Transcriber Jobs
Transcribers
If you are looking for a transcriber to transcribe your audio then please visit Transcription Services.
If you are an experienced transcriber or are considering becoming a transcriber and joining the Top Transcriptions team, then here is some more information and tips to help you decide and get you started.
What Does A Transcriber’s Job Entail?
A transcriber listens to an audio and types what he/she hears onto a document - that is essentially the job.
As a rule of thumb it takes a transcriber about 5 hours to transcribe 1 hour of audio. The reason for this is that you will need to stop, rewind and start the audio regularly whilst transcribing and this is time consuming.
The way that it works, is that we would send you an audio via the internet which you would download. There will be a template that comes with the audio together with any specific client instructions. As you will see from our website there are different transcription formats that a client may select when ordering transcripts.
Clean Verbatim means you would ignore all the utterances that are not words – like um, mmhm or laughter. Full Verbatim transcription, would essentially include all these utterances. Then if the client has requested Time Stamps, you would reflect these by noting the time of the audio at each point. So if the time stamps need to be noted every two minutes, you would record this time wherever you are in the transcript at two – minute intervals for example.
The quality of audios can vary, which can make it a bit more challenging. Sometimes in meeting audios, where there are several people talking, it can be difficult at times to identify who is talking and this requires much concentration and a 'sharp ear'.
Once you have completed the transcript you then need to proofread it, checking your spelling and grammar.
We work on deadlines, so you would need to ensure that you complete the transcript timeously.
What Skills and Experience do I need to Transcribe?
It is advantageous to have some Transcribing or Dictaphone Typing experience, but it is not essential. If you are an accurate typist with a good command of the English language and can type at a reasonable speed then transcribing might be for you.
You need patience and the ability to persevere.
What Equipment and Software do I Need?
The starting point is that you must have Microsoft Word and not a free spreadsheet software program downloaded off the internet.
Next, is you need an internet connection with sufficient data to download audios – uncapped is obviously ideal if you plan to do lots of transcribing.
Headphones are the ideal way to listen to audio as computer speakers are often not that great. You should buy a comfortable, good quality set, that is not too tight on your head and that has good sound. If you work in a noisy environment you may even want a noise cancellation headphone - but these are a bit more pricey.
Foot pedals are an optional extra. They enable the transcriber to control the audio stop/start etc. These can be bought online – even (Makro has some) and used with Free software like Media Player or Express Scribe. SpeechExec by Philips for example is one such option of a foot pedal – but there are a number of others.
The alternative to foot-pedals is to use a free software audio player that enables you to use “hot keys” – which is basically using your keys on the keyboard to stop/start/rewind an audio. You can set up which keys you want to perform which function or the software may already have preset functions linked to the keys.
Two popular Transcription Software are: VLC and Express Scribe – free versions.
VLC
For a free Download of VLC software:
For more information on hotkeys in VLC visit:
https://www.vlchelp.com/vlc-media-player-shortcuts/
Once you have the VLC Program downloaded – if you use Windows, go to Preferences under Tools, to View and Change Short Cuts. If you use a Mac, then go to the menu select VLC/Preferences and short cuts, to see and change the short cuts.
There is another option with VLC where you minimise the player into a narrow line on your screen and then use your mouse to stop/start etc as follows:
If you want to try this out then once you have opened VLC – go to the Menu/View and select Show Previous and Next buttons. These will appear in the bottom left of the screen together with your play and pause buttons. Then next to those buttons are 3 lines on top of each other. Click them and then it will minimise the screen with the stop/start/rewind buttons visible at the top of the page. You can then drag it anywhere on your screen that is convenient for you. If you want the VLC screen to open up again – just click the same 3 lines.
You can then reduce the size of your page in Word and bring the two together and start typing, with the stop/start/rewind buttons viewable on the screen.
Express Scribe
For a free download of Express Scribe:
https://www.nch.com.au/scribe/index.html
Once you have downloaded and opened Express Scribe - Go to Options/System wide hotkeys - you can use these to stop/start/rewind or change them to work with keys you may prefer. My advice is to use this as a player as you would with VLC and have it minimised running in the background. Don’t type in their software and copy to Microsoft Word as this may mess with the formatting of the document. Always only use these tools as a player and do your typing in Microsoft Word.
Learn more on How to Convert Audio to Text.
How do I Register as a Transcriber?
To register with us you need to complete the Application Form below and provide us with brief summary of any relevant experience in the Comments box. This experience may be Transcription, Typing or Dictaphone experience. You can include the name of the company you have worked for and for how long and what your job title was. Point form is fine.
Please upload your CV that includes any relevant experience.
Please take this note as our “Thank you” for you submitting your application and that we will be in contact with you, should a suitable transcriber position become available. We don't respond individually to each application submitted. We may be in contact in a short or medium time period, depending on whether we have positions available. The fact that you are on our database means that you will be considered as the vacancies arise.
All the best and thank you for your interest shown.