Can someone with no transcription experience really make money transcribing at home? How about in one week?
First, let's go back in time:
On November 21st I published this post: Transcription Jobs From Home No Experience (18 Sites)
I wrote that post because I see transcription as a useful skill and a great way to make money online.
However:
I claimed that a complete beginner could get a job and make money transcribing with no experience.
I had no evidence to back up these claims, so I thought, “I have no experience transcribing, why don't I be the test dummy?”
Which is why I will be documenting my experience day by day until I earn at least $1 doing transcription work.
This is going to truly test whether someone with no experience can get a job and make money transcribing.
Day 1: Applying to Scribie
Today I went over to my post to find a transcription site to apply to and applied to Scribie, which I've listed as the top recommendation for beginners.
My application was accepted right away and I've been put on the waiting list for the test. In the meantime, I have read over the guidelines and now I'm going to try some practice files.
Here are the two practice files I tried:
- Hitchens – Tried for about 15 minutes, didn't finish. I was having to research a lot for this one and I gave up.
- Louis CK – This one wasn't as bad, but it still took me forever to finish. The file is 4:11 long, and it took me 40 minutes to transcribe it (I had errors too).
To learn more about general transcription, I've applied to the TranscribeAnywhere FREE mini-course.
Day 2: Transcription Test Time
Got my test invite on Scribie today!
There are a lot of different files to choose from for the test, so I spent about 5 minutes going through 10 different audio files until I found an “easy” one. The one I chose is 4:11 long and took me about 40 minutes to transcribe.
I found transcribing a bit more fun today, but my speed still needs improvement.
Day 3: Disappointment
I was really excited for today because I was expecting my test file to be reviewed, however, I got this email from Scribie instead:
Hello,
Your assignment/submission for ‘TestFile1.mp3' has been automatically canceled since the file has to be returned to the customer and therefore cannot be reviewed or verified. Please select another test file to proceed.
https://scribie.com/transcription-test#files
We are extremely sorry about this cancellation. The customer canceled the transcript order and hence we have to return it. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.
Thank You,
Scribie.com Support
This is pretty frustrating to receive because I spent 40 minutes working on that file and I don't even get to know if it was done well or not. They also still counted it as a test attempt so I have nine remaining. I hope this isn't something that happens often.
Anyways, let us get to the next test file. This time I've selected a 3:40 length file (I always go for short ones). This one was AWESOME because it was so easy. The clip was from a podcast so the audio quality was great and it only took me 26 minutes to transcribe! Feeling really good about myself right now.
Day 4: More Disappointment
Today was supposed to be awesome because my test should have been reviewed, and it was, BUT I've been told it requires further review. They didn't mention why but I guess I'll just have to wait it out.
Day 5: Certified
Today is a day to celebrate because I am officially a Scribie Certified Audio Transcriptionist.
I'm probably more excited then I should be, but just five days ago I had never transcribed anything in my life!
Also, I thought I wouldn't get paid for the test file but turns out I was wrong, I got paid 31 cents. This means I only need to earn 69 cents more to hit my goal of $1.
Now that I am certified with Scribie, I have access to all the files available for transcription and there are a lot. 339 to be exact. All of the available files are 6 minutes long and they pay $10/audio hour up to $15/ah.
Took me a while to choose a file because I kept getting this warning:
- “We recommend that you cancel this assignment and select another file as the risk of cancellation is high for this file.”
However, I finally got a 6-minute long file with a payout of a dollar, and it took me 46 minutes to transcribe. The file is under review so I don't know whether I'll get paid for it yet, but if we calculate a dollar/hour value, that's about $1.30/hour. That is rough.
Day 6: The End
There we have it, folks. In under a week, I have gone from a beginner with no transcription experience to a certified audio transcriptionist on Scribie and an extra $1.31 in the bank.
TOTAL TIME SPENT: ~4 HOURS
The bottom line:
This is not a lot of money.
For 3-4 hours of time spent, $1.31 is a bad return. BUT, transcription is a skill that needs to be practiced consistently and throughout this whole journey I probably only spent 2 hours ACTUALLY transcribing audio. If I were serious about transcription as a career I would spend hours a day doing it. If you spend hours a day doing anything you're going to start to get really good at it, which means you can get paid more to do it.
What I've Learned
It is possible to earn money from home transcribing with no previous experience.
However, the transcription pay on sites like Scribie is really low.
Here's what I mean:
Lot's of transcriptionists go by the 1:4 rule, meaning 1 hour of audio should take 4 hours to transcribe. This means it should take 24 minutes to transcribe a 6-minute file on Scribie. At $10/ah, you would still only be making $2.5/hour.
