How Much Money Can You Make as a Transcriptionist (2024)

Transcription is a well-paying career with many opportunities. A transcriptionist's salary is generally around $19.02, while an advanced transcriptionist earns around $25 to $30 per hour. With this rate, you can easily earn an average of $1141.2 every month if you work 2.5 hours per day for 24 days.

According to PayScale, the median transcriptionist's salary is $16.59 per hour. Additionally, you enjoy the freedom of setting your own hours and have sufficient leverage for working as little or as much as you want on a weekly basis.

How Much Money Can You Make as a Medical Transcriptionist?

According to BLS stats for May 2021, the mean hourly wage for a medical transcriptionist is $14.47, while their mean annual wage is $30,100.

How Much Money Does a Legal Transcriptionist Make?

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not maintain a record of the salaries for legal transcriptionists specifically, but a majority of them earn between $27,000 and $78,308 per year, with an average of about $42,108 as of 2022.

How Much Money Do Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners Make?

As per BLS reports of May 2021, court reporters and simultaneous captioners earn an average hourly rate of $29.03and median annual pay of $60,380.

Variables That Will Decide a Transcriptionist's Salary

The exact amount of money you would earn working as a transcriptionist depends upon many variables. Those include:

  • the company you are working for
  • the exact volume of work that you are doing, as well as
  • your speed and
  • skill level.

That's why a company recruiting only experienced transcriptionists would pay more than a company hiring new ones. It's therefore advisable that you take up a lesser-paying job as a beginner in transcription because it will give you valuable experience, which will help you in getting transcription jobs that are better paying later on.

How to Improve Your Transcription Skills?

How Much Money Can You Make as a Transcriptionist (1)

Transcription is not different from any other job in terms of defining what it takes to be successful. An outstanding transcriptionist stands out from an average one due to their superior typing and listening skills, and of course, the experience gained through practice.

The best way to improve your transcription skills is to enroll in a course in transcription. The course will help you improve your grammar, accuracy, and listening skills. You will not only get acquainted with the essential skills of becoming a great transcriptionist but also learn the industry's best practices, which will help you start your own transcription business one day.

Interested in making money fast and easy? There are some reputed transcription companies likeRev, GMR Transcription, Pioneer Transcription Servicesand more, which offer lucrative, home-based transcription jobs to experienced transcriptionists. Stay updated about such job offers by joining the TCI Job Board and subscribing to our newsletter today!

TCI, or the Transcription Certification Institute, offers an online transcription training course that is exactly tailored to the needs of those who want to get a head-start over others in the race for a lucrative transcription job. The course will equip you with all the skill sets and knowledge required to become truly professional in the field.

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How Much Money Can You Make as a Transcriptionist (2024)

FAQs

How Much Money Can You Make as a Transcriptionist? ›

Transcription

Transcription
A transcription service is a business service that converts speech (either live or recorded) into a written or electronic text document. Transcription services are often provided for business, legal, or medical purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Transcription_(service)
is a well-paying career with many opportunities. A transcriptionist's salary is generally around $19.02, while an advanced transcriptionist earns around $25 to $30 per hour. With this rate, you can easily earn an average of $1141.2 every month if you work 2.5 hours per day for 24 days.

How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour of audio? ›

When it comes to individual transcribers, the average time to transcribe one hour of audio is approximately four hours. But, some transcribers quote four hours as the minimum since it can easily reach 10 hours. Transcription time by audio hour varies so much mostly because each audio file is different.

Are transcription jobs worth it? ›

Working from home as a transcriptionist is a great way to earn a steady income with flexible hours . If you're an experienced typist with strong grammar skills , this may be a rewarding career for you.

How much do transcriptionists really make? ›

How Much Do Transcriptionist Jobs Pay per Hour?
Annual SalaryHourly Wage
Top Earners$45,500$22
75th Percentile$38,000$18
Average$33,773$16
25th Percentile$28,000$13

How much can I earn by transcription as a beginner? ›

Most transcriptionists can make between $15 and $25 an hour when they're just starting out and don't have a specialization or expertise. Some fields pay more for transcription services, like legal or medical companies.

Is it hard to do transcription? ›

Transcription work sounds easy since it only involves listening to audio files and typing. In reality, however, transcription is quite complicated. It takes commitment and full involvement in the job to ensure that you produce excellent work.

