Most transcription work pays per audio minute. You are not paid by the hour.

When you are hired by a company you are brought on board as an Independent Contractor (IC). What does this mean?

• There is no guarantee of work on any given day. You are hired project to project when it's available.
• You are responsible for the cost of your own equipment.
• You are responsible for paying your own taxes. (Note: If you make less than $600 with any company you do not need to report this income on your tax return.)

All transcription companies will have their slow periods and their busy periods. During slow periods unfortunately seniority rules as with any company so this may mean little to no work for some.

As an IC you do not need to commit yourself to only one transcription company. Which is an awesome deal! It will give you a variety of assignments with sustainable work.

Most transcribers start off with one transcription company, learn their formats and guidelines, and acclimate themselves to the company until they are comfortable. They learn the companies' busy and slow times and then they will apply to other companies one at a time and learn their process.

Eventually, you will have a portfolio of companies to work with, sustaining you a healthy paycheck each week.

It all depends on you and your willingness to take on projects. It takes time and patience but it is possible. Remember you are building a lasting income. Short-term sacrifices, long-term profit.

We've previously said that transcription pays per audio minute, not per the time it takes you to complete a file.

Now, SOMETIMES a transcript will be paid per page, and not per audio minute. Here's how to budget your work:

A common rule of thumb is that:

one hour of recording generates about 40 pages of 25-line text. 

This ratio holds true no matter what recording method is used and assumes the use of a Courier-style 12pt font, up to 63 characters per line.

To estimate how many pages of transcript a recording will produce, take the total number of minutes involved, divide by 60, then multiply by 40.

Total Minutes divided by 60 times 40 = estimated pages 

Example: For a total of 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 30 seconds. (Ignore the seconds) That adds up to 203 minutes, which divided by 60 gives 3.38 hours, which times 40 equals about 135 transcript pages.