Pros And Cons of Working as a Freelance Transcriber

In today’s world, the way how work is done is gradually changing. A few years ago, very few people were into freelancing. People generally preferred to work the 9 to 5 job. Now, many professionals prefer working as freelancers. A  survey  shows about 20% of workers in the United States are freelancers in several niches.

One of the most common freelancing jobs people do at the moment is freelance transcription. If you are thinking of becoming a freelance transcriber, this article will give you the pros and cons of this job.

Pros of being a Freelance Transcriber

Working as a freelance transcriber has several advantages. Discussed below are some pros.

Flexibility

One of the major advantages of working as a freelance transcriber is it offers you a lot of flexibility. You get to decide:

• The number of days you work,
• The number of hours you work,
• The amount of work you do,
• The type of work you do.

For most conventional workers, work is an  inflexible necessity.  An employee must do all types of work assigned to them within a specific timeframe. As a freelance transcriber, you set your timetable. You can decide to accept or reject a job offer from a client. When you accept a job offer, you can negotiate pay and the deadline.

Improve Skills

Working as a freelance transcriber means you listen and transcribe audio or video records. By extension, you are improving your listening ability and typing capacity. Although you may not think much of it now, these skills can be invaluable to your future. Additionally, your grammar and general grasp of the language improves after each transcription session. Having these skills can open up opportunities in writing and translation. Or, you can use a  academic translation service  to transcribe recordings into the language of your choice.

Remote Work

As a freelance transcriber, you can easily work remotely from anywhere in the world. You can work from home or any location around the world. With the rise of several functional conferencing apps, you can seamlessly communicate with clients and all your collaborators easily. Additionally, you can work with whom you want without any restriction. In the event you want to start your own business, you can easily grow a  low-cost enterprise.

Cons of being a Freelance Transcriber

Some cons of being an independent transcriber are considered below.

Extra Costs

Being a freelance transcriber means you have to purchase all the equipment you need. Purchasing quality listening equipment can consume a large portion of your income. Moreover, you will have to buy a host of other devices like a laptop and a workstation.

Job Insecurity

As a freelancer, you do not have  job security.  A client is not obligated to work with you. If they work with you, they can dissolve the contract at any point. Also, you can have moments of no offers from customers. It can leave you in a fix.

Payment Problems

When you are working independently as a transcriber, you will meet clients that will refuse to pay you. You can perform hours of transcription, and your client can decide to reject the work simply because they don’t want to pay. Other clients will refuse to respond to your emails once they get their hands on the finished work.

Conclusion

In the last few years, many people are opting to work as freelance transcribers. Many more people are likely going to select this career because of its advantages. In general, there are several pros to working as an independent transcriber. Although you will have a flexible schedule, there are many cons to being an independent transcriber. The worst of it all is you do not have job security.

About Author

As a writer, Melony Hart creates useful content relating to transcription and translation. She works as a freelancer with several online platforms. Melony considers learning new languages a hobby.