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Looking to make some extra money from home? Check out these 13 best online transcription jobs from home without any experience!
These jobs can provide you with flexible hours, a great income, and the opportunity to work from the comfort of your own home.
Whether you’re a college student looking for a summer job or an experienced professional looking for an extra source of income, these transcription jobs are perfect for you.
When you are figuring out how to earn money online as you are new to this online money-making thing, remote transcription jobs best fit in.
There are a handful of online transcription jobs from home, and they do accept beginners with no previous experience in transcriptions.
These general transcription jobs online don’t require specialized skills or technical background to start.
If you naturally possess good typing speed and attention to grabbing words accurately from what you hear, you have an edge and can get transcription jobs that pay well.
What are transcription jobs?
Transcription jobs are a great way to make money from home. They can be a little bit challenging to get started in, but they are a very rewarding field.
Moreover, Transcription is the process of turning audio recordings into written transcripts. This can be done for a variety of reasons, including creating subtitles for videos, creating transcripts for court proceedings, and providing closed captioning services.
There are a few different ways to get into transcription. You can find entry-level transcription jobs online, or you can take courses to become certified in medical or legal transcription.
Once you have some experience under your belt, you may want to consider becoming a freelance transcriber. Freelance transcribers can work from anywhere in the world, and they often have more control over their hours and workloads.
Transcription jobs generally fall under the data entry jobs category.
As a transcriptionist, you would be asked to transcribe an audio or video file into a written text document.
You would basically be listening to a set of words and reciprocate them accurately by typing them electronically. Mainly with a computer and laptop at home, you can start working straight away.
But once you gain experience, you may be looking to earn more by increasing your turnaround time.
To achieve that, you need to invest in good quality tools such as a foot pedal (to control the audio speed), a pro express scribe (a transcription software), and a quality headset (noise cancellation).
You can even search transcription bundles on Amazon and find the required tools.
Prerequisites skills needed as a beginner Transcriptionist:
If you possess these skills, you could easily pass the transcription test that most companies put a beginner through.
- Your typing speed should be somewhere between 50 words per minute to 70 words per minute.
- Good grasp of grammar and knowledge of correct punctuation placement in a given English passage.
- Good listening skills and familiarity with English accents (American, European, Australian, Asian, etc.)
- Get comfortable operating the transcription tools (Foot pedal, transcription software, etc.).
- You have good knowledge of essential hardware and software installation.
- Awareness of different audio and video formats, downloading an audio file and uploading a .txt file.
It is monotonous work, but if you are good at transcribing, you can move up the ladder to become a reviewer, editor, or copywriter.
Also Read: Legitimate Online Editing and Proofreading Jobs: Complete List
How to find transcription jobs from home?
There are a variety of transcription jobs people work for: general transcription (any field, no experience required), legal transcription, and medical transcription (both require experience).
So assuming you are a beginner with no experience, you would have to look out for companies with general transcription jobs for newbies.
You can either directly apply to a company that provides remote transcription jobs or through crowdsourcing platforms like Amazon Turk, Upwork, or through job boards like Flexjobs, etc.
Best Entry Level Transcription Jobs from Home
We have researched and handpicked only those transcription companies that are legitimate in their payment process and ones that accept beginners without any previous experience.
So here we go!
TranscribeMe
A great place for absolute beginners to start work from home. You can join as a transcriptionist with them from any part of the world (the U.S and Non-U.S).
However, you must pass their transcription test (your accuracy level in transcribing audio).
Make sure to download and read the company’s style guidelines before giving the exam.
Also, you get three more chances to qualify if you fail on the first attempt.
Once clearing the exam, you would be initially given 1-2 mins of short audio to transcribe to get you started.
The pay is via PayPal weekly on Fridays, and the pay rate starts at $20 per audio hour for a beginner.
Once you gain experience here, it can go higher than that.
Most importantly, they don’t look for any pre-experience in transcription (if you have one, it’s great! you could be paid more).
Also, no need for any prerequisite transcription tools for transcribing, and you work there at your flexible time. For more details, read our Transcribeme Review.
Also, Read Online Micro Jobs: 10+ Best Micro Job sites to Make Money Online.
Rev.com
A popular transcription services company that encourages freelancers from any part of the world to apply with them and earn money while working from home.
