The back story
2024 is the fifth year I’ve been in this transcription field. It’s quite unexpected that I did one niche in the freelancing world this long. For decades, I have immersed myself in the world of mud, trowels, artefacts, and soil. I have spent too much time cataloguing, but it wasn’t because I had grown tired of handling ancient human bones that I decided to change my life’s path.
It all began simply with being tempted by Pinterest posts about making money working from home. This was back in mid-2018. Knowing very well I could have walked myself into a scam, I still felt the intrigue to try and prove that I could do it. The goal was merely to have an income. I decided to dip my toes in the pool of transcription writing. My weapons of choice: my English skills, a computer, an ergonomic keyboard, a soundbar, and loads of coffee. I think the fifth year is high time for me to do a reflection piece to evaluate and plan for the future.
Five reasons why I love transcribing
What started as a means to have an income became something else along the way. I began to realise that transcribing is quite enjoyable and fulfilling. I’ve had a long relationship with the English language, but transcribing in English lets me dive deeper into appreciating the beauty and quirks of the language. It helps to hone my ESL listening skills, enrich my lexicon, exercise my writing style, train my grammar skills, and understand the cultures where English is spoken as a first or native language.
The second reason I love transcribing is because it makes me feel like I have a direct impact on people’s lives and the community. Transcriptions make any kind of content accessible to everyone, especially those with hearing impairment. I feel that this means I’m not merely typing down speeches from a recording but also helping share knowledge and stories.
I used to be on the other side where I was the one conducting the research. Back then, it took a while to get the impact of my scientific papers, which may appear in the publication or be cited by other researchers. Now, with my eyes more open, I think my impact was limited within the field that I was in back then. Sometimes, the impact may bleed through to related communities, but it certainly wasn’t as wide as being a transcriber. I know now that transcribing often involves working on projects that serve a purpose beyond personal gain. Realising this is very fulfilling for me.
The next reason I love transcribing is because I love to learn. I was in a position where my endeavour to study required some kind of permission or approval from other people, which didn’t make sense to me. Working as a freelancer, I had to learn time management, financial management, and self-care. Being a transcriber allows me to learn anything and everything.
Transcribing is a constant learning journey with all sorts of topics to transcribe. I always love to be intellectually stimulated, and transcription often involves working with topics I never thought I touched before (e.g. cryptocurrency, rock climbing, data science, etc). Once again, I felt liberated to delve into subjects that were foreign to me.
I’m one of those people who choose to work independently, being my own boss, and avoiding all the red tape I was once bound to. Doing my own gig allows me to practice a work ethic that does not go against my conscience. Let me be harsh here: I do not have to lick anybody’s arse to achieve success. I do not have to rely on someone’s permission to get what I want and be what I am. I do not have to lie to save someone’s arse.
All of those, again, make me feel liberated and life a little bit less complicated. Yes, I had to start from scratch, building my profile, gathering my client pool, and managing my working hours. But truthfully, I am surprised I can last this long in this type of job with this much freedom.
I love how I can customise and personalise my transcription service for my clients. My current clients will notice that connecting with me is more than just a transaction of buying my service. I take my work seriously, but I always strive to be sincere in connecting with people. I believe that the key to building strong relationships with clients is to be genuine and friendly while also maintaining appropriate boundaries. These values have been ingrained in me by the culture in which I was raised, and I have found that they have served me well professionally and personally. I am proud to say that this approach has helped me make new friends from all over the world.
Again, I have no arse to lick. I only aim to deliver high-quality, tailored transcription and make people happy they don’t have to spend hours converting speech to text.
Final thoughts
One thing that’s still a myth for me is work/life balance. This is mostly my fault, though. I have a mental note that I should be better at time management to achieve that unicorn work/life balance. Let’s go back to why I started this; income. Yes, I have that now, but I also gained a type of experience that is different from before, one that is more exciting and fulfilling. Overall, I love this job, and I don’t want to stop transcribing. AI transcription can enter the playing field, but I think I’ll still be there, provided there are people who still prefer traditional transcription.
Plans for the future? I’m still undecided about upskilling to subtitling. I heard it’s a good field, too. For now, I am content with where I am and with whom I associate myself. I’ll let the ball roll for another year or two before actually knowing what the next challenge I have for myself is.
As always, if you’re interested in transcribing with me, let’s connect or click here to get all the information.
