Transcriber
(Male, Age 30) from New York, NY
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 30 who works as a Transcriber in New York, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Transcriber |
|---|---|
| Salary | $24,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 30 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | New York, NY |
| Years Experience | 1 year |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for a media transcription company, transcribing taped interviews for various media and corporate projects.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Transcribing tapes verbatim, checking/proofreading
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
None.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Reasonably well – the flexibility is the important thing
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
It’s fairly solo — I talk to managers about questions but mostly work on my own.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 8
Hours: 2
Co-Workers: 6
Supervisors: 5
Job Title: 3
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 4
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | |
| 8am to 9am | |
| 9am to 10am | Typed out two transcripts, both media – one for a network and one for another company. |
| 10am to 11am | Finished the second transcript and left for a while. |
| 11am to 12pm | |
| 12pm to 1pm | |
| 1pm to 2pm | Started typing more network transcripts |
| 2pm to 3pm | Continued typing |
| 3pm to 4pm | Continued typing, started a new one. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Continued typing |
| 5pm to 6pm | Finished my transcripts for the day. |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Backstage Magazine
What was the application process?
Submitted resume
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes — mostly informational interview, and then later I had to do a sample transcription as a test
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Mostly my background and my goals.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I felt well-prepared by this training, and by my previous experience.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Some, yes. I had a day of training on their various methodologies. I had worked a similar job before so I didn’t need a whole lot. And then several weeks of doing transcriptions and having someone look over them.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Somewhat — I have a wide variety of background and I keep up with the news, which is what many of the media stories relate to. But it’s not exactly my field (theatre).
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Not applicable
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Learn to type quickly, and good grammar/spelling skills, primarily. A wide variety of knowledge is also helpful. And then apply to various agencies around town.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Again, typing skills are most important, and basic computer skills, grammar/proofreading/spelling for accuracy. Also good listening skills help.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Somewhat. It’s a lot easier to transcribe if you have a basic knowledge of various terminology and a decent education
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Type everything verbatim and accuracy is more important than speed
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Not really, but it keeps me going while I pursue my real career. I don’t think many people are career transcribers.
What are your current career goals?
To make a full-time living as an actor.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Nothing I can think of.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Transcriber | 3 months | $.80/page | Media transcription of tapes |
| Prior Job 2 | Online marketer | 1 month | $11/hr | I was hired for a month to market a movie online, via chat rooms and the Internet. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.8
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.4 | Whitman College | Theatre, BA |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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