What are the four major skills needed for transcription? ›

In order to transcribe audio or a conversation accurately, you need these skills:
  • Active listening. Active listening is the ability to focus on a speaker and hear everything they say. ...
  • Typing skills. ...
  • Communication. ...
  • Computer skills. ...
  • Research.
Mar 10, 2023

What are the cons of transcribing? ›

The Cons of Speech to Text Transcription
  1. Accuracy. One of the biggest drawbacks of voice transcription is accuracy. Voice recognition technology isn't perfect, so you might find that some of your words are misheard or misinterpreted. ...
  2. Cost. Another potential downside of voice transcription is cost. ...
  3. Learning Curve.
Jan 11, 2023

Is audio transcription a good side hustle? ›

This side hustle is well-suited for students, teachers, or anyone looking for a part-time or full-time gig. One trend is transcription services-which primarily consists of turning voice recordings into written format.

What are the cons of transcription jobs? ›

Drawbacks of Transcribing from Home
  • Transcription contracts come and go. You'll land a great contract, but it may be short-term.
  • Work dries up during certain times of the year. (However, it can be nice to have slow days sometimes.)
  • You have to keep track of your expenses, your income, and put aside money for taxes.
Mar 5, 2019

Can I make a living doing transcription? ›

Transcription is a well-paying career with many opportunities. A transcriptionist's salary is generally around $19.02, while an advanced transcriptionist earns around $25 to $30 per hour. With this rate, you can easily earn an average of $1141.2 every month if you work 2.5 hours per day for 24 days.

What type of transcription pays the most? ›

High Paying Medical Transcription Jobs
  • Transcription Coordinator. ...
  • Medical Transcription Supervisor. ...
  • Radiology Transcriptionist. ...
  • Transcriber. ...
  • Medical Scribe. ...
  • Transcriptionist. Salary range: $28,000-$38,000 per year. ...
  • Scribe. Salary range: $27,000-$37,000 per year. ...
  • Pathology Transcriptionist. Salary range: $28,500-$28,500 per year.

How do you get certified in transcription? ›

You can become certified by taking and passing an exam provided by the AHDI. The organization offers two types of certifications for medical transcriptionists: Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist (RHDS) and Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist (CHDS).

How long to transcribe 30 minutes of audio? ›

Various factors affect how long it takes. As a very broad rule of thumb, many transcribers say it takes four hours for every one hour of audio. Obviously, if you're wondering how long to transcribe 30 minutes of audio file, around two hours.

How much can you make a week transcribing? ›

How Much Do Transcriptionist Jobs Pay per Week?
Annual SalaryWeekly Pay
Top Earners$45,500$875
75th Percentile$38,000$730
Average$33,773$649
25th Percentile$28,000$538

How much does TranscribeMe pay per minute? ›

Transcription Services - Starting at $0.79 per minute | TranscribeMe!

How long does it take to transcribe 4 hours? ›

Transcription Speed for the Average Person

The average person can transcribe one audio hour in about 4 hours. It takes most people about one hour to transcribe 15 minutes of a clear, slow audio file. If any of the factors we mentioned above change the quality of the recording, that time might go up.

How long does it take to transcribe 1 minute? ›

Transcription speed for an average person

An amateur transcriber typically types between 40 and 60 words per minute. As a result, it takes the average person about four hours to transcribe one hour of audio.

How fast do I need to type to be a transcriber? ›

Practice Typing

While most transcriptionists can type at around 50 words per minute (WPM), make it your goal to type at least 60 WPM. By improving your typing speed, you can get more work done in less time, which seriously increases your earning potential!

How do I prepare for a transcription job? ›

How to Pass Transcription Tests Online and Get Hired
  1. Listen Carefully. ...
  2. Understand Proper Punctuation. ...
  3. Brush Up on Grammar and Spelling. ...
  4. Learn Transcription Formatting. ...
  5. Use Critical Thinking. ...
  6. Invest in Transcription Tools. ...
  7. Free Resources and Practice Files to Polish Your Transcription Skills.
May 22, 2019

What are the 3 types of transcription? ›

The types of transcription are mainly categorized into three types – verbatim, edited and intelligent transcription. All these transcriptions can be used for audio or video files only the process could be different, depending upon the requirements and resource availability.

What are the two types of transcribing? ›

How Many Types of Transcription Are There? There are two primary transcription types: Verbatim and non-verbatim transcription. Each of these types of transcription serves a unique purpose and suits a specific kind of project.

What is the difference between a transcriber and transcriptionist? ›

A transcriptionist is also known as a transcriber. It seems that the term 'transcriptionist' is used more in the USA and Canada, and the term 'transcriber' is more appropriate for Europe and Australia. So a transcriber and a transcriptionist are exactly the same thing.

What is the basic rule in transcribing? ›

Transcripts should be at least 99% accurate. Grammar and punctuation are important for providing maximum clarity. Speaker identification helps users identify who is speaking. Essential to communicate non-speech sounds.

Which transcription type is the most challenging? ›

The first kind is the verbatim transcription. This type of transcription is the most difficult, complicated and time-consuming.

