If you are looking to make some money online without much experience, consider doing transcription work.
I’ll take you through some of the best transcription jobs no experience required work in this guide.
However, first, we need to know what transcription is and determine whether this type of online work is the right fit for you.Â
What Is Transcription?
Transcription is the process of turning audio recordings into text, often with the help of transcription software (speech-to-text technology) such as ExpressScribe.
It is a popular job for stay-at-home moms, students, and retirees. The best transcription jobs are usually done by those with some experience, but there are many companies that will hire beginners. This blog post will outline the 7 best transcription jobs for beginners with no experience required.
What are the best transcription jobs?
There are a few different types of transcription jobs. The most common is general transcription, which involves audio files that don’t require topical expertise.
Other types of transcription jobs include court reporters, medical transcriptionists, and software developers.
Can you get a transcription job with no experience?
No experience, doesn’t mean no training. To get a transcription job, you need to be able to transcribe based on your client’s guidelines.
There are free tutorials and affordable transcription courses that you can use to self-train in this field, to give you the skills you need to get the job done.
Once you are comfortable with various types of transcription styles, you can start looking for jobs that require little to no experience. These jobs do pay very low, but they can help you perfect your craft, and work your way to more lucrative assignments as you build your transcription portfolio.
Where you do need experience
For most general topics, you can comfortably transcribe audio files without having any experience with the topics.
Court reporters and medical transcriptionists on the other hand, usually need to have specific training in their fields as legal and medical terminologies aren’t easier to grasp.
The same applies to technical topics software development and programming in general. You do need to be an experienced developer to be able to transcribe audio files into written code.
Transcription Jobs No Experience Required
There are several companies that offer transcription jobs, but not all of them may be right for you. It is important to do your research and find a company that offers good pay and working conditions.
1) Rev Transcription
Rev Transcription is a popular and reputable transcription service that hires beginners.
It has over 70,000 freelance transcriptionists and closed captioners on its platform, so you can trust that it’s a legitimate company with a loyal workforce.
To start working with Rev, you need to complete an application process that involves two automated tests: One on English grammar basics, and the other on transcription skills.
Once approved, you can take on projects that interest you, complete them in time and submit them for payment.
One thing to note is that Rev Transcription currently only accepts freelancers from very few countries, namely:
- United States (excluding the state of California),
- United Kingdom
- South Africa
- Canada
- Ireland
- Australia
- Netherlands
- Mexico
- New Zealand
With Rev, you can expect to make anywhere between $0.30 to $1.10 per audio or video minute, and payments are made every week via PayPal.
2) Castingwords
Castingwords is a transcription company that has been around since 2005 and hires freelancers from all over the world.
If you live in a country that supports PayPal Mass Payments, then you are eligible to apply;
While you can expect to make approximately $1.0 per audio minute, the actual amount will depend on the quality of your work.
Castingwords uses a 0-9 grade system. Anything 4 and below is considered low-quality, and you’ll need to redo it, while grade 5 will net you the base pay. As you move towards grade 9, you can expect to make more per audio minute
The number of assignments you receive, which in turn influence your total earnings, depends on their badge system. The more badges you have, the more assignments you’ll receive. Some high-paying jobs are only available to people with a given number of badges.
3) Speechpad
Speechpad is one of the best companies for beginners to find transcription jobs as it is fairly easy to get started with them.
Currently, Speechpad isn’t hiring new transcriptionists, but their application process involves a basic grammar test and a transcription test.
To pass these tests, you need to score 94/100 on the transcription test, and 75/100 on the basic English grammar test.
As a new entrant, you make $.25 per audio minute. This amount can go up to $2.25 per audio limit depending on the quality of your work and your overall rating, based on the previous 10 projects
You get to work on the whole audio file yourself as Speechpad, unlike TranscribeMe doesn’t cut clients’ files into smaller clips. Before you can pick a job, you have the option to preview it for 30 seconds. This helps you determine if the audio quality is good enough for you to work with.
One thing to note is that Speechpad has shorter turnaround times, so you should only accept a job if you have the time to work on it. For a one-hour audio file, for instance, your average TAT would be 8 hours or so.
4) Ditto Transcripts (Transcription Outsourcing)
Ditto Transcripts (formerly Transcription Outsourcing) is one of the highest-paying transcription companies.
The pay starts from $0.8 per audio minute for general business, academic, financial, and legal topics, while for medical transcription you can make anywhere between $0.07 to $1.10 per line.
The exact rate comes down to your experience, audio difficulty, shift, and turnaround time. Currently, only US residents can apply for transcription jobs at the company.
