starting new in the transcription field

[sms46030]

I am thinking about getting into doing transcribing. Can some one suggest a good training program I can do from home? Thanks

[Wordpro Wizard]

Hello, good to meet you. Have you done a lot of transcription before? It would help if you could tell us about your background and experience generally. There are so many niches in this business that work, depending on background and experience.

[sms46030]

Hi Wordpro Wizard, thanks for your response. Sorry I did not give enough info. I will be starting from the very begining. I have never done transcription before. I see there is a big demand for this type of job so I just decided to check it out. I have taken keyboarding before. I don't know my speed now, it has been a while. The work I do now is mainly customer service. I am planning on retiring soon. I am looking for a course that I can take to see if I would like transcribing. Thanks again for your help.

[Wordpro Wizard]

Just call me Lynne or Wiz, everyone does ... mind you I've been called far worse! I've been doing transcription for 30 years, mostly in large law firms. In my humble opinion, It's not something to start with as you need equipment, speed and to tussle with lots of background noise and accents.

Maybe look at what you do best. Customer service covers many areas and if that is your experience maybe that could be your niche - there seems to be a high demand for customer service.

[sms46030]

Thanks Lynne. Does it make a difference what you transcribe? I noticed that you said you worked mostly in law firms. I guess what I am trying to ask is some things easier to transcribe than others.

[Wordpro Wizard]

Lawyers tend to humm and haar and pick their teeth, but at least there's only one speaker. One person speaking clearly is a breeze. I recently transcribed a conference of cardiac surgeons which took 12 or 14 hours, but the chairman had it under control and they were civilized enough to give their name and speak individually so, even though they had accents ranging from Scottish to the Deep South, I was able to follow them nicely.

Once a month I do meeting minutes for a condo corporation. First time I lent them a digital recorder. It sounded like the monkey house at the zoo :singer:, talking over each other, yelling, banging tables and chairs, barely able to hear a word. Now I attend with a laptop and take it down as they go along. It's only a couple of hours, close by, and I do it pro bono in the name of "marketing".

So it all depends on who is recording what, how many, clarity ... it's kind of an unknown quantity until you start working with (and perhaps, nicely, teach them how to dictate properly).

[Caliber Virtual Services]

Hi Shirley:

I currently do general transcription: e-seminars, interviews, speeches, and the like. But I've also transcribed legal and some medical in the past. Depending upon the quality of the audio, as Lynne mentioned, it could be a challenge to transcribe.

In my humble opinion, if you have basic keyboarding skills, great listening skills, accuracy, and adequate typing speed, then you could use practice audio and free downloadable software to build your skills.

Perhaps you can do it while you are developing your business and offering other services you are currently familiar with. Express Scribe is a good site to explore. Also, Google transcription and research the topic. Amazon has plenty of informational books, e-books, and manuals you can use as reference guides to help you build your niche in this area.

I wish you the best!

Hope this helps.

[doddy939]

Hi, Shirley, I too do transcription. I am just getting things in place to start my own services. As stated transcription is not easy, if you are just starting out, but with much practice you can succeed. As explained, the majority of people just don't know how to dictate, so that makes your job a little harder. But again, it can be done. Best of luck. Start with what you know and love, customer service and add other services as you perfect them.

[sms46030]

Thanks Delilah. You have some very good ideas. I did do a search under google and came up with a lot of info. I even did the software download. This is still just a thought for me. I have about a year before I retire, so I have a little time to really think about it. Thanks again.

[sms46030]

Hi Dolores, thanks for your response. You are right, on some of the practice tapes I listened to, it was so hard to understand. I think if I really put myself into it, I can do it. I have some time to think about it. Good luck on your new start.