How I Chose My Career - Transcriptionist

I like to say that I didn't choose my career as a transcriptionist - it chose me. It's funny how sometimes things just pull you towards a specific direction and it all falls into place. It's even better if that happens at just the right time.

I was very into my career as a Realtor in 2008 when the recession hit. I was trying to hang on, but it was hard to get my clients approved for a mortgage. If they couldn't get a mortgage, I couldn't sell a house. So, I put my license on inactive status and started working two very low paying jobs while trying to find a better one. Months went by and it seemed impossible. The unemployment rate where I lived in Myrtle Beach was over 10%. I decided to move to a bigger city.

I moved to Savannah, Georgia in February of 2007 and got a job waiting tables. The plan was to do this job while looking for something better. I couldn't find anything that would pay me what I needed and the competition for the jobs I did find was high. I started falling behind on my bills and needed to do something fast. I was starting to run out of the money I had in my savings account.

I signed online one day and a news article caught my eye. It was about how to make extra money, so I clicked on it. The author mentioned Amazon's Mechanical Turk, so I signed up. It was horrible. The pay was low for the jobs (below minimum wage). But, it was something for me to do in my spare time and I was making a little bit of money doing it.

One of the companies that uses Mechanical Turk is a transcription company. So, I started transcribing 10 minute snippets of audio for them despite the low pay. I got paid on the job, not how long it took me to do it. Since I type over 120 words per minute and have good grammar skills, I started doing that as much as I could. I also mentioned to my mother that this was something that I was doing. My mother told my aunt.

Of course, I knew my aunt worked in a law firm. What I didn't know was they hired their own transcriptionists to transcribe the court hearings. It never occurred to me. When my aunt found out I was doing this, it was also at a time where her company needed new transcriptionists. She shot me an email and asked if I was interested. Of course I was! And the pay was ten times better than what I was getting paid via Mechanical Turk.

I had always loved to type and enjoyed typing games. It was also kind of interesting. A lot of the interviews, podcasts and teleseminars were informative, funny or inspiring. I was loving the work. It was much better than waiting tables.

I started diligently looking for more transcription work via various sites online. It was hard to find jobs as a freelancer. I actually spent more time trying to find jobs than I did actually doing the work and I had to charge really low rates at first. However, everyone who hired me came back to me when they needed more audio transcribed. It was a great feeling. I wasn't making much money and I was working 12-15 hours a day doing transcription. But, every month I was making more money than the one prior. I had to leave my job waiting tables as it cut into my transcription time. Of course, I didn't mind this at all and, eventually, I was able to raise my rates.

I've just recently opened my own transcription company - MagiScript! I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished in just one year. Although I do feel I was led in this direction, it took many, many hours of work and dedication. I work long days every day and my life is dictated by how many hours I have to transcribe.

Every job has drawbacks, though. But all in all, I really do love the work and appreciate the ability to work from home (or wherever I may be). It affords me the opportunity to go and visit my parents in Myrtle Beach whenever I want to because I don't have to take time off from work. I just bring my laptop and I can work from their house. I can also pretty much make plans for whenever I want.

Although when I was little, "transcriptionist" wasn't my dream job. However, "business owner" is pretty cool and I love what I do.