Passing transcription tests seems like an uphill task. But if you have the right transcription skills, this should be a walk in the park. You should be able to pass any transcription test without breaking a sweat.

When doing transcription tests, you will notice that different companies have different style guides to be followed. Here are 11 incredibly useful tips that will enable you to pass any transcription test.

1. Read and Understand the Style Guide

Each and every company has its own style guide, which means there are some rules to be followed. When you’re given a transcription test, make sure you have understood the style guide so well. Most of the time, what the company is looking for is someone who is able to follow rules and pay attention to details. You will notice that even if you’re a great transcriber, and you’re poor at following rules, it will be hard for you to pass any transcription test.

So, before you even think of listening to the transcription audio test, make sure you have gone through the guide thoroughly, and you have understood what is expected of you. You can go through the guide several times until you are comfortably understood everything.

2. Listen Keenly

Having a keen ear is important for every transcriber. When you’re given a transcription test, make sure you have gone through the audio first to understand what the context of the file is. Listen carefully to what the speaker is speaking about, also make sure you’re able to decipher words. 

Make sure that you’re focused on the transcription test without any distractions. Typing so many words at ago can affect your accuracy, you should make sure that you’re grasping just a few words at ago as you transcribe them bit by bit until you’re done with the file.

There are instances where you might not get some words, in which you’re allowed to use the inaudible tag [inaudible] or [unintelligible] or whatever the company’s style guide allows you to use. Note that most transcription tests are timed, so you will need to use your best judgment to move as fast as you can.

3. Transcription Tools

As an independent freelance contractor, you will need to invest in the right transcription tools. Each and every job has its online work tools, and transcription is no exception. First, you need to have a computer with Internet connections and a pair of headphones, and other transcription tools or software. 

Headphones are better than earphones as they’re much more comfortable and one can be able to concentrate on the transcription test better as they bar the surrounding distractions.

Here are some of the 9 transcription software that will help you increase productivity.

4. Typing Skills

Every aspiring transcriber should have great typing skills. Being a touch typist will help you in a great way, as every company sets its own standard for the required typing speed. You should aim to have at least a 60 wpm typing speed. On the other hand, it’s very possible to pass the transcription tests with 35 wpm speed if your typing is accurate, meaning you have minimal errors while typing. Any other speed which is lower than that can be challenging.

It is very helpful to practice your typing speed from the audio files that you enjoy, as this creates excitement. There are a lot of free resources online where you can get free practice files to help you with this. If you really want a career out of transcription, acquiring great typing skills is a must. Here’s a free typing training resource.

Also, keep in mind that accuracy comes before speed, but both are equally important. When you have a great typing speed coupled with great accuracy, you will be able to deliver work on time without missing deadlines.

5. Proper Punctuation

Punctuation seems to be a big challenge to many transcribers. This can be a tricky topic since different transcription rules are applied depending on the purpose of the file by different sources. It also depends on which English you’re using, you will notice that the UK English commas are placed outside quotes while the US English commas are placed inside quotes. So, while handling the transcription test, it’s important to understand the method that you’re required to use depending on where the test is based.

It’s easy to get confused when to use proper English rules if you read a lot of literature. So, to be on the safe side as a transcriber, you should practice audio transcription using the standard English grammar rules for testing. Then follow the client or the style guide rules.

6. Understand Transcription Formatting

In order to pass any online transcription test, you need to have a clear understanding of the transcription formatting. Different companies/clients require different formats, which means you will have to review their style guide to have a good understanding of the formatting required.

Typically, you should leave one blank line between paragraphs, and use a single space after every punctuation, to identify speakers. Sometimes you can be requested to save your file using the audio file extension name, such as Test.mp3. Some other parts of formatting are font size and style and margins.

7. Spelling and Grammar

Proper spelling and the use of standard English grammar are very crucial while undertaking any transcription test. You should also make sure that you’re utilizing your spell-checking tools to gauge your file accuracy. 

Also, make sure that you understand the basic English grammar rules. Here are some of the basic English word classifications.

• Interjections (these are emotional, standalone words)
• Prepositions (these are words that are related to another)
• Conjunctions (thought connecting words)
• Adjectives (these are words that are descriptive)
• Verbs (these are action words)
• Adverbs (expression of how something is done)
• Nouns (places, things, or persons beyond pronouns)
• Pronouns (relate to people)

  8. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is very crucial for any transcription work. Your sentences should make sense, and in some instances, you will have to make decisions on what the speaker is saying in the context of the words used by the speaker. Since many words have different meanings, you will have to make a decision about what the speaker is talking about.

