3. Earn Online Typing on Amazon
As mentioned earlier Amazon Mechanical Turk work at home program is totally worth the try since there are many “jobs” that are actually available. Typing has been specifically singled out for further discussion. By way of recap, Amazon Mechanical Turk has gotten positive reviews because most users have made money from it. It's by far one of the most popular recommendations in terms of legit options to make money online. However just keep in mind that this isn't a huge money maker. But you already know my philosophy. It's better to do a lot of little things that make you money which can add up quickly than making no money applying for work at home jobs that is difficult to get.
Ms Sarah has taken time to share her experience using Amazon Mechanical Turk below. Her post will significantly set the right tone for beginners. New users that have followed her advice has had some tremendous success working from home. You basically do not have anything to lose.
You’ll also notice your earning power start to increase quickly as you become familiar with the specific guidelines for each mTurk employer (requester). Most importantly, mTurk is a great environment to learn the ropes and make those unavoidable rookie mistakes before applying for the higher-paying independent contract jobs. And in addition to some extra cash, you’ll be banking that coin of the realm for transcription work—experience.
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What I've Earned Typing on Amazon?
I started working with mTurk several weeks ago,and I've been averaging
between $3-$10 per day for working anywhere from 20 minutes to
several hours each day. You’re probably chomping at the bit to get
started by now, but I strongly suggest you learn from my mistakes and
go through the steps below before you dive in:
How Can You Do It?
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First, know your typing speed.
Every potential employer will want to know your current typing
speed and accuracy. You can test yourself for free here.
If you type less than 65-70 WPM with less than 95% accuracy,
you may want to get some more practice before taking
qualification tests.
2. Familiarize yourself with the basics of professional transcription.
If you are new to the industry, it may help you to learn some
basics before taking any tests. Transcribers are expected to be
familiar with concepts such as proper use of speaker tags,
verbatim transcription versus editing for clarity, and standard
indications of non-verbal sounds. Each industry has slightly different requirements, so most employers publish a unique style guide and many are posted online. Here are some examples:
Tiger Fish is a firm that hires entry-level remote transcribers and requires a transcription test. Its style guide is posted here.
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SpeechInk posts transcription jobs frequently on mTurk. Their basic style guide is available here, which also links to a more exhaustive industry style guide here.
CastingWords is another mTurk requester that has posted a sample transcript and grading samples in addition to its style guide—all very handy if you prefer to learn by example.
3. Gather the necessary equipment and start practicing.
You'll need a digital audio player and a good set of headphones to get started. You can use any audio player you're comfortable with, but I suggest downloading the free version of Express Scribe, which includes some useful features specifically for transcription. Once you have chosen an audio player, load up your favorite podcast or audio book and practice until you're comfortable with the software. If you've downloaded Express Scribe for the first time, I suggest reviewing the tutorial, and taking the time to set up a few hotkeys ii if you're not using a foot pedal.
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A few words about foot pedals: You may notice after reading a few job postings that most potential employers don’t seem to want to touch anyone who doesn’t own a digital foot pedal. In fact if you’re like me, you might jump to the conclusion that thousands of recently-released violent felons and/or marginally literate toddlers who did NOT own foot pedals all applied for these jobs on the same day . . . in other words, employers may be using this criteria to distinguish the serious candidates. Fair enough. It's true that using a foot pedal can greatly increase speed and accuracy by eliminating mouse-clicking to perform common tasks, such as speeding up or rewinding a recording while you type. But they’re also expensive, and I've found it’s almost as effective to set up custom hot-keys in Express Scribe. Now I don’t claim to be an expert on foot pedals, having only ever used one for a week back in the ‘90’s, but I've decided not to make this investment until I have a more consistent source of work. Some folks may decide to purchase a pedal upfront and that makes sense, but I suggest you work on mTurk for a few weeks first and use your earnings to buy one. This way, you'll at least get a realistic sense of your enjoyment and aptitude for the work before shelling out any cash.
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Create a free account on mTurk and start transcribing for pay.
Now that you've mastered the tools and standards of transcription, you’re ready to set up a free mTurk account and get started. Once your account is activated, you can find paid transcription tasks (HITs) by searching on the words “transcription” and “transcribe” in the “HITs” tab. At first you might see a number of jobs with the hyperlinked message “you are not qualified to perform this HIT – why?” Clicking that link will lead you to the correct page to take the requester's qualification test. You can also click directly on the “Qualifications” tab and search on “transcription” to see the qualification tests available.
A few employers will start you out with a very easy test and award you a low score, such as 80 out of 100. This will give you access to their entry-level jobs, and as you complete those accurately, your score will improve and you'll gain access to more jobs. Other employers will give you a harder test upfront and award access to jobs based on your test results.
Tips For Success:
– Look for a style guide on the instruction page of every qualification test, and review it carefully before you start.
– Once you start working, try to work for one requester at a time. Many requesters have conflicting style requirements, and it's easy to become confused and make mistakes if you switch back and forth constantly. Remember to review the instructions or style guide before starting the HIT.
– Complete one HIT for an unfamiliar requester and wait to be paid before accepting more HITs from that source. Requesters can reject your HIT and refuse to pay for it without much consequence from Amazon, even after you complete the HIT. This is one major drawback of mTurk. Most reputable requesters don't do this—they want quality workers to take their HITs—but a rejected HIT can prevent you from getting future jobs in addition to ripping you off, so exercise caution.
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– Review the Turker Nation message board, especially the Requesters Hall of Fame/Shame, if you have any doubt about a requester. This site is the official user forum Amazon has set up for mTurk workers (turkers), and has a rating system in place so turkers can rate requesters as “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down” and describe their experiences. As with all message boards, some comments should be taken with a grain of salt because, well, message boards can be magnets for the bitter and disenfranchised (present company excluded, lol). But on the whole, this site is full of useful information for transcription jobs as well as a lot of other interesting HITs you might find on mTurk. The basic guidelines here provide a good launching point.
After several weeks, I’ve found that my favorite requester for transcription work is SpeechInk. They have the highest pay rate among frequent requesters per minute of audio, and their bonus system is consistent and fair. They also take the time to post your work with corrections for you to review, so you can improve your bonus pay quickly. But there are several requesters who pay promptly
and offer consistent work, so your preference will depend on your
particular skills and the kind of work you find most interesting. That’s
one of the big advantages of transcription—there’s a wide variety of
pretty fascinatingstuff out there that someone said, and someone else
wants you to type.
This program is available for United States and Canadian residents.
Create a free account on mTurk
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Article credits to Eddy with a y.
