Earning money is the most important task nowadays due to the growing needs and desires. Sometimes the earning task lies with the male while each person often reaches according to his capability, qualification, and skillset. However, the mandatory task is to make as much as it takes to live an honorable and up-to-the-mark life. Living life, therefore, is not expensive but the lifestyle that one may choose. In modern times, other than going to the physical places to earn, online jobs and business handling is preferable due to the flexibility it grants on rules and timings. As far as business is concerned, people buy and sell products online. In comparison, famous online jobs include research or academic content, digital marketing, graphic designing, transcriptionists, etc.
A transcriptionist in this regard is in high demand in the market because of the work they can do. They can certainly fit in the governmental and nongovernmental financial organizations, law firms, insurance agencies, etc. Transcriptionists can also update their profile according to the client demand that needs their novels, audios, important videos, etc., to get transformed in words.
How To Become a Transcriptionist
There are different fields of transcribing that allow for numerous job opportunities under virtually any circumstances. If someone wishes to become a transcriptionist, it is vital to determine which of the different specialized fields in transcription you can successfully compete with. The specialized areas in transcription should greatly expand the opportunities to allow virtually anyone to build a successful career, transcribing nearly anything needed. However, some of these specializations will also require a unique skill set for transcription services.
The skillset of the transcriptionist
A transcriptionist should multitask and have a strong hearing with sharp memory. A maximum typing speed will follow this to write 30-40 words per minute on average. Words typed, however, should be free from grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. A transcriptionist should have a basic knowledge of the subject he is writing to pass legal writing skills easily. Therefore, proofreading skills include editing skills, ensuring optimal documentation, and uplifting the ranking of transcriptionists daily, making him more demanding. A professional transcript should know the technology he may use for the quality results. In this regard, they should have the skills to use designer transcription software.
A professional E-book transcriber
The trend of an e-book is increasing, so is the technology. Businesses look for certified translations of e-books or other content to reach a broader audience. This helps you get your desired book, novel, etc., on your handset. The general types of E-book include e-Pub and MOBI. Concerning business, modern technology is the mother of all inventions and can be used to gain the fruits of anything. Perfect use of technology also leads to having more clients, whatever the field is. An e-book transcriber can increase his demand by following specific tips mentioned below:
1) Auto-correction
As described above, a transcriber needs to have fast typing speeds. And when transcriber types fastly, chances of spelling and grammatical errors increase. In this case, one needs to enable spelling and grammar check and make its function automatic. As in this field, they are wasting time on the manual correction that can mark the speed of a turtle. Moreover, these mistakes can be avoided when someone has a basic knowledge of the field and the efficient practice of typing to make him a pro in typing. The critical point is that besides the word’s spell and grammar check function, there are dedicated software available to check the punctuation, structure, and spelling issues, such as Grammarly. And these features are free to check and improve in Grammarly.
2) Shortcuts
Shortcuts, if used sensibly, are a savior in times of hurry. Using shortcuts makes transcriptionists pro in their field. It means benefiting from the shortcut keys enabled at every software to get the task done quickly and quickly. With a mouse, simple copy-pasting can consume a lot of time, while time can be saved using shortcut keys. A transcriptionist can also type smartly by setting up the shortcuts of the words that are commonly used, including “because,” “whatever,” “wherever,” etc. This can be done in Microsoft word by clicking on the Tools tab, customize and command. A keyboard tab will appear after hitting the command key to customize function tabs.
3) Headphones
People generally use hands-free to listen to their audio and receive shared files online. Hands-free has qualities, and cheap quality damages listening skills. Ears are the most important asset a transcriber has, and the hard work pays off if the transformation is perfect. In this case, one needs to choose an ideal headset according to its budget, comfort, and working environment. The headset’s excellent and desirable features include a weightless and wireless product with an active voice cancellation feature and a dedicated mic with fast charging capability. General headset types are “over-the-ear headphones” and “on-ear headphones.” According to their type, headphones can be connected through USA connection or Jack Pin connection while former in this regard is good as this bypass the sound card of your computer.
4) Foot Pedals
While listening to an audio, forwarding, rewinding, and pausing it for a while with time-taking instruments brings the professional graph downwards. Generally, a mouse is used to make the process slow and confusing a transcriptionist while multitasking. He, therefore, needs a product that does not divert his attention, and technology has invented the best alternative of this in the form of foot pedals. When using a foot pedal, a transcriptionist can easily adjust the speed, forward and backward the audio according to the need.
5) Software
Along with the hardware requirements, software and the proper use saves a transcriptionist from being in a vulnerable position. Software such as express scribe and Free make is used to provide ease as far as audios are concerned. These formats can be changed into MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AC3, M4R, etc. Moreover, video files can be converted into audio as well.
- Software like DFX audio can enhance audio clarity by cancelling the noise and increasing the volume of the audio.
- Secondly, if a transcriptionist is running a business and has a team then he can split the audio files and distribute it amongst the others to get work done more accurately on time.
- Thirdly, software like Dragon is used to translate the audio or video in words. The accuracy, however, is not 100% in this case due to the difference of accent and clarity level. This software, on one hand, brightens the future of automatic transcription while overshadowing the opposite and on the other hand makes transcribers more professional.
- There is software available in the market to compress a file into one folder or unzip the compressed files transferred by the client. This is a less storage taking application enabling a transcriber to compress, for example, 20 audio files into one. WinZip in this regard is the software offering 30-day free trial as well.
6) Internet connection
A strong internet connection is the mother of all. Internet is required for downloading, uploading, and proofreading if the software installed requires an internet connection. In this regard, if the connection speed is slow or interrupts frequently, or downloads slowly, a transcriber is off a client’s list. To do work from home, a transcriber needs to get over this issue on a priority basis. He needs to have software for the perfect possible translation, shortcut keys, knowledge of beneficial tools, etc. The list also includes software such as IDM to resume the unfinished download from the history of the connection breaking for a while. IDM also helps to download heavy files at an exceptional speed.
CONCLUSION
A skill set including listening power, typing speed, and basic knowledge helps a lot in becoming a transcriptionist. While to become a professional and get reviewed daily, perfect software usage can ensure success in this regard. This enhances the professionalism of the EBook transcriber while increasing his demand. The above mentioned are the tips that one needs to follow to get and give the best results.
