22 Websites That Pay You to Type
Maybe you need a way to make some money to augment the income you receive from your regular job in order to add to that emergency fund you’re trying to grow. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home parent and would like to earn some extra money to be able to splurge on something every now and then. Or maybe you’re a college student who is strapped for cash. If you can type, you should check out the possibilities in this article. All you need for some of the jobs is a computer, and you can decide on how much and when you want to work. The faster you can type, the more money you can make, but many of the jobs don’t have a specific speed requirement.
Typing jobs primarily fall into one of two categories: data entry or transcription. Data entry jobs typically involve presenting information in a tabular form or entering it onto a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel. A few projects may require you to do a little research to verify the information. Data entry jobs may pay per hour, per project, or per keystroke, depending on the client. Transcription jobs usually involve creating a text document from an audio or video file although in some cases you may be typing from a scanned or handwritten document. Audio and video transcription assignments usually pay per audio or video minute, so the faster you type, the more you can earn. If you’re interested in this type of work, consider downloading a transcription software product to your computer. Express Scribe is a free download. While some companies provide you with the software they want you to use, others require that you have your own.
It is helpful to have a good set of headphones when transcribing an audio or video file. Noise-cancelling headphones are recommended. A foot pedal that allows you to control the “play,” “fast-forward,” and “rewind” functions with your foot may also be a worthwhile investment. While not a necessity for many of the transcribing jobs, some clients require it. If you have a knowledge of medical or legal terminology, you can apply for medical or legal transcribing projects, which pay more. You can also earn more if you happen to be bilingual or multilingual since some jobs entail both translation and transcription.
DATA ENTRY JOBS
1. Lionbridge Smart Crowd
Lionbridge is a global company that matches a brand’s service needs with experts. When it was founded over 20 years ago, Lionbridge offered only translation services, but it has expanded into other arenas as well, including data entry. To join the Lionbridge team, you simply register on the site and complete a skills evaluation. Based on the results of your evaluation, you will be assigned a task. You get paid when you complete the task, and the amount of the payment will depend on the assignment.
2. Clickworker
Sign up as an independent contractor with Clickworker, upload a profile, complete some brief assessments, select the categories of jobs that interest you, and receive tasks. Some of the data entry jobs on this site can require you to do some research to obtain the data or to update existing data and/or perform other minor tasks. Contractors get paid once a week via PayPal. Payment varies from project to project.
3. Gorge Warehouse
Fill out an application on the Gorge Warehouse site to be considered for one of several types of jobs listed. A data entry job currently listed involves posting data to a website and internal database and proofreading the input. To be considered, you must be able to type 30 words per minute and have internet access and a printer. Experience with Front Page, Excel, Word, Access and Outlook is preferred. The assignment pays $10.50 per hour.
4. Sig Track
Only residents of the U.S. may apply, except for residents of California or Massachusetts. Labor laws in those two states prohibit the type of work involved. You are required to submit a video of your driver’s license or state ID when applying as verification of your state of residency. The available data entry jobs mainly relate to voter registration and, thus, are seasonal, so this site isn’t always accepting applications. An accuracy rate of 95% is required. Payment is made through PayPal.
5. Xerox
Send a resume to this Fortune 500 corporation and join the Xerox talent community to stay updated regarding opportunities. The company has a virtual office program that enables you to work from home performing various functions. Data entry is one.
6. Axion Data Entry
You must be a U.S. resident to register to work with this Pittsburgh-based firm. Requirements include two to three years of data entry experience, 15,000 keystrokes per hour, and 100% accuracy. You must agree to a criminal background check and pay a fee of $5, $7, or $10, depending on how long you want to remain in their database as a typist. The company says the latter is to discourage individuals who don’t meet the minimum requirements from applying.
7. Upwork
Upwork is an online website for freelancers. Sign up, upload your profile, and search for data entry jobs by typing “data entry” into the search box. There are numerous types of jobs listed in this category. Find ones that appeal to you and submit a proposal to the client, with your desired fee (keeping within the range that the client has stated) and the time you will require to complete the job. At this writing, several of
the opportunities posted pay up to $30 an hour. Bear in mind that Upwork will take 20% of this off the top as a “finder’s fee,” paying you the balance via PayPal, direct deposit, or wire transfer. Your choice.
8. Fiverr
Fiverr is another freelancer website. It functions a bit differently from Upwork in that after you upload your profile, you also create your gig—in this case, data entry—wherein you advertise your services. You’ll want to be creative in order to stand out from among all the other data entry freelancers. Like Upwork, Fiverr takes a fee of 20% before paying you via PayPal for your completed projects.
9. Freelancer.com
Like Upwork and Fiverr, this Australian-based freelancer website also has numerous data entry jobs listed. When the project is an hourly-based one, freelancers are charged 10% of payment due when payment is released. When the project is a fixed-price one, the freelancer pays 10% of what he or she bid to complete the project, or the equivalent of $5 (U.S.), whichever is greater, upon the client’s acceptance of the bid.