You should also be able to differentiate between homophones where words sound similar, e.g. error and era. Be proactive to also think critically as you work on your file.

 9. Research

Even though you are not required to do a lot of research work while transcribing, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing research on the words that you’re not sure about in order to get the correct spelling and meaning. Google is a great search engine that you should utilize for your research.

You should make sure that you’re doing a correct Google search which should be within the context of the file as we have mentioned above, different words sound the same but have different meanings.

10. Proofreading

It is very important to proofread your work thoroughly to make sure you have no errors on your file before submitting the file. Make sure you’re reading the audio against the transcript. Always thrive to deliver client-ready transcripts for every transcription test that you take. This will guarantee you a pass on the test.

Conclusion

Passing any transcription test should not be a nightmare if you prepare yourself so well. Your main focus should be to capture the speaker’s words as accurately as possible, then follow the style guide.

However, it’s good to understand what transcription entails as far as the tools involved and the requirements before attempting any test. If you need to get professional transcription training, feel free to sign up for our online transcription course here – Learn Online Transcription From Scratch.

Also, feel free to leave your comment below if you have any questions.

Transcription is conversion of audio/video files into text files. Most of the transcription work is done remotely. If you have transcription skills, you have a great skill that can earn you a stable income online while at the comfort of your home if you take the job seriously and give it your best.

We are in an era where machine transcription has improved, but this shouldn’t worry you because Artificial Intelligence will never overtake human intelligence. There’s still work to be done online, and that means there’s still a great chance of making online.

You need to have transcription skills when making job applications, otherwise you will find the application process to be a hard nut to crack.

Here are 11 Places to Find Online Transcription Work For Newbies

1. Transcription Staff

Transcription Staff is a great company to work with, and they hire globally. Their application process is very simple which is a three-step application, you just need to sign up by completing a simple form. They have a 2 minutes transcription test. If your application is successful, the account manager will contact you for further details.

They have a very flexible work schedule, pay rate is between $20 to $40 per audio hour and the payment is done weekly via PayPal. 

You make your application here.

   2. Voxtab

Voxtab hires globally. Their pay rate is between $23 to $25 per hour audio hour, they have a great work flow. So, if you get accepted here, you’re guaranteed of a great work opportunity.

To have a successful application, first you need to have a Skype ID, then have a resume that you will upload for your application.

After you have submitted your application, their recruitment team will get in touch with you later on how to move on with the application.

You can make your application here.

3. Wavel.ai

Wavel is an AI-powered transcription company. They usually give their transcribers an AI-generated transcript for editing, which makes working for them a walk in the park. They have a rigorous application process, but it’s worth the hustle as their pay is very good for newbies. Their pay range is from £12-£13. 

You can make your application here.

4. Audio Bee

Audio Bee is a newbie-friendly company as they have entry-level jobs. You can earn between $24-120 per audio hour transcribed. They also have a referral program where they pay $70 for a certain number of tasks completed.

They have transcription jobs in a variety of languages, so you can choose the language that you’re comfortable with. Once you complete the application form, they will ask you to verify your email. Their application process has three tests to be completed.

Once you’re through with the application process, you will be put on an approval list until your application is approved or rejected, so patience is key here.

You can make your application here.

5. Transcription Panda

Transcription Panda hires both international and local transcribers. They have weekly payouts with a flexible work schedule. They also have very competitive rates.

A minimum pay of $0.40 per audio minute transcribed and an average rate of $0.70. Their average earning per month is $390 while the top earning is $1820 per month.

You also get to choose the files that you’re comfortable with. They also give feedback on the jobs submitted, so you can grow your skills. They also have a culture support where you can interact with other workers who are on their platform.

There’s an application form online to be filled. Then you will be given three audio clips with instructions to transcribe. They are both verbatim and standard transcripts, so one needs to pay special attention to grammar and punctuation.

Transcription Panda hires based on demand of the services and quality of their application pool. So, their hiring patterns vary based on these factors and are hard to predict.

You can make your application here.

6. Transcription For Everyone

Transcription For Everyone hires globally. They have a wide range of transcription work ranging from medical to legal transcription. Their application process is a rigorous one, you need to fill up a form on their website and also upload your resume.

Their pay rate is between $5 for newbies and over $25 per audio hour for experienced transcribers. They have a promotion process, but everyone starts as an audio-edited transcriber. You will have to climb the ladder for you to start earning good money on this platform, which means one has to deliver client-ready transcripts to make good money.

They also have an in-house training for their transcribers, which everyone has to go through after getting hired.

You can make your application here.