So, What Should You Do?
If you're interested in working from home as an audio transcriptionist, here's what I recommend you do:
Optional Step: Apply to Scribie
Yes, the transcription pay is low on Scribie, but what's really valuable here is the experience you're getting. It's going to help you get used to transcribing audio and you might discover that you hate it anyway.
Once you've become certified on Scribie, transcribed a few files, and you have a feel for what transcription is like (and you don't hate it), you should know whether you'd like to do it full time or not.
Step 1. Enroll in the TranscribeAnywhere FREE General Transcription Mini-Course
Throughout this journey, I've been enrolled in this course and it's taught me a lot:
- Why transcription is in such high demand
- Signs you're not a good fit for transcription
- How much you can earn as a transcriptionist
- What you need to get started
There's more but I'll let you go through it on your own.
Step 2. Make a Decision
Now that you've had some practice on Scribie and you've gone through the free email course above, you should know whether or not you want to continue pursuing transcription as a real career.
If you know it's not for you, pat yourself on the back for trying and check out some other ways to make extra money or work from home jobs.
If you want to continue to make money transcribing, you can either:
- Apply for other online transcription jobs and try to figure it out on your own; or
- Enroll in the full TranscribeAnywhere course
Option #1 could work, but if you're at all serious about this, I'd go with option #2. You'll be able to earn more money faster, you'll feel more confident, and you'll have a support team with you the entire time.
Conclusion
Can someone with no transcription experience go from complete beginner to one dollar earned in a week? Yes, less than a week actually.
I learned a lot throughout this journey and I appreciate transcriptionists more than ever before. I am, however, retiring from transcription work for good. Although I enjoyed doing it for a bit each day of this journey, I could never imagine doing it as a full-time career. I think I would go crazy.
Don't get me wrong:
You can make money transcribing (good money) and it's in high demand, it's just not the right fit for me.
But, if you like it and you're willing to put in the work to get good at it, then transcribing could provide you an awesome work at home career that allows you to work anywhere in the world.
Now that you've read my journey to make money transcribing, I want to hear from you:
Are you going to give transcription a shot? What's holding you back?
Do I need to buy software in order to transcribe? Or do I just need the pedal and the headset?
Hi Amy. Technically you can get started transcribing with just your computer. Headphones are recommended and a pedal can increase efficiency, but they’re not required. Software requirements will vary depending on the platform or company you’re working for — most places seem to provide their own software these days.
Thanks for your lovely post! Its really informative and have helped me a lot!
Glad you found it helpful!
YASS! So great to know abut this… Didn’t really know there’s such Job like this
😀 Let me know if you have any questions after you get started.
Hey Dylan, I’ve been struggling with finding a career to suit my needs as majority of my work experience is in the hospitality industry as a server. I do have pretty good typing skills at about an 80 wpm average and feel that transcription could be a good fit as I spend quite a bit of my free time on the computer anyways. Any thoughts?
Hey Devan, 80wpm would definitely make you a good candidate for transcribing. I’d recommend trying it out first though as you want to make sure you actually enjoy the work before fully diving in – it’s not exactly as easy as “type and make money.”
Hi Dylan,
Read your content and it was a very helpful advise. I have no work experience being a transcriber. But I would love to try this as you recommend to try the Scribie first to feel being a transbriber, then go through other options if transcribing is for me.
Love your blog. Keep up the good works by sharing your experience and to serve as an inspiration to newbie transcriber. Thank you. Stay safe.
Happy to helo Arlene! Thanks for the nice comment. Let me know how things go.
Hi Dylan!
I’ve read another blog and he says it’s better to that you’re employed with multiple transcription companies so that you’ll have lots of options of audio or even videos to transcribe and earn more money. Watcha think about that?
Hey Saj, ya I think contracting for different transcription companies can work out better than sticking with just one. Your best bet in the long run though is still going to be landing your own clients as a freelancer. That way the quality of audio your transcribing is more consistent and predictable, and you can set your own rates as well.
Hi Dylan,
I found your article very useful! Though I’m a non-native but the way you elaborated on the procedure made it clear for me and made me get more serious on giving it a shot.
🙂
Awesome, glad to hear it 🙂 Good luck with everything.
This article was great! I appreciate your honesty and insight. I just tried doing a beginner test for Allegis. Waiting to see what happens. I was a secretary 35 years ago and type notes during meetings I attend but transcription of these test files is very different. Now as a 30 year Paramedic ready to move into another field I might give transcription more of a try. You have encouraged me! Will let you know how things go. Thanks so much for all of the information!
