Speechpad Open for Newbies & Professionals

Speechpad: Open for Newbies & Professionals

A lot of people can now enjoy the comfort of working at home, thanks to the online presence of different freelancing jobs, including transcription. And one of the prominent transcription companies offering continuous transcription projects is Speechpad. Find out how you can pursue an exciting transcription career with this awesome service provider in the article from HOWPO work from home guide.

Is Speechpad a Legitimate Enterprise?

Speechpad has been operating in the field of transcription since 2009, cementing its status as a legitimate business. The versatile transcription company offers clients a comprehensive range of professional transcription services in the fields of medicine, legal, corporate, and academics, just to name a few. Some of its well-known clients include Netflix, Amazon, Yahoo, and LinkedIn, among other global enterprises.

Aside from transcription services, Speechpad has also expanded its diversity of services ranging from closed captioning to foreign language translation, which opens its windows of opportunity to talented transcribers from anywhere across the globe. Speechpad is looking for talented and enthusiastic transcribers who possess great listening skills and fast typing speed, primarily needed to complete a written transcript. And the great thing about this company is that they can produce properly-formatted transcripts, depending on complexity, in as short as one day.

Speechpad Application Process

If you wish to become a bona fide member of Speechpad, just like other companies, you need to pass a skills assessment test and a transcription test before you can be allowed to sign a confidentiality agreement form. Now to get started with Speechpad, kindly fill up the online form with your personal details, work schedule, and relevant career credentials and then submit it. Remember to read the transcription style guides of the company to familiarize yourself with the existing policies, transcription guidelines, and work processes.

As Speechpad tries to hire the best transcribers available, you need to score at least 94 over their transcription test to start transcribing for them. The complete set of tests may include a speed typing test, a grammar test, and an actual transcription exam, requiring you to finish the three in less than an hour. You will know the results in few weeks time once you submit the test since your test will be graded in accordance with the set guidelines of Speechpad.

However, Speechpad may implement a temporary suspension of their application process due to the increased number of applications from time to time. Just remain patient if you have already submitted your photo picture and work credentials to them. Speechpad will respond to you if you initially qualify to take the proper test.

As a start, Speechpad is expecting you to own a number of working tools, including foot pedals, a good-working computer, high-speed internet connection, and a great pair of stereo headsets. You must also possess a typing speed of 65 words per minute or even faster.

Work Process

Speechpad has an intuitive job platform where you can view the jobs based on your qualifications and interests. On the job board, select the “Show only jobs I’m qualified for” tab to see the jobs you are allowed to take. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to view all available jobs as you need to elevate your transcriber status to see those better paying projects.

The job board allows you to listen to the audio source for 30 seconds before you decide to accept the work or listen to another file. Just click on the audio/video icon located at the beginning of every project. If you feel that the file is clear enough to you, click on the “Accept Job” button and begin transcribing the file.

You can either transcribe the audio source through a built-in transcribing tool from the platform or work offline using Express Scribe or Inqscribe after you download it. However, you should remember that the turnaround time of Speechpad seems tight, which may prompt you to work on the file once you download it. Experienced transcribers are expected to finish 60 minutes of audio sources in 8 hours, though Speechpad allows time extensions for half the original required time for every job.

If you wish to receive newly-uploaded files, you should check your emails or refresh your browser more often. The challenging part here is that transcribers are required to maintain a performance rating of 94 over specific time duration to keep accessing new jobs. And if you ever encounter some problems while accessing the files or uploading your completed transcripts, there are tech support specialists available to provide assistance which you can reach through email or live chat.

Speechpad won’t penalize you if you decide to return those unclear or broken audio files, particularly if you find the broken parts in the middle section of the track. As you gain experience while trying to maintain a good performance rating, you will be able to access longer audio recordings.

Salary Rates

Speechpad sends payments every Friday via PayPal or checks deposit after determining the number of approved transcripts. New transcribers for Speechpad are only paid $0.25 per audio minute, which can be translated to $15.00 per audio hour.

Once you have completed 30 minutes of transcribed audio while maintaining an acceptable rating, you may get the chance to access newer and longer audio files, thus allowing you to earn a bit more. You can also become qualified to receive rush jobs if you maintain a performance score of 96 and transcribe a total of 500 audio minutes. For rush jobs, Speechpad will pay you at least $0.40 per minute, but you won’t be allowed to use time extensions while transcribing.

With regard to career advancement, you can become a transcript reviewer or lead transcriber if you ever complete a total of 1,000 audio minutes of transcription. Aside from that, if you have a background in medicine, insurance, or paralegal, you may also take their qualifying test to become a specialized transcriber for Speechpad. Transcript translation and closed captioning absolutely pay well.

Pros and Cons

Here are the benefits you may enjoy when working for Speechpad:

  • Flexible work schedules and project types, but the turnaround time is strict.
  • Job platform is easy to learn.
  • Higher compensation can be expected as you move up the ranks.
  • Free video tutorials and career tips
  • Team collaboration is highly recognized through better communication and constructive criticisms from fellow transcribers.

The disadvantages, on the other hand, seem more obvious than the good benefits. When you work for Speechpad, you should always expect stringent work processes to ensure quality and accuracy for every submitted transcript. All transcripts are carefully reviewed by the editors, and you can see the difference between the original file and the corrected one from the job board. Every transcript is reviewed and rated according to the style guides of the company.

If you form a habit of returning 5 files within the day, Speechpad may temporarily suspend your account to discourage you from practicing cherry-picking. Taking too many qualifying tests just to access specialized transcription jobs, like web video captioning and translation, is another disadvantage when working with Speechpad. On the brighter side, you may find a lot of career opportunities from Speechpad if you prove to be an accurate and hardworking transcriber.

Speechpad is definitely a legitimate company offering numerous job opportunities for online freelancers. However, this isn’t the right place for people who want to pursue transcription as a full-time career. Nevertheless, Speechpad can become your excellent passive income source if you’re going to convert your spare time into extra cash.

Aldrich Tan

Aldrich Tan is a duly registered Filipino architect and is currently working as a freelance writer focusing on content writing and blogging purposes.

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