7. Verbit

Verbit is also an IA-based transcription and captioning company. They usually give an automatic generated transcript for editing. They have hourly mode accounts where one is paid for the hours worked and the normal account where one is paid per audio hour transcribed.

Not only that, but they don’t allocate their transcribers a full hour of work, but the audios are give out in chunks. The pay rate ranges between $15 and $50 per audio hour.

Their application process is not hard as long as you have mastered their guidelines. First, you need to fill in their web form. They have a grammar test and also an audio test. Their work flow is very good, especially for newbies.

They have all sorts of transcription work ranging from medical, legal to general transcription. So, if you’re a serious transcriber, there’s good money here.

You can make your application here.

8. TranscribeMe

TranscribeMe is another newbie friendly site. They chunk their files in less than 2 minutes files, which makes it manageable to work with as you’re still new in this work. Although, they have a very long application process as their test can take you more than 3 hours to complete.

They have both grammar test and audio tests where they evaluate your understanding of their guidelines and also your general transcription knowledge. When making your application here, you need not worry as they usually give you three trails after failing the first or the second time.

Their pay rate is $15 to $22 per audio hour transcribed, or $0.50 for a 2-minute file chunk transcribed. Note that when starting, a 2-min chunk can take you 40-60 minutes, depending on the audio quality.

You can make your application here.

9. Scribie

Scribie is a nice place to get transcription work as a newbie. One of the basic requirement is a verified PayPal. They have a very friendly paid entry test where they give 10 trials until you hack the test. But you first need to master their style guide for you to pass the test.

Once you’re a certified transcriber, the pay is per audio hour transcribed. Pay rate ranges between $5 to $25 per audio hour transcribed. They also reward hardworking transcribers by promoting them to be reviewers then proofreader and then QC. They have short files which are 10 mins long or less with 2 hours Turn Around Time (TAT) for each file.

Not only that, but they also have a monthly bonus of $5 for each 3 hours completed transcript, with no monthly obligations or limitations to withdraw your earnings. You’re allowed to review the files before choosing to work on it.

You can make your application here.

10. GoTranscript

GoTranscript hires globally, and it’s a newbie friendly site. They have both grammar test and audio test. Mastering their style guide is all that you need to pass the entry test. They have a good workflow and the audio quality isn’t that bad, although sometimes they’re unbearable. The audio files are color-coded according to their difficulty level.

The audio files are chunked and this makes it easy to handle the files. Mostly the files are 10 minutes long with a 6 Turn Around time (TAT).

Their pay rate is between $12 to $13 per hour transcribed. You also need to maintain a 4-5 star rating for you to continue working with them. If your rating drops, your account gets deactivated.

You can make your application here.

11. CastingWords

CastingWords transcription company has been around for long. This is an easy site to join as they only have an audio test. Their test is auto approved. However, you have to first master their style guide for you to pass the test. A verified PayPal is a must-have when making the application.

Their pay rate ranges from $0.30 to $0.92 depending on the level that you are. They assign work depending on the rank that you are in, and that means the most experienced workers with a good rating get the chance to grab the well paying files. If you’re a newbie, you will find your work on my jobs column and not on all jobs column.

You can make your application here.

Conclusion

Now, most people will agree with me that technology is getting smarter, even more knowledgeable, and more self-reliant. Nowadays, it’s very possible to make a living working online remotely. We are living in a global village and economy. Online work is the best example of how technology has improved productivity, while not taking over the role of today’s knowledge workers. 

If you embrace online transcription work, you will never fail to pay your bills. Any online work needs total commitment and discipline.

In case you have more companies that are hiring newbies globally, please feel free to share in the comments section.

What’s video captioning? This is the art of putting text version of the speech and different sounds that may be provided on TV, DVDs, online videos, at cinemas, and theaters. Video captioning makes videos more accessible to a greater audience.

There are two terminologies used while captioning. The term “Closed Caption” [cc] versus “Open Caption” means that the captions are not visible on the screen until they’re put on by the viewer while open caption or burnt-in caption means that the captions are visible to all viewers as they always remain embedded in the video. 

Here are 9 reasons why every transcriber should learn Video Captioning. This will help you decide whether it’s a good venture or not.

1. Increased Job Opportunity

Video Captioning is an on-demand skill. If you’re a freelancer, you might find that in the field that you specialize in; sometimes the jobs are scarce as the low season hits. So, by adding video captioning skills to your resume, you increase chances of landing more gigs online.

There are so many videos being uploaded online every minute on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Vimeo every second. Most of these videos need to be captioned, and your skills come in handy here.

