Thanks to advances in technology, jobs that used to require a daily commute often no longer do. Transcription, whether medical, legal, or general, is one such career. If you have an up-to-date computer and high-speed Internet, can type at least 65 words-per-minute, and have an excellent grasp of spelling and grammar, you can become a work-from-home transcriptionist.

Depending on your education and work history, you may be better suited for one type of transcription than another. Medical transcriptionists transcribe a variety of medical data, from SOAP notes to hospital records to counseling sessions. Legal transcriptionists transcribe testimony, depositions, interviews, legal pleadings, and letters.

Last, but not least, is a career in general transcription, which is the easiest for a newbie to get started in, as most general transcription companies are willing to give a new transcriptionist a chance, and the work generally doesn't require knowledge of complex terminology.

General transcriptionists transcribe a variety of material, from interviews to meeting minutes to podcasts to conference calls to focus groups to radio shows. If you like variety, and you're a fast typist, you will probably enjoy a career in general transcription.

The main advantage when getting started in general transcription is there is no standard educational curriculum, as there is in medical and legal, so it's easier to gain entry. The key to excelling as a general transcriptionist is proofreading your work for accuracy, grammar, and spelling, and then proofreading it again.

Pay can vary significantly between companies. When deciding what you're willing to work for, remember that transcription isn't simply typing. It involves research, editing, and proofreading. If you are given difficult audio, with a foreign speaker or significant background noise, it may take you three times as long to transcribe as clear audio. Ditto for audio with technical or scientific terms, which may require extensive research on your part. While you may be willing to work for less in the beginning (to get your foot in the door), when you are producing professional transcripts, expect to be paid professional compensation.

Below is a list of companies that hire general transcriptionists. Although some require experience, many are willing to work with new transcriptionists. General transcription is a great career. What are you waiting for? Get started!

Rapidtext

The Transcription Company

SpeakWrite

Tigerfish

Ubiqus

TASK Document Services

NetTranscripts

Morningside Partners

Neal R. Gross

Cyberdictate