10. Guru
This is yet another online freelancer platform on which you can search for data entry jobs and bid on those that interest you. You can also advertise your data entry services on the site. Guru charges a project fee of 9% if you have registered only for the free basic membership. Guru indicates that you can ask your client to pay all of or a portion of this fee when negotiating the job details. You can opt to be paid via PayPal, Payoneer, wire transfer, or direct deposit (available in U.S. only).
11. OneSpace
OneSpace advertises specific vacancies for which you can apply. If you don’t see a job that interests you, OneSpace encourages you to complete an application so that they can contact you when a job you might like becomes available.
12. Microworkers
Microworkers is an international freelancer platform that is unique in that the posted tasks are quick and easy ones, usually taking only a few minutes according to the site. Thus, they are dubbed “microjobs.” It stands to reason that these brief assignments don’t pay a lot, and you do have to have at least $9 plus fees in your account before you can make a withdrawal. The “fees” depend on the withdrawal method you choose. As an example, the fee to use PayPal is 7.5%.
TRANSCRIPTION JOBS
Transcription jobs are also available on a number of the websites mentioned above: Lionbridge, Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Clickworker, OneSpace, Guru, and Microworkers. There are also other sites that are devoted to transcription projects, however. Details for some of these are provided below:
13. Speechpad
You can earn money on Speechpad as either a transcriptionist or a captioner. Captioners are similar to transcriptionists in that they type the words that are spoken as they watch a video. These captions will then be displayed on the video to coordinate with the dialogue. You will need a set of headphones. A foot pedal is recommended, but not required. You must be able to pass a test and demonstrate a typing speed of 40 words per minute. Payment ranges from $0.25 to $2.50 per audio minute, varying with the audio quality of the file, the priority of the job (e.g., rush order), and the language, among other things. Speechpad deposits your earnings each Tuesday and Friday to your PayPal account.
14. Allegis Transcription
Allegis Transcription specializes in insurance and legal document transcribing. To qualify for a job you must be a fast and accurate typist and have excellent spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills. You must also own an up-to-date PC with Word 2013 or a more recent version installed, a headset, a foot pedal, and, for legal work, an audio player.
15. Audio Transcription Center
There are a variety of transcription jobs available through this Boston-based firm, including oral history interviews (with WW II vets, farmers, midwives), tech webinars, financial reports, and focus group tapes. Applicants must take a test and pass with a speed of 75 words per minute with 98% accuracy. You must commit to be able to provide a turnaround time of 24 hours or less for an hour-long file. You can take on as many projects as your time allows. Audio Transcription sends out weekly paychecks.
16. Accutran Global
This Canadian-based transcription company’s website lists available jobs for which you can choose to apply. Qualifications include a minimum speed of 70 words per minute and the ability to transcribe heavily-accented English spoken by those for whom English is a second language, predominantly native Asian speakers. Headphones are required; a foot pedal is recommended, but not required. Payment depends on the project, but the average audio-per-minute rate translates to $40 to $60 an hour.
17. Daily Transcription
Daily Transcription welcomes beginners to apply for transcription jobs on its website. You must be a native English speaker, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the U.S., Canada, the UK, South Africa, or Australia to apply. A minimum speed of 50 words per minute is required. The average pay is $0.75 to $0.85 per audio minute, and payment is made weekly. You can earn even more if you are bilingual or multilingual.
18. Hollywood Transcriptions
You will find the link to an application on the company’s website. Qualifications include typing 65 words per minute, fluency in English, and excellent spelling and grammar. Transcription software and a foot pedal are requirements. Both transcription and captioner jobs are available.
19. Rev
Rev pays freelance transcribers $0.30 to $1.10 per audio or video minute. Payments are made weekly via PayPal. You can also apply for captioner projects, which pay from $0.54 to $1.10 a video minute. If you are fluent in a foreign language, you can earn even more by typing foreign subtitles.
20. Scribie
Scribie pays transcribers $5 to $25 per audio hour. Most files are six minutes or less. Freelancers also receive a $5 monthly bonus for every three hours worked during the month. Payment is made to your PayPal account.
21. Transcribe Me
Transcribe Me pays $15 to $22 per audio hour, and the assignments generally involve two-to-four minute clips as opposed to hour-long interviews. No special transcription program is needed since you will be utilizing the company’s WorkHub. Headphones are recommended. You must be 18 years or older to apply and pass Transcribe Me’s three-hour-long English entrance exam. You must have a PayPal account to receive payment.
22. QuickTate
The transcription projects you will find on QuickTate vary from memos, to phone calls, to medical files, to letters. After applying for work on QuickTate, you will create a typist account, which will be activated if your references check out and you pass the requisite quizzes and tests. You must also agree to pay $20 for a background check and have accurate spelling and punctuation skills. The pay for general transcription work is ¼ cent per word, or 1 cent per 4 words. Medical transcription work pays ½ cent per word, or 1 cent for every 2 words. Payment is made weekly to your PayPal account.
