Transcribing is no boring desk job

Have you ever noticed the curious stares from people when somebody mentions that they are a transcriber? It is intriguing for people who wonder what a transcriber’s life is like. And it is not as dreary or monotonous as one would assume. Like every other day job there are the good, bad and ugly days.

To hear it from the horses mouth, here is a transcribing professional who’s worked for a general transcription services firm and who claims vehemently she loves what she does.

Come morning and a slew of recordings wait prettily at the desk!

What is the first thing that greets you when you walk into your office? Most probably, a switched of computer! For a transcriber it is dozens of voices, accents and transcription needs. It could be a recording on the recently held webinar on global warming, or the tired voice of a dissertation student snowed under research work. It could be the voice of a Chinese entrepreneur looking for business transcription services or of a Hollywood filmmaker.

And this is what makes the job entertaining, interesting and challenging. Or, according to Annette, our, erstwhile transcriber “a whole lot of fun”.

It is way past lunch time but there is a rush order to rush through!

Most transcription firms offer a turnaround times that can be so quick you wonder if it is a human being who’s actually transcribing it. It is and sometimes they work past lunch hour or put in extra hours after everybody’s made their way to the parking lot, to deliver that rush hour request on time.

Chasing deadlines can be nerve wrecking enough, chasing other people’s deadlines might seem downright unfair. But that is just another day at office for transcription professionals.

Where the sun never sets!

Round the clock services are the norm nowadays. So a transcriber typing away furiously after, the stars shine happily in the sky, is no longer an anomaly. When the whole world goes to sleep or catches up on late night television, transcribers are hard at work and listening to voices from far away. I’ve heard of transcribers who stay back at office after eight on a Saturday night, but still smiling like the cat that got the cream, after typing out a perfect transcript.

There are those who might be scared stiff thinking of how hard, life is for a transcriber. But there are those like Annette who wouldn’t swap it “for any other job in this world!”