Hi Donna, glad you found the post helpful! I appreciate the comment.
Looking forward to hearing how things turn out for you. Good luck.
Hi. I have over 30 years of continuous employment. A great deal of my positions involved clerical work. I’m now in a position that I have to work from home as I care for my elderly mother. I’m very interested in medical transcription, but need to know how to begin.
Hi Margaret, I’ve actually read that medical transcription work and pay is declining. You might be better off using your experience to focus on general and/or legal transcription! Here’s a free general transcription mini-course and here’s a free legal transcription mini-course to get started with.
Hi Dylan
I really need to earn some extra money. I was thinking about transcription from home. I have done transcription previously about 8 years ago. I don’t know how far things have progressed technical-wise. I do enjoy typing but would need to get my speed up which i think i could easily do.
Do you think this could be possible for me?
Hi Karen, it sounds like transcription would be a natural fit for you to jump back into. And with your past experience, I wouldn’t even worry about any big technical changes. As long as you can adapt the changes should actually make your job easier.
Let me know how it goes if you end up giving it a go again! I’d be really interested to hear how you go about it.
Hi Dylan,
Just wondering when you tried Scribie, did you use the automated feature on their site or did you just type it out straight yourself? I went through one of their practice files using the automated feature. It’s supposed to make the transcribing faster. But it seemed like I spent more time going back to correct their mistakes than it would be for me to type it out myself correcting my own mistakes as I go. Your experience? Comments? Suggestions? You think I should use the auto feature or not? And some people on Youtube were even suggesting using the “voice typing” in Google Docs if the site doesn’t have an auto feature.
Hey Joe, when I was using Scribie they actually didn’t even have the automated feature available. Maybe I’ll go back just to test it out and update this article with my thoughts.
The google doc trick sounds interesting too. If you try it out let me know how it goes!
Hey theree Dylan,
I’m wondering what other online job are out there right now.
Any insight to this?
I’m a new mom currently a stay at home mom.
Thanks
-Nina
Hey Nina, there are definitely a lot of online jobs out there to choose from. Check out this work from home jobs post to get some ideas.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
I found this article interesting. Transcription used to be a major part of my last job, but that was 18 years ago. The technology has changed dramatically since then, but I have decades of experience at the practice. My first job was in a school administration office, then worked for 25+ years for a major financial institution. Although I retired 18 years ago, I find I want to become productive while earning some extra income. I just need to get a reliable internet connection and I’ll be ready to start.
That’s great Renee, sounds like you’d have no problem earning some extra income with the skills and experience you have. Good luck!
Hi there, thank you for this insightful post; I have a secretarial degree which includes two typist diplomas; one is for
for the ten finger system and the other is for blind typing; speed in typing was also very important.
I am thinking of giving transcription a chance; would you suggest then i go on scribbie first to test it out and see if its something for me and then if yes, enroll on the other website mentioned (transcribeanywhere) so as to get a degree in transcription?
Highly appreciate your feedback on this,
Thank you in advance,
Regards,
Jocha
Hi Jochabelle! If you’re not sure whether you’d enjoy transcription, I definitely recommend trying Scribie first. That way you won’t risk wasting any money learning a skill you might not even enjoy. If you find that you do like it after trying it out for a bit, Transcribe Anywhere is the way to go for training.
Thanks for your great advice
first : I am not native speaker , Would it suit me to work as transcriptionist ?
second , If i currently suffering low writing speed , Should I try to improve it first or start trying it any way ?
Third , I can gust work for 4 hours a day , would it beneficial or just a wast of time ?
Hey Ahmed, good questions.
1. It will definitely be harder if you’re not a native speaker, but you could potentially transcribe audio files in your native language.
2. Typing speed will definitely help increase your earnings but as you transcribe you should slowly get faster and faster.
3. You can definitely still benefit working just 4 hours a day. You may not be able to earn as much as a full-time worker but you could still earn a significant amount after some training and practice.
Hope this helps!
Great content. Makes me want to try this transcribing thing again (after I failed from GoTranscript a month ago). I really wanted to make a living working from home spending just at least four hours a day so that I could have a life. I work on a night shift job that pays well. But it ruins my life and deteriorates my health fast. I have a lot of things that I want to do but instead, I sleep during the day (which is not quality sleep even if more than 8 hours).
I really hope you could help me find the perfect online job that could replace my current job and pays well.
Thanks.
Hey Daniel,
Thanks for the feedback! It definitely sounds like you need to get out of your current job soon if it’s affecting your health.
If you want to start making money online, the first thing you should do is write two lists: your skills & your interests. Once you have those two lists we can start thinking about which online jobs would suit you best.