How much can you make a month as a transcriptionist? ›

While ZipRecruiter is seeing monthly salaries as high as $4,375 and as low as $1,167, the majority of Transcriptionist salaries currently range between $2,333 (25th percentile) to $3,166 (75th percentile) across the United States.

Who gets paid more a transcriptionist or captioner? ›

Which pays more: Captioning or transcription? Captioning files pay a bit more, starting at about 54 cents per minute while transcription files start at about 45 cents per minute. Keep in mind with captions there is an additional syncing step and longer deadlines.

How much can a transcriptionist make in a day? ›

Average Daily Transcription Transcriptionist hourly pay in the United States is approximately $56.38, which is 224% above the national average.

Is it easy to become a transcriptionist? ›

Becoming a transcriptionist is a very straightforward way for people to make money from home. However, getting started in transcription can be tough due to the high competition in the industry and the increasing demand of general transcriptionists day by day.

How does a foot pedal work for transcribing? ›

A transcription foot pedal has buttons which can be configured to have different functions. Generally, people have a standard three-button foot pedal set to have rewind, play/pause and fast-forward functions. Some other functions can include slowdown, jump or next dictation among others.

Are transcriptionists in demand? ›

There is a huge demand for both general transcription and legal transcription.

How can I make money transcribing from home? ›

Just create an account on Upwork and start applying for transcription jobs. There are no tests to go through and you can work with the client personally. It is a great place for beginners to try their hands at this job and make long-term relationships in the industry.

How long does it take to train as a transcriptionist? ›

Through college certificate programs, it can take two years or more to get fully certified. But with online programs, you can train to be a transcriptionist in the legal industry and get certified in only 4-6 months.

How much does it cost to become a transcriber? ›

As a new registrant, you can either choose to pay a one-time course fee of $499 or pay in installments of $199 for three months (offered in the US only).

How many audio minutes can you transcribe in an hour? ›

For professional transcriptionist, the average time to transcribe one audio hour ranges from 2-3 hours. Some of the most qualified transcriptionists can transcribe up to 30 minutes of audio in an hour.

What is the hourly rate for audio transcription? ›

Standard rates for professional transcriptionists (especially those professionals from North America) range from $1.5 to $3 per audio minute or $90 to $180 per audio hour. If your project has extra requirements, such as a quick turnaround time, you may be forced to pay more to have the job done.

How fast should a transcriber be? ›

While most transcriptionists can type at around 50 words per minute (WPM), make it your goal to type at least 60 WPM. By improving your typing speed, you can get more work done in less time, which seriously increases your earning potential!

How long does it take to transcribe 1,000 words? ›

How long does it take to transcribe 1,000 words or more? An average typist can transcribe 1,000 words in about 25 minutes. However, a professional typist can achieve this same feat in less than 13 minutes with 99% accuracy.

How long should it take to transcribe 20 minutes of audio? ›

That means you should expect any audio that is less than 15 minutes to be transcribed within an hour. Some experienced transcriptionists can transcribe files much faster. It's not unheard for experienced transcriptionists to transcribe 20 to 30 minutes of audio in one hour.

How long should a 20 minute dictation take to type? ›

then it is likely to take four times as long as the length of the recording to turn an audio recording into a written document. So the quick answer to how long does it take to transcribe about 20 minutes of audio? 80 minutes of transcriber time would be the rough rule of thumb.

What is the average transcription charges? ›

“Transcription rates per minute” is a common rate structure. Expect to pay $1-3.5 per minute.

How much does Rev transcription pay per minute? ›

Transcription
  • Human Transcription. Convert your audio or video into 99% accurate text by a professional for $1.50 per minute. ...
  • Automated Transcription. The most accurate AI-powered transcription on the market for only $0.25 per minute. ...
  • Rev Max Subscription - 14 day free trial!

How long does zoom take to transcribe? ›

Zoom typically takes twice the duration of your meeting to process the transcript. For a 30-minute meeting, it can take up to 60 minutes to get the transcript.

How long does it take to transcribe 100 pages? ›

Writing 100 pages will take about 20.8 hours for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 41.7 hours for handwriting.

How long to transcribe 20,000 words? ›

Writing 20,000 words will take about 8.3 hours for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 16.7 hours for handwriting.

How do you pass a transcription test? ›

The 8 Simple Hacks to Pass Transcription Tests Online
  1. Listen Carefully. ...
  2. Understand Proper Punctuation. ...
  3. Brush Up on Grammar and Spelling. ...
  4. Learn Transcription Formatting. ...
  5. Use Critical Thinking. ...
  6. Invest in Transcription Tools. ...
  7. Free Resources and Practice Files to Polish Your Transcription Skills.
May 22, 2019

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