What You Need to Become a Professional Typist
Why Should You Become a Typist?
Working as a professional typist can be an exciting career for many people. You may be adding this to your tasks as a secretary or working as an independent contractor. This job entails listening to audio files and converting them into text. The type of audio files you may encounter range from research interviews, and medical dictations to business meetings. Transcripts are required for these areas to provide an accurate record of what was said.
Being a typist is a great career option for people who have a desire for lifelong learning and are determined to produce high-quality work. An independent typing contractor working for Pacific Transcription receives many benefits including flexible working hours, the ability to work from home and the satisfaction of running their own business.
What Background Knowledge Does a Professional Typist Need?
To be a successful typist, you need to be knowledgeable in the field you are transcribing. For example, if you will be working as a medical transcriptionist, having knowledge of medical terminology will be a great advantage. The same applies if you are working in academic, legal or business fields. Being knowledgeable in the jargon of the field you are transcribing will help you work more efficiently and create a more accurate transcript.
If you will be working as a typing contractor for a business such as Pacific Transcription, having strong general knowledge and a keen interest in world events will be looked upon favourably. Familiarity with a broad range of subjects when working as a professional typist is vital as you will be challenged with a diverse range of topics.
Probably the most important things for transcriptionists to understand are the rules of English writing. You need to have a strong grasp of spelling, grammar and sentence structures. Knowing simple things, such as the difference between your and you’re, vastly improves the quality of a professional transcript. Take the time to brush up on the basics and improve your writing.
What Skills Are Required to be a Successful Typist?
To be a professional typist you require certain skills which can be acquired through practice.
For example, a Pacific Transcription typist needs to be able to type at a speed of 70 words per minute with 97% accuracy. You may not be at that speed and accuracy yet, but you can reach this speed and accuracy with practice. There are many free typing practice programs and tests online to help improve your speed. Also, you can utilise hotkeys and text expansion apps such as Breevy and PhraseExpander to type with more efficiency.
Some other skills that will be helpful for any typist include:
- Time management
- Computer literacy
- Strong attention to detail
- Communication
- Understanding accents
- Research (e.g. Google)
Which Tools Are Recommended for a Professional Typist?
There are many software programs and equipment that you can utilise to make typing a breeze.
Specialised transcription software programs such as ODMS, SpeechExec Pro and Express Scribe provide a variety of features to optimise your audio. Some of these features include background noise cancellation, speed adjustment and tone control. These are all useful features for transcribing as they can make the audio easier to understand and leads to more accuracy.
In terms of equipment, a foot pedal and a headset are recommended.
Foot pedals
Foot pedals work in conjunction with your transcription software to control the audio playback hands-free. They generally have three to four buttons which you can configure to have a variety of settings. Most commonly, people have the buttons set to play/pause, fast-forward and rewind. Some other functions can include slowdown, jump or next dictation. By allowing you to focus on typing, foot pedals are a simple-to-use tool that can greatly improve your efficiency as a typist. Pacific Transcription sells a range of foot pedals from leading brands, Olympus and Philips.
Headsets
A good quality headset is a requirement for any transcription work. Specialised transcription headsets such as the Olympus E-103 or the Philips LFH-334 are designed with comfort and audio clarity in mind. Transcription headsets are generally ‘on-ear’. For many people, on-ear and lightweight transcription headsets are the most comfortable for wearing over long periods of time. Another advantage of using a transcription headset is that its design is optimised for the frequency range of the human voice.
For further information on transcription software, foot pedals and headsets, please contact the Pacific Transcription Products Team. Some other software and equipment you may want to consider getting are speakers, text expansion apps and the latest version of Microsoft office.
Typists play a vital role in many businesses, so get started with all the skills and tools required to become successful in this field. Good luck and happy typing! If you have further questions about typing or working at a transcription company please call us on 1300 662 173 or contact us online.
Updated 26/07/2022
Thanks very much Catherine. I appreciate your time and assistance. Regards, Mary-Anne.
Hi Catherine
I am an R.N of 25 years experience. I am looking to move into a career as a medical transcriptionist.
I have a strong medical terminology base and love of words. My typing and microsoft office skills are sound.
What additional skills or requirements would I need to meet to be considered for employment by Pacific Transcription?
