Performing a transcription work is one convenient way to pursue an exciting work-at-home career adventure. And searching for a legitimate typing project has become more comfortable because of the continuous presence of transcription service providers over the internet, like Appenscribe and work from home guide HOWPO.
Is Appenscribe a Trustworthy Transcription Enterprise?
There are plenty of certified service providers out there looking for a qualified home-based transcriptionist. Appenscribe, which is located in Australia, is just one of those long-standing transcription companies that will compensate for your effort to work remotely as a transcriber. And the good thing is that Appenscribe warmly welcomes all transcribers with various experience levels from all corners of the globe.
As a transcriber for Appenscribe, you are expected to perform general and specific types of transcription jobs, ranging from corporate to medical transcription. You will get paid by the number of transcribed words as well as additional incentives when you perform consistently.
Appenscribe Application Process
Appenscribe has made its application process quite easy to undertake. Interested applicants, as young as 18 years old, can sign up for an account as long as the registration page supports their country of origin. Register an account first and then fill out the information sheet with your personal details, country of origin, career information as a transcriptionist, and foreign languages you can speak aside from English.
Upon submission, you will be asked to download the styling guide and succeeding application procedures before moving on to the next step. Take the transcription test, which may require you around 90 minutes to complete. The transcription test involves transcribing a couple of audio files and a short quiz to evaluate your comprehension skills, grammar usage, and typing speed.
Though not specified, an average transcriber for Appenscribe should have a typing speed of at least 60 words per minute to complete several orders. After completing the test, wait for their confirmation email, informing you of your test results and other necessary resources before you start working. Their response time may vary between two business days to as far as two weeks due to the overwhelming number of job applicants.
Remember not to forget your username and password as you will need these details to log into your account later. When you pass the exam, visit your personal job board and start claiming the available projects from the list.
Now, to qualify as a transcriber for Appenscribe, you should meet several job qualifications as stated below:
- At least 18 years of age
- Excellent comprehension or listening skills
- Proficient in various word processing tools, including PDF, .txt and MS Word formats
- Excellent research, leadership, and organizational skills
- Typing speed of at least 60 words per minute
- Ability to speak different languages (intended for translation projects)
About working accessories, applicants are expected to have the following:
- Preferred media player or transcribing software
- High speed internet connection
- Foot pedals (Not required, but preferred)
- Stereo headphones
- Working computer with moderate hardware specifications (sufficient for document creation and internet research)
- PayPal account
Work Process
While working for Appenscribe, you will encounter different types of transcription jobs from general transcription to transcript editing, depending on the available work volume. You only need to log into your account and check what’s on the job listing. Remember that you will be competing with other transcribers, so the available projects today might not be available the next time you visit the platform.
Just claim whatever projects you think will suit your skills and time availability. Appenscribe also allows you to preview the task for half a minute to determine if you can handle the audio quality. For every job, the media content, pay rate, audio length, and other special instructions are all written upfront, helping you decide whether to accept the project or move to another available work.
You can choose the type of transcription you like to transcribe, whether you want to work on general projects or more advanced ones. However, you need to maintain a good performance rating or try to remain consistent with your work in order to access longer and more technical projects. Transcribers are encouraged to keep at least 30 hours of work or longer per week to receive a continuous stream of the workload from Appenscribe.
Appenscribe gives you the full freedom to choose when you want to work or what type of transcription project you want to do. What’s more important here is that you can submit the finalized transcript before the target deadline.
Salary Rates
Appenscribe pays on time for your approved transcripts every two weeks through PayPal. On average, a transcriber can earn at least $220.00 if he or she can work for 30 hours in a week at the very least.
Appenscribe pays their transcribers in various ways, including per transcribed word, per sentence line, or per audio minute. There’s no fixed rate as the pay rate is based on the project complexity, audio clarity, audio length, and required document formatting style. However, the pay is always on the disadvantage side, no matter how you get paid for every transcript.
Some audio files only pay you $0.005 per transcribed word or $5.00 for 1,000 words. Even experienced transcribers find it difficult to earn between $5 and $10 per hour. But if you can speak another language other than English, you might be able to earn a bit better through document translation or video subtitling.
Pros and Cons
Working for Appenscribe seems flexible, but the company only hires transcribers as independent contractors and not as their employee. This only means that there are no work benefits or leave credits while you are employed. When you get hired, here are the good benefits you may expect from them:
- Job platform is easy to learn
- Flexible working process (either you transcribe using their built-in media player or your own personal transcribing tool)
- Job listing is open to all levels of transcribers regardless if the audio files are short or long
- Convenient working schedule even during busy months
- Better earning capacity for multilingual speakers who can translate or interpret other languages
For the disadvantage side, you should expect these scenarios to happen while working for Appenscribe:
- Work time is flexible, but Apprenscribe is expecting you to work at least 20 hours per week, otherwise your account will be deactivated after a certain period of time.
- Earning at the beginning may look discouraging since new transcribers are usually paid by per transcribed word basis.
- Pay is relatively low for non-native English speakers as they are tasked to handle general transcription jobs or those files so called as “crowd-source” files. For native English speakers, referring to U.S. and Australian residents, on the other hand, are listed as “Apprenscribe English” transcribers who can access transcription jobs that requires native speaking accent. This enables them to work on more technical audio sources and earn better than their foreign counterparts.
What’s good about Appenscribe is that the company hires beginners and foreign transcriptionists, but the pay won’t be sufficient enough to sustain a daily living. So, the best option is to add another good-paying online job to complement your monthly paycheck.
Aldrich Tan is a duly registered Filipino architect and is currently working as a freelance writer focusing on content writing and blogging purposes.