The best part, Rev provides an in-house transcription editor software, and you do not have to upload any software or files to work with them.
But, it would help if you had a desktop or laptop with a basic internet connection.
Beginners are welcome at Rev with no prior experience in transcription.
To qualify, you need to do well in their skill test by following their style guide instructions, and they will get back to you within a week on your approval status.
The work is flexible, and you can work on any part of the day as per your comfortability factor.
The starting pay rates stand at $.40 – &.65 per audio minute ($24 – $39 per audio hour), and they pay you via PayPal weekly.
Have a look at a detailed Rev.com Review.
Quicktate
Quicktate is another transcription service company that provides legitimate transcription jobs from home.
You work there as an independent contractor (freelancer), and it pays you one cent for every four words transcribed (general transcription).
The pay is via PayPal weekly on Mondays, and beginners with no prior experience in transcription are eligible to apply here.
The only con is you need to invest $15 for your background verification check of yours to apply and clear the test.
Quicktate also hires people from any country around the globe.
Though the pay is low, you could see it as an entry-level easy online transcription job and later move on to better-paying companies.
Read here for a more detailed review on Quicktate.
Tigerfish
They have been in the transcription business for 20 years and have many esteemed clients on their website.
A legitimate company to work on!
Tigerfish is constantly looking for newbies with the skills (typing, detailed attention to language, and ability to write well) to transcribe accurately.
You must transcribe three different audio files according to the specified style instructions. Send them via email to complete the application process.
Note: You need to be a legal resident of the U.S in order to work with them.
Want to know more about Tigerfish Transcription Jobs? Read our Tigerfish Review.
Also Read: Legitimate Online Data Entry Jobs That Will Pay You
Scribie
Scribie also offers online transcription jobs without experience for anybody looking to earn from home.
If you can comprehend the English language well, clear their test process and get certified as transcribers to work with Scribie. (You get ten reattempts!).
There are lots of positives to working for Scribie:
- There are no pre-set working hours (work is flexible)
- All the transcripts file you will receive are 6 mins each
- Choose work on a first-come basis, and no cancellation penalties if you decide not to work on a particular transcript and, most importantly, the daily payouts.
Also, Scribie hires people internationally (Outside the U.S). Just make sure your local bank account does business with PayPal.
It is mandated to have a verified PayPal account as you would get paid via PayPal, and there are no such minimum withdrawal limits.
They have mentioned on their website that the Pay rate ranges from $5 to $20 per audio hour with a potential of earning $200 – $300 per month (Not bad at all as a side hustle!)
They also pay a monthly bonus of $5 for every 3 hours of work completed every month.
For more detail about Scribie Transcription jobs, read out Scribie Transcription Review.
Daily Transcription
The company is constantly looking for beginners, and experienced transcribers as their business tend to do daily transcription projects from the entertainment, legal, corporate, and academic sector( hence the name!)
They hire only from U.S and Canada, so if you reside here, go to their career page and, fill in the necessary details, attempt their test to get qualified.
Also, you get to transcribe audio files in other languages (Spanish, French, Chinese, etc.) besides English. You can read our Daily Transcription review here.
Verbal Fusion/1-888-TYPE-IT-UP
Rather strict company when hiring transcribers, you would not get a second chance in the transcription test and would reject your application if you phone them about your result!
Moreover, their pay rates are impressive at $36 to $180 per audio hour.
Though they may prefer experience transcriptionists, they have not made it mandatory. So it could be the best online transcription job for beginners (considering the pay) if they live in the U.S and do well in the short test with good typing skills. Check out their FAQ for more details.
A foot pedal must work with them, and they pay via PayPal. You can read the 1-888 Type It Up review for more details on other information.
AccuTran Global
A Canadian-based transcription service company, AccuTran Global, welcomes freelancers looking for transcription work as beginners.
They hire only from U.S and Canada, and they pay $0.005 per word basis instead of per audio hour.
You get paid through check or wire transfer to your local bank account monthly once.
The only downside is that the work is available only during particular seasons (which is mentioned explicitly on their website), and you need to be available on a specific time frame each day. (4 am to 2 pm and 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm).
If you are Mac User, please get hold of Express Scribe software to attempt their test.
For more detail, have a look at AccuTran Global Review.
Casting Words
You get to work here as an independent contractor (a freelancer who manages their taxes) from any part of the world.