2. Diversity

It’s always good to diversify. For example, if you’re a transcriber offering transcription services, it’s good to learn video captioning. This gives you a higher chance of landing more projects. You might find a client who has transcription files, and they also need the video to be captioned. By diversifying, one can offer an all-around service to their clients. 

It’s good to learn as many skills that you can, as far as they’re in line with the services that you offer. There’s no harm in learning, it only increases chances of landing more jobs from long-term clients or even repeat clients.

3. Good Comprehension

Video Captioning plays a great role in online learning. Most of the students find the captioned video to be very helpful as they help them with good comprehension. When the human mind hears and reads at the same time, it helps one remember better.  

Closed captions also improve viewers’ experience for those who are not Native English speakers. Learners whose English is their second language find captions to be very helpful, as the captions allow them to read as they listen.

 4. Increases Video Views and SEO

Adding closed captions to a video increases the views and also the SEO. Since search engines can’t watch videos, adding captions allows them to crawl the video content for better indexing.

Also, closed-captioned YouTube videos attract more views and lifetime views compared to non-captioned videos.

Longer transcripts also get optimized and paginated for keywords and optimize video search rank.

5. Gives Deaf and Hard to Hear Viewers Accessibility

Closed Captions [cc] were first created for the hard of hearing and deaf audience to aid them in comprehension. Time-synchronized video captioning is a great alternative for millions of people who have hearing loss globally.

So, closed captions increase your audience with a big margin because these viewers can now access and consume your content.

6. Easy Creation of Original Content

Content creators and market researchers normally use recorded video clips, montages, or reels, but combing through that content without the aid of a transcript can be an uphill task. After the video is captioned, the content can be searched and scanned easily for topics and key phrases.

Direct quotes can be copy-pasted directly for original content creation. Captions can also be used as report outlines or even study guides for learners.

 7. Helps With Legal Compliance

Media broadcasts and Television closed captioning standards are strictly regulated by the FCC in the US.

There are more than 60% with hearing loss either in an education setting or in the workforce. No matter what the situation is, people with hearing disability have the right to access the same materials as the rest of the population. Thus, this is the reason why anti-discrimination laws were enforced.

8. User Experience and Video Search

Video Captioning helps viewers on your site to find videos easily after a simple search. A professionally-captioned video allows your audience to search for keywords and see them everywhere they appear.

If the user is searching for a particular part of the video, they can click on the word and the video moves there and starts playing. Your viewers can as well scan the whole video library on the playlist search using a specific keyword. 

This smooth user experience gives your content big revenge and great customer satisfaction.

 9. Good Viewing in Sound Sensitive and Noisy Environments

Closed Captions [cc] are used to access video content in sound-sensitive and noisy environments such as restaurants and bars. This may be in a setup where patrons are not able to hear because of background noise or in a situation where different televisions are broadcasting different programs

Conclusion

The fact that we are living in an era where technology is rapidly changing and video popularity and use is increasing at a very high rate and also the hard of hearing and the deaf population is also growing, is a good reason for the high demand for video captioning.

Also, you will come across video captions/subtitles. These terms are used interchangeably in many countries.

If you would like to add video captioning skills to your resume, we have a course on this which you can enroll here.

AI is constantly improving online opportunities, and transcription is proof of this. There are numerous transcription software that generates transcripts with an accuracy level of 60% to 90%, which is considered above average by most clients.

What’s more, transcribing audio or video through AI-powered transcription software is a straightforward process. By importing an audio/video file from your computer or mobile device, the software processes the audio speech and creates a transcript for you to edit.

These are Seven of the best transcription software programs for the job.

1.Otter.ai 

Otter.ai is an enterprise-ready AI-powered assistant that generates rich notes for your interviews, meetings, and presentations. This auto transcription software has very good accuracy, and you only need to edit the transcripts. Otter.ai has both paid and free packages.

Check out this YouTube tutorial How to Automatically Transcribe With Otter

Here’s the link to the app Otter.ai

2. Descript

Descript is an all-in-one editor that allows you to edit a Word document. You can upload a file or record audio directly on Descript, and it will automatically convert your audio/video file into a text file.

It has accurate transcripts with a very short turnaround time with speaker labels. However, all you need is to remove stutters and fillers with a single click. You can then publish a link for sharing within the transcription app.

Here’s the link to the app Descript

 3. Trint

Trint is cloud-based transcription software that makes audio/video shareable, searchable, and editable with up to 31 languages.

Trint’s speed for speed-to-text implementation is very impressive. It has real-time transcription, which makes it the most exciting and reliable transcription software. 

