This blog is part of a series on transcription. If you haven’t read the other blogs in this series, make sure to check out the summary page for a listing of all transcription blogs.
Today, I wanted to dedicate one blog to what each type of transcription (general, medical, and legal) all have in common with each other, before I dive into all the differences between them.
Number One: Most companies require you to have a high-speed Internet connection in order to work for them. Why? Because the files you are working with can be very large, and with a dial-up connection, it could literally take you all day to download a file. That’s a waste of their time and yours. Not [all] companies refuse to hire people with dial-up, but a rather depressingly high percentage of them do. If you do not have access to a high-speed Internet connection, understand upfront that your job search may take much longer, and be much more difficult, than if you did have a high-speed connection.
Number Two: Transcription is not a hobby. This is not something that you can do in your “spare time” and hope to stay employed for more than a couple of weeks. Businesses have contracted to do this work with the client, have signed contracts stating that they will provide a certain turn around time (TAT) on the work, and if they subcontract that work out to you, and you do not get the work done in the specified TAT time, you will be very lucky if the company gives you even one more chance. If you break the TAT time twice in a row, you can be sure your employment with them will be terminated by the end of the day.
Number Three: You don’t have to have an ultra-nice computer to do transcription. Yes, there is good news on this list! 😉 You need to have a computer that runs Windows XP; sometimes they require you to use Pro instead of Home edition, although that is not very common. You also need to be able to run Word 2000 or newer, an audio program like Express Scribe, and a text expander like Instant Text, all at the same time. If your computer can do that, then you’re golden. Windows Vista is new enough at this point that most companies are not going to want you to use it, because there are still bugs being worked out. Give it a couple of months, and you’ll start to see that transcription companies will begin to accept Vista more and more. If you have a Mac computer, you are in a for a really hard uphill fight to getting a job. 99.9% of the transcription companies out there require Windows. Many Mac enthusiasts will have a Mac for their home use, and a Windows computer for their work.
Now that we’ve covered everything that fields have in common with each other, let’s focus on each individual field, because each is very different. You may love legal transcription, but hate medical, and vice-versa. First stop: The medical field!