When it comes to payments Dittor Transcripts pays on a bimonthly basis and offers PayPal and Direct Deposits options as well!
To start working with Ditto you’ll need to fill out an application form, and wait to hear from them for the next steps.
5) GMR Transcription
GMR Transcription is one of the best companies to find transcription jobs as a beginner.
The company only hires freelance transcriptionists who are based in the US or Canada, so if you don’t reside in these countries, you’re locked out.
GMR Transcription only hires freelance transcriptionists who are based in the US or Canada
Unlike other transcription companies listed here, GMR Transcription doesn’t have the easiest of application processes. Besides the transcription test that you take during the application, you will also need to do up to 2 hours of unpaid work (During your probationary period). The tests are not automated, so you’d need to wait even longer before you can hear back.
GMR doesn’t hire for medical and legal transcription jobs, so if you are especially after such projects, this company might not be the right fit.
6) Go Transcript
Go Transcript is a reputable transcription company that has been around since 2005 and hires worldwide, offering great opportunities for beginners to start making money.
Based on your performance, you’re assigned a rating between 1 and 5, and this influences how much you make per audio minute. They claim to be paying up to $0.6/minute.
It has a steady stream of work, so you can be sure to always find something to work on when you’ve got the time.
It has a built-in transcription tool that allows you to save on transcription time.
Before working on a project, you will need to read the Go Transcript Transcription guide first which outlines the transcription styles and rules you need to follow.
The pay is weekly via PayPal or Payoneer and it doesn’t seem to have a minimum threshold.
7) Ubiqus on Demand (Verbal Ink)
Ubiqus on Demand is one of the oldest transcription companies that has gone through several rebranding phases. It currently only recruits freelancers from the US.
First started in 2003 as Escriptionist, this company was rebranded Verbal Ink in 2008, and then in 2015, it was acquired by Ubiqus, which then expanded it to include other related services (closed captioning and translation.)
To start working for Ubiqus as a transcriptionist, you’ll need to submit your resume, and if they are actively hiring, they’d send you a transcription test to take.
8) Crowdsurf
Crowdsurf is one of the lowest-paying transcription job websites, and might not be worth your time. The listed rates are $0.03 to $0.2 per audio minute transcribed.
To start working with Crowdsurf, you’ll need to register an account WorkMarket, a freelance management system that the company uses to manage its freelancers. Once you have created an account, then go ahead to apply to join Crowdsurf as a new transcriber.
9) Scribie
Scribie is another transcription job website that doesn’t have the best rates.
The company claims to be paying freelancers $5-$20 per audio hour. If you are a beginner and it takes you 3 hours to transcribe an hour-long audio file, then you are only making $1.67 an hour!
Scribie does offer free automated transcripts for you to edit and format accordingly, which might make the process a lot quicker for some people.
Many people have also complained that there aren’t many files to choose from after you’ve been working with the company for a while. Limited work means you get stuck with low-paying tasks with poor audio quality.
When it comes to payments, you can withdraw your account earnings to your PayPal account anytime, with a limit of one withdrawal per day.
10) Transcript Divas
Founded in 2013, Transcript Divas is one of the newest and no so new transcription companies that pay relatively well. You can expect to make between $0.71 and $3.03 per audio minute transcribed, though the average rate is $1.23 per audio minute.
Just note that to receive payments you’d need to send an invoice every two weeks. Your funds will be deposited to your US bank account so you do need to be a US tax resident to work with this company. At the moment, Transcript Divas doesn’t seem to offer any other payment option.
11) Way With Words
Established in 2002, Way With Words has been around for more than 2 decades. With this company, you can expect to make between $0.45 to $1.73 per audio minute. The rate largely depends on the project’s turnaround time.
If you are a fluent English speaker from any of the countries below, you’re free to apply:
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Malaysia
- South Africa
- Singapore
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Hong Kong
You are also eligible if you come from a country that is a member of the European Union.
Other Places To Find Transcription Jobs — Upwork, Fiverr
There are many places online where you can find transcription jobs, even if you don’t have any experience. Upwork and Fiverr are two popular options for finding these types of jobs.
On Upwork, you can search for transcription jobs by job type and location and then apply for the ones that interest you.
On Fiverr, you can browse through the different transcription services that sellers offer, and then model a Fiverr gig based on some of the most performing listings.
Wrapping up
There are many transcription jobs available that don’t require any experience. This is great for people who are looking to get started in this field or who want to try something new.
As you can see from the list, there are many transcription jobs no experience required.
If you want to give transcription a shot, I recommend taking an extensive transcription course like Transcribe Anywhere program and then applying to one or two of the transcription websites above.