 Here’s the link to the app Trint

4. Temi

Temi allows you to edit your transcripts online in a few minutes. It has both a trial version and a paid version. Transcripts are ready in minutes. However, shorter files are done in a few seconds.

With the free version, you get one transcript in less than 45 minutes. You also get access to all features without requiring a credit card.

Temi being advanced speech recognition software, your transcript quality depends on audio quality, so if you want accurate transcripts you have to record or upload clear audio. However, it has an accuracy of 90-95%.

Here’s the link to the app Temi

 5. Rev.ai

Rev.ai is an easy-to-use API that is designed by developers for developers. This transcription app provides you with comprehensive documentation, SDKs, and expert support to get you started in minutes. You only need to generate your maiden transcript, an access token.

Rev.ai’s contemporaneous transcription software unlocks the power of voice for transcription work. If you’re transcribing large audios, you can get it all done with this app that’s developed for growth.

Rev.ai is available in 31 major world languages.

 Here’s the link to the app Rev.ai

 6. Amberscript

Amberscript is an AI speech recognition tool that allows you to convert audio and videos into text or subtitles. It has an online text editor. So, if you combine your human intelligence with this AI service, you can get a 100% accurate transcript.

In addition, Amberscript transcription software has a very fast turnaround time, it is GDPR security compliance, and it has very competitive pricing.

 Here’s the link to the app Amberscript

 7. Sonix.ai

Sonix.ai is the highly rated audio to text software. The transcript is ready in five minutes. They have a 30 minutes free trial, then one can sign up for the paid version.

It has 35 languages including French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Arabic, Hindi, and many more. It also has auto speaker separation and it auto punctuates.

Here’s the link to the app Sonix

Conclusion

However, the auto transcripts have to be edited and seriously proofread before submitting. It is good to take note of the following while correcting the transcripts.  

• Typing Mistakes
• Missing words
• Missing or incorrect paragraph breaks
• Utterances for strict verbatim files
• Incorrect capitalization of words
• Missing punctuation

Advantages of using audio transcription software

• Generates clean transcripts for editing, which saves a lot of time.
• Has a very quick turnaround time.
• Saves project to revisit later.
• Generates speaker labels
• Punctuates the transcript.
• Has accurate spacing on pauses in the audio/video file.

Whether you like transcribing your files manually or using AI-powered transcription software to get auto transcripts for editing, the above-mentioned solution covers both worlds. I believe these transcription software can ease the transcription work that you do manually by assigning this task to these AI tools, regardless of the solution you go for.

Acquire straightforward online transcription skills to make cash from home; a great getaway to your financial freedom.

Welcome to Skyline Freelancing blog with me, Shelmith Kahu!

I’m eager to help you to start making cash from home with online t transcription skills! I cannot contemplate any better work from home online hustle – you’re your own boss. Furthermore, you get to stay in bed on a Monday morning when everyone else is commuting to work or is out in the cold.

The Internet has opened a sea of opportunities for any individual who has the determination to work online, take advantage of this chance. Consistently, an ever-increasing number of sites are being launched, and furthermore the interest for independent contractors is increasing day by day. Encouraging news for all online transcribers!

Today, there are tons of online work, more than most contractors will deal with, and since it’s developing day by day, there are loads of companies for you to join and start earning.

Today, by exploiting the Internet, you’ll have the option to acquire a relatively fast independence from the rat race as an independent transcriber, directly from the solace of your own home. This noteworthy online transcription opportunity is proposed to you immediately, and it will for all intents and purposes enhance your daily routine and the lives of those you care about.

Work full time or part-time? The decision is yours!

Many transcribers aren’t exclusively earning the monetary profit, but also trade their unremarkable every day 9-5 jobs, paying off their debts, spending their valuable time with their families and a couple are enjoying their holidays and converting the beach cafés in to their “home office.” Regardless of your monetary profit objectives, and regardless of your way of life and dreams, it’s completely achievable with online transcription.

It’s more straightforward than you may have anticipated!

Before the Internet existed, transcribers required serious credits, higher education degrees, recommendation letters, and terrific references before they may be hired by any office.

Things have changed! The Internet opened possibilities that never existed and evened the odds. Fundamentally, it turned the online transcription business top side down. Right now, there are many job opportunities for people from varying backgrounds, all age, all around the globe.

A portion of the premier lucky online-based transcribers don’t have any formal expertise and have performed so well in the business in an extremely tremendous way, not in years, months or weeks, but rather in days.

All you need is a Personal Computer with great Internet speed, headphones, essential transcription abilities, be computer savvy, and zeal to succeed. You can join the various groups of people who are making money though working inside the solace of their homes.

Continued on Part 2 here.