Thank you in advance.
Hello Kerryn, It’s great to hear from you. How exciting, establishing a new career as a medical transcriptionist, by combining your love of words with your strong knowledge of medical terminology gained through many years of experience as an RN. Some of the other skills and abilities Pacific looks out for in prospective typing contractors is a strong grasp of Microsoft Office suite, excellent research skills, and navigating around a computer system. It sounds like you’ve covered off those, also!
Please read through the information in the Careers section of our website. I encourage you to submit an application via our online portal. We are currently recruiting medical typing contractors, so now is the time to have a go. We look forward to hearing from you. Best of luck, Catherine.
I’m researching courses to gain the best qualification required for transcription services (in Australia).
Is a Certificate or a Statement of Attainment required to gain employment, or some other qualification?
Many thanks for any information you are able to provide.
Hi Mary-Anne, thank you for your query. We don’t generally recommend any particular formal transcription training courses. What we do look out for is an extensive level of prior transcription experience and quality of delivery, which is tested during the application and trial phase of Pacific’s application and training process. So if you have at least three years of research, finance or legal transcription experience, or five years of medical transcription experience, then that weighs very heavily in your favour. Pacific is currently recruiting new typing contractors, so now is the time to apply. Good luck, Catherine.
Thanks you Catherine. My apologies for not getting back to you sooner. Are you able to give me an outline of the application and training process. My career to date has included stenography, administration in the public and private sector, Ministerial correspondence and Government policy documents, Tribunal minutes and Judges’ correspondence and reports. I’m wondering if my years of experience would qualify me to apply without undertaking a Transcription course as such. I appreciate your assistance.
Hi Mary-Anne, thanks for the query. It sounds like you have a wealth of experience which would be extremely transferable into the transcription environment. I encourage you to read through the information in the Careers section of our website, for details on the application process with Pacific Transcription. If you think you have the skills required, by all means, have a go and submit an application.
As mentioned earlier, Pacific does not recommend any particular or specific transcription course; however, I know from our Applications Team that there are some typing contractors who may not have the years of typing experience we look for but do have complementary skills and abilities which are extremely beneficial to becoming a successful, competitive and highly valued typing contractor.
It’s important to have a strong grasp of Microsoft Office suite, excellent research skills, and navigating around a computer system. Just to give you a bit more of an idea of our training process – all our prospective typing contractors go through an intensive training process, which is extremely well supported by our Applications Team members. Training usually spans a month or so.
Please don’t automatically deselect yourself from submitting an application just because you may not have the years of transcription experience we recommend – you may find that your skills are just what is needed to be a typing contractor. Have a go!
Wishing you the best of luck, Catherine.
Hi this is Natalie and I am a qualified Medical Transcriptionist and looking to sub-contract my services.
Hello Natalie, It is lovely to hear that you are interested in subcontracting your qualified Medical Transcriptionist services. We recently reopened our typing contractor opportunities, after being closed for a number of months, due to COVID-19. Having reopened, we are now concentrating on recruiting typing contractors who have strong medical experience, so now is the perfect time to submit your application via our online application process (Careers section on our website). Please feel free to let your medical typing contractor friends and acquaintances know that we’ve reopened our typing contractor opportunities, also. All the best, Catherine.
Good morning! You were recommended through a course I just took to rehash my knowledge. I have 15 years of experience in this field.
Hi Susan, Good morning to you also, and glad to hear we’ve been commended to you. Fifteen years of experience in transcription brings with it an amazing wealth of knowledge, skills and experience.
We’re not contracting at the moment, but please keep visiting the Careers section of our website, as this is where we’ll post when we again open up our typing contractor opportunities.
Go well, and stay safe.
Catherine.
I am a legal typist with five years experience transcribing documents and I have been a typist for over twenty years.
Hi Angela, Thanks for posting on our blog. Unfortunately we’re not reopening opportunities for typing contractors just yet. We continue to assess the fallout of the pandemic and its impacts on Australia, as so many other businesses around Australia are doing.
When we open up again, we’ll be looking for experienced typing contractors, and it sounds like you’ve got loads of experience, which is such an asset.
Please stay tuned, and stay safe.
Catherine.