Being a transcriptionist can be a lucrative side hustle for the right person. If you have a good command of the English language and you can listen and type quickly, then you have what it takes to become a good transcriptionist. Transcriptionists work in a variety of live settings, but they also work from home transcribing audio recordings. As a freelancer, the second option is easier to start on your own.
In the past, a transcriptionist would sit at a desk with a tape machine and listen to a recording on tape. They would have a foot pedal that controlled the machine to play and stop it at certain points so they would have time to write. Today, you can listen to an audio file with your computer and play it back at different speeds without much effort. You can browse transcriptionist jobs online, send in your resume, and do work right from your living room. This is why we chose it for our Side Hustle Master List.
Concept | |
category | Media/Publishing |
Takeaways | Requires multiple skills to be effective- listening, typing, writing. |
complexity lowhigh  | Capital Required lowhigh |
skill required lowhigh | time required lowhigh |
return potential lowhigh |
 | learn more |
Specializations
Working as a transcriptionist can be fun because you get to listen to a variety of recordings. You could specialize in legal transcription, medical transcription, business transcription or many other areas. For some of these specializations, you might need to get extra qualifications. For example, if you work as a medical transcriptionist, you need to be familiar with medical terminology. If you aren’t, you won’t be able to type medical terms correctly and you won’t get the job. It goes without saying that your typing speed is important to your work as a transcriptionist. If you can’t consistently type at or above 60 WPM, try practicing your typing some more before jumping into this work. And be sure to take a look at the links below for more information.