers a ton of different transcription jobs online for beginners. If you can provide same day and next day transcripts, you are likely to receive more work.
You will need to successfully pass their application process to get started. All typists start out at the same rate regardless of experience. Payments are made every two weeks. At this time, they are only recruiting native English-speaking, U.S. residents and Canadians.
17. 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP
Formerly, Verbal Fusion, 1-888-TYPE-IT-UP pays the best starting rate for transcription jobs online for beginners. You must be a U.S. resident and fill out a short questionnaire to be considered. When they are hiring, you will be contacted and asked to take a short transcription test.
If you pass, you can be hired on as a contractor. Keep in mind, it might be weeks or months before you are invited to test. So even if you think you might be remotely interested in this opportunity, it is best to get your application in ASAP!
Note: As of September 10, 2020 they are hiring. However, 1-888-Type-It-Up charges a $59 Entrance Exam Fee.
This is explained as a method for weeding out applicants. It’s ultimately up to you whether or not you want to pay the fee. But, I would remind you that there are transcription jobs for beginners listed here that don’t require you to pay a single penny to get started.
18. Verbal Ink
Verbal Ink is always interested in hearing from transcriptionists who want to join their team! From the Verbal Ink website:
“Even if you’ve never worked as a transcriptionist before, you may have what it takes to be a Verbal Ink Transcriptionist…”
You will have to pass a test to get started (their test is notoriously hard!).
If you can pass, they are a great company to get in with. To get started, you will need to submit your resume and cover letter for consideration.
3Play Media provides transcription jobs online as well as editor positions. You must pass a series of skill and proficiency tests to be considered. In order to be successful, you should be able to type at least 75 WPM and be proficient with internet research.
It is a bonus if you are skilled in Excel. Pay varies per project, but contractors can earn anywhere from $10.00 to $30.00 depending on individual speed and efficiency.
20. Transcription Outsourcing
At Transcription Outsourcing, you can find a number of online typing jobs available. There are listings for legal, general, financial, and medical transcription jobs.
To get started, you just need to fill out a short application. Their office will contact you directly should they have any questions or need more information.
Start Making Money Typing from Home
So, there you have it — 20 companies that offer transcription jobs online for beginners. Remember, sign up for one (or both) of the free mini courses at TranscribeAnywhere.
Whether you choose the general transcription course or the legal transcription course, you’ll get a much better understanding of what it takes to start a transcription career and whether it’s the right path for you 🙂
Do you know of an opportunity I missed? Have you worked for one of the companies listed? If so, please leave your comments below–I’d love to read them! Don’t forget to visit my job leads page to find even more work from home jobs!
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