Also, freelancers looking for transcription jobs from home without experience can be a good fit here and start with the application process.
The best points are the flexible factor in scheduling your work, listening to the audio file before accepting to write on it, there is always work with them, and they pay you per minute of audio.
They have their system of ranking and grading their transcribers with bonus systems; you may want to check here for more information.
They pay via the PayPal Mass Pay system (you don’t need to pay the PayPal fees) to your account every Friday. Please have a look at our Casting Words review.
Speechpad
You can either work on Speechpad transcription jobs directly or through Amazon mTurk (They are regular requesters there).
The pay is somewhat in the range of Quicktate and Scribie at $.25 – $.60 per audio minute. Most transcription jobs you would get to work are from insurance companies. The pay is through PayPal.
Read their insurance style guide before attempting their transcription tests (You can reattempt the test if you fail on the first attempt).
Though the pay is on the lower side, if you manage to get high-quality ratings from clients, you would get qualified for better-paying transcripts ($1.60 per audio minute).
People from any country without experience are eligible to take the transcription test at Speechpad.
You can work at your flexible hours, which is a great way to make extra money, especially for beginners with this profile. For more detail, you can read our Speechpad review.
Appenscribe
Appenscribe, a legitimate Australian-based transcription company, hires absolute beginners to work on general transcription jobs online from home.
If you are fluent in languages other than English, you have all the reasons to apply and clear their tests because you would be given more work to do.
The pay rate is per word ($.0005) rather than per audio minute or hour. You can initiate the payment twice a month.
Note: Once qualified, you need to commit atleast 10 hours per week and required to have 85% transcribing accuracy rate.
GMR Transcription
GMR hires for General as well as Spanish transcription jobs home-based and welcomes applicants who are U.S based without any experience in this field.
Their test includes an audio file to be transcribed that satisfies their formatting instructions.
Their pay rates fall from $.70 to $1.25 per audio minute. A new joiner must go through a probationary period for 2 hours of transcribing without any charge.
Have an eye on their career page for regular openings. Interested? Read our GMR Transcription review.
Transcribe Team
You don’t require any transcription experience to start working at Transcribe Team.
It is a relatively new player in the transcription industry (4 plus old), and the pay starts at $.45 – $.64 per audio minute (low pay!).
They pay you weekly through PayPal and accept applicants from all parts of the world.
GoTranscript
GoTranscript is an online-only Transcription company founded in 2005 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
They hire transcribers globally, and no experience is required to apply with them.
However, they are strict with their ratings and style guidelines.
Any Transcribers scoring 3.4 or less consistently will be removed from the transcribing team. But otherwise, a great place to start your transcription career.
The pay is $.60 per audio minute and paid weekly via Paypal every Friday. For more details, read our GoTranscript review.
Job Boards / Crowdsourcing Platforms:
Suppose you are not interested in specifically applying to every company we mentioned above (which can be time-consuming). In that case, you can take the aid of freelancing platforms and Job Boards (FlexJobs and Indeed).
You can easily find freelance transcription jobs at home by joining crowdsourcing marketplace like Upwork, Guru, Freelance.com, and Odesk, the popular Amazon mTurk (where transcription companies like Crowdsurf and Speechpad regularly post their transcription works).
Transcription Jobs Online Training:
Suppose you incline these online transcriptions jobs from home. In that case, you can opt for suitable quality transcriptions jobs training modules to improve your skills and excel in this field.
We have heard that Transcribe-anywhere gives good quality training courses on various levels of the transcription process. Check out their seven days free introduction courses to start your freelance career in transcription.
Suppose you are more into reading and gaining knowledge than a training course. In that case, you can read E-Books based on work-from-home transcription on Kindle Unlimited, like The famous Jump Start Your Work at Home General Transcription Career and the General Transcription Business Handbook, to name a few.
P.S: You can always enroll in online courses like TranscribeAnywhere to dig deeper into general transcription and convert them into a lucrative career option. They even have a free seven days intro course!
Conclusion
There are many great online transcription jobs that don’t require experience. If you are looking for a flexible job that you can do from home, transcription may be a good option for you.
Be sure to explore the different companies and positions that are available to find the best fit for your skills and interests. And don’t forget to practice your transcription skills before applying for any jobs!