Transcribing - jumped in too soon?

DallasIma

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 1:21 pm

I'm a retired grandma, no kids at home (that's why I didn't post this in the "work at home mothers" subforum), just DH and me at home. (He's retired too.) I've done transcribing work at home, sometimes in addition to full-time or part-time work outside my home, for more than 30 years, and have rarely ever had trouble with that.

A few months ago, someone from my shul asked me if I'd like to do transcribing at home for a company he runs. They tested me and I passed, and when his quality control manager trained me, she was very impressed with my work. Not bragging, but in all of my working life, people always were impressed with my speed and accuracy.

So I took a couple of assignments, but it got overwhelming very quickly, and I wonder if I jumped in too soon. An assignment that should have taken me maybe 4-5 hours, at the worst, took me 12 hours of hard labor! Some feedback I had from others who were sharing the assignment said that they generally take 2-3 hours of work to do 1 hour of audio - which is my normal time for transcribing jobs I've done for other people - and my daughter, who does medical transcriptions from home, also said it shouldn't have taken me that long.

I've had 3 assignments thus far, and they've all been like that. They took me much longer than I had expected. It isn't anything like the assignments I've been taking from one steady customer, a company in New York, for the past 30-plus years.

Did I jump in too soon? I quickly cut back my minutes of availability so I won't burn out or melt down, but I wonder if I bit off more than I can chew, altogether, in taking this on. (I'm all caught up with whatever was due, so that's not an issue at the moment.)

I've always been a high-strung type of person who must get work done ASAP, even without a deadline (and these assignments seem to have very tight deadlines and demand a high degree of accuracy at the same time). I focus very narrowly and can't focus on much else until a given assignment is done. And if, let's say, they want it on Thursday, I work frantically so that I will complete it by Wednesday. That's my style, and at my age I don't see that I'm going to change.

Thank G-d, I don't need the money from this - it's just for extras - but I did want to use my skills with this, and I thought I had good skills even though now I feel I'm out of my league.

Opinions and advice are welcome.

reportrmom

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 2:02 pm

I am a court reporter by training, but I've been home with babies for about the last five years. Over the years I have taken some transcribing work to do at home from time to time. My experience is it very very much depends on the quality of the audio. Sometimes - actually, quite often I would get sent things of very poor sound quality. These would take forever to take down as I would need to keep stopping and rewinding and then proofread against the recording to make sure. How was the sound on the jobs you took?

DallasIma

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 2:50 pm

This is court work also, and especially with the last assignment, the quality was very poor. Others on the job complained about that recording as well. The assignment I had before that one was a meeting with many people, but the person doing most of the talking wasn't sitting near the mike, and the person who WAS near the mike was rustling papers. I'm sort of used to that type of thing because I've been doing meeting transcriptions for decades, but with legal stuff, as you know, it has to be very precise and exact, and most of the time you can't put down "inaudible" or the equivalent if you can't make it out. So yes, there was a lot of starting and stopping and rewinding, and that's why it took me so long. I didn't have that kind of trouble on the files they trained me on. I don't know if it's just the way it happened that those assignments were awful, or if most of them are going to be that way. I guess the company doesn't check before it parcels out the assignments, as to whether the files are audible or not, or whether they may have other difficulties. On the one hand I'm looking forward to more assignments because it's interesting work, but on the other hand the thought of any more of it stresses me out.

reportrmom

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 3:06 pm

If the sound is really really bad I might give it back. Or ask for more money to do it. I've fone that but u have to be careful when u do that because you don't want them not to call you again. Also I would put the word (unintelligible). Rather than inaudible unless it was a matter of low volume that I could not hear.

I don't know if you are a court reporter but if you certify the transcript I would not certify that this is exactly what was said. I wasn't there. I would certify that I transcribed it to the best of my ability. If they don't like that I would tell them to find somebody else.

DallasIma

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 3:22 pm

The company has standard formats for each type of court. For some, it is possible to put "indiscernible," but for most of them, the format sheet says to try not to have any indiscernibles. All transcripts are edited by someone in the company before they are sent back to the customer, but there has to be a certification appended to each transcript. The last two jobs were split among many people, so I myself did not have to actually sign a certification although generally that's what they require.

The quality control manager (the one who trained me) told me that "we don't get to pick and choose" which assignments we get. She is totally supportive and encouraging to me, and she does say that I'm a good transcriber. But if I don't get to pick and choose, then I don't really have any control over what they send me. Yes, I could turn an assignment back, but then they probably will never give me any more (and besides, someone will end up doing it and so they'll have to suffer instead of me).

The company did end up giving me more money for both of these last assignments - they are really good that way - but even making a good wage isn't worth it to me if it's going to cost me my health. It's taken me a couple of days just to bounce back from the stress with that last one. (Thank G-d, Shabbat is coming!)

Each person does get to tell the company when she (or he) is available, how many minutes for which days, and I've already told them I won't be available in March and until after the end of Pesach. But even for the rest of February, I've still cut back my availability drastically, now that I see that I can't do anywhere near what I had projected without its taking a toll on my strength.

So I'm in a dilemma. I don't want to let anyone down, but I also don't want to take on more than I can handle. Maybe it's just a matter of trial (no pun intended, haha) and error. Maybe I just have to find a good balance between too much and too little. I'm just wondering, though, if I am cut out for this altogether. I always thought I was, but boy, I sure am having my doubts now.

DallasIma

Fri, Feb 24 2012, 3:46 pm

I don't mind the loud and domineering guys (before I took on this stuff, I always thought all lawyers were loud and obnoxious!). At least you can turn down the volume on them, although sometimes they talk so loud their voices are distorted. But it's the people who mumble that drive me crazy. (I've had more than my share of those in the meetings I've transcribed over the years, too - you would think if someone is saying their deathless prose, they would say it in enough of a voice that it WOULD be deathless.) Even with the volume turned up as high as it can go (and yes, I use headphones), it's impossible to understand what these people are saying. I have had more than one instance, too, where the volume is up high so I can hear one of those characters, and THEN suddenly the loud, domineering person bursts in and shatters my eardrums. But now I'm just ranting. I'm still trying to figure out a good solution. I guess right now it's just wait and see. If they can give me short little assignments that I can handle, then, fine. If not, then ... well, maybe I should put an "indiscernible" here, lol!