Today, we
are talking about National Capitol Contracting, a company that regularly hires
work from home transcribers.
They
started out as a closed-captioning service, partnering with the National
Institute of Health. Over time they have expanded their business into a huge
variety of other niches, including media production, information management,
and systems design.
They
contract out to quite a few large companies and government agencies, providing
a wide range of different services, and catering to the needs of each unique
client.
Working
for National Capitol Contracting
There
isn't a great deal of information in their hiring literature about the day to
day workflow, but from what I can gather, this sounds very similar to a lot of
other transcription jobs.
You'll be
listening to audio recordings, sometimes with multiple people talking, and
trying to transcribe all the words as accurately as possible. Typing speed and
attention to detail are crucial skills if you want to make good money in this
kind of work.
You may
have to go back through an audio file and listen to each section several times
to get everything exactly right, and for this reason, many transcriptionists use foot-pedals that let
them rewind, fast-forward, and pause without taking their hands off the
keyboard.
Transcription
work can be very lucrative and enjoyable for some people, while others will
find it endlessly frustrating. The only way to know for sure which camp you fall
into is to give it a try.
National
Capitol Contracting Pay Rate
The
starting wage at NCC is $40 per audio hour, but it can take a while to
transcribe one hour of audio, depending on a variety of different factors.
Some audio
files are very clean and easy to work with, while others are lower quality,
with lots of overlapping speech. In some cases you might also have to decipher
difficult accents.
According
to the NCC website, it takes an average of four hours for their transcribers to
work through one hour of audio, which works out to about $10 per hour. Some
people will do a lot better than that, others will do worse.
Apparently
it's possible to get a raise if you show yourself to be dependable over a
period of time.
Scheduling
with National Capitol Contracting
You're
free to set your own schedule as long as you meet your deadlines and transcribe
at least three hours of audio every week. For most people, this will take about
12 hours of actual work-time.
Basic
Requirements
There are
no set in stone requirements, but according to their hiring page, they prefer
applicants with certain skills, educational backgrounds, and previous work
experience, including:
·
Degree(s)
in English, creative writing, public policy, health/medical research, or the
social sciences
·
Transcription
and/or captioning experience
·
Experience
with AP, MLA, and/or Chicago Style guidelines
·
Demonstrated
ability to work independently and meet strict deadlines
·
Clear
and professional written and verbal communication skills
·
Intermediate
computer proficiency/ability to independently troubleshoot program
installations and maintenance
·
Foreign
language proficiency
Since none
of the above are technically required, you might want to give the job a shot
even if your resume doesn't quite measure up.
Tech requirements
You will
need a PC or Mac running an operating system no older than Windows 7 or OSX.
NCC will provide you with the necessary transcription software.
Optionally,
if you're really serious about transcription and want to maximize your income,
you might also choose to purchase a pedal,
and a good set of headphones.
Feedback
On National Capitol Contracting
I
used Glassdoor to
find information and opinions from transcriptionists working for NCC.
Overall,
the company has a score of 3.2 stars, but most of those reviews are from office
employees who seem to work in totally different departments than the
transcribers.
The two
reviews from people who actually worked in transcription weren't particularly
detailed, but neither of them seemed to like the job all that much.
One
transcriber gave the company three stars, saying the job could be repetitive
and soul crushing.
The other
transcriber only gave them two stars, complaining about the repetitive nature
of the work, along with the lack of job security. Both were upset about the low
pay.
These sorts
of complaints are fairly typical with transcription work for obvious reasons –
listening to audio files and typing them up can get pretty boring and
repetitive after a while.
But some
people really do seem to like these jobs anyway, so don't let the negative
comments dissuade you if transcription seems like something you'd be good at.
For certain folks it really is a perfect fit.
How To Get
Started
Go here to read more about
National Capitol Contracting's transcription jobs, and put in an application if
you'd like to give it a try.
If you
have any past experience working for this company, please tell us about it in
the comments section below. We'd love to hear about your experience.
Are You Serious About Pursuing a Career in General Transcription?
If you
don't know a lot about transcribing from home, I recommend Transcription Foundations –
a free 7-lesson mini-course that teaches you all about general transcription,
how much you can earn, where to find work, and more.
Good luck
in whatever you choose to do!
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