Weekly Work At Home Recap 03-12-10
I hope you all had a great week! We had some nice weather at the start of the week here in NY. It was nice to get out with my family and enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. But mother nature is back in a nasty mood and we're back to the gloom. Her husband must be a real jerk because she's been in a funk for a few months now. Jeez!
Random Thoughts
So last week I told you I'm still trying to figure out what I would like to yap about in my new weekly posts. After some thought, I figured I would share some things I've noticed or experienced during a given week. As always I'll try to provide value. But I'm sure some of the stuff I talk about will be nothing more than my brain farts. In any event, for those of you who find my ramblings as interesting as watching paint dry, feel free to skip down below to the job leads section. However I can't promise I won't be talking about you. lol
Well off to my rambling.
The State of Home Training or Lack There of…
Is it just me or are people becoming increasingly rude? I was under the assumption that most of us were raised with home training and not in a barn. But I'm finding that this is not the case, especially when it comes to email etiquette. I probably answer 50-100 emails a week regarding work at home or scams. It can be tough because it tends to be the same questions. But worst still is the fact that some people are clearly visiting the site but choosing to ignore the information I've laid out to answer their questions. But I digress. What's really getting my goat is that out of nearly 100 emails per week, maybe 2-3 will take the time out to say thank you for a response. This totally bugs me out and maybe it's because of the way I was raised. But what do you folks think? Are "thank yous" no longer in fashion? Did I miss the memo? Should I stop teaching my little princess home training?
The Rise of Negative Nancism….
For the most part we have a lot of like minded and positive thinking people that visit this site. Often we get spammers or self promoters but I usually delete their comments so it doesn't take away from the experience I'm trying to create here. But every once in a while we have some haters or negative Nancys that pop up. Last week was no exception. There were a few comments from people downing some of the low pay scale opportunities I've listed on this site. Now look, if you're a loyal subscriber, you already know I'm quick to point out cons of any given opportunity. Because there is no such thing as a perfect company. All of them have annoying flaws. So I make it a point to acknowledge them so you can make an informed decision. A lot of times I'm able to work through flaws and that's probably because I have the mindset that you can make lemonade out of any lemon if you work hard enough.
But what "fezzes" me up is when someone who has clearly never made a dime online bad mouths an opportunity because it's not "worth their time" or "doesn't pay enough". Everyone is entitled to their opinions but if it's not worth your time or doesn't pay enough, keep it moving. After all I always include links to traditional work at home jobs as another option if these low paying opportunities aren't appealing to you. I totally understand that some people need a so called "real job" right away to pay the bills. No argument here about that, do what you have to do and focus on the traditional jobs. However, why bad mouth these other opportunities and make others feel stupid for giving something legitimate a shot just because you don't feel it's right for you? I just don't understand what others gain by doing this.
Folks, if you come across one of these comments, please don't let them corrupt your mindset or feel bad for giving an opportunity a shot especially if it's legitimate. Keep the following statement in mind. A lot of the haters are usually people that haven't made a dime online. So entertaining their feedback is like asking your accountant for penis enlargement surgery. It doesn't make any sense. (By the way, I know nothing about this type of surgery. I was purely using this as a funny metaphor. Don't get any ideas. lol) Taking advice from someone that doesn't have a record of success in making money at home will only help you mimic their results.
When I first started getting into this work at home industry, I eventually stumbled upon a get paid to read email site. I was fascinated with the idea of getting paid for something I already did. I read the information and learned that it would be about $.01 cent per email. Obviously I knew I couldn't possibly earn a living like this. So it wasn't like I was going to quit my day job. But I just wanted to see if it would work. Sure enough I made a few cents within a day or two of signing up. To me this was huge! I just made a few cents doing something online that I do for free! It was mind boggling. Whereas my family and friends laughed at this. It opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities. What else could I get paid for doing online? How would I go about doubling or tripling the effort that earned me the few cents? It was because of that mindset I spent the next few years absorbing all the information I could about various work at home opportunities. If they were legitimate I gave it shot. I went from earning a few cents to eventually earning thousands of dollars per month and finally quitting my job. Now if I would have listened to my family and friends I would still be working for the man like many of them are. And that's no disrespect to them. Because many of them have benefited from my efforts and I'm trying my best to free them from their grind. But the point is where people saw an opportunity that was allegedly beneath them, I saw gold in them there hills.
You may have negative nancies in your life right now. Some of them may actually be your family members and friends. God bless them all because they usually have our best interest at our heart. But don't let them or any of the haters that may comment on this blog disuade you from giving things a shot or accomplishing your goals. If they haven't achieved the type of success you want in their lives then taking advice from them is as sound as Hillary Clinton becoming a stripper. I like Hillary but it's probably not the best move! Well neither is heeding the feedback of people who don't make money from home.
And that's the last of my random thoughts for today. Hopefully you enjoyed reading my babbling and you got some value out of it. If not, you probably already skipped down to the leads below and no harm was done. Cheers either way. If you have any thoughts on anything I've said here, feel free to chime in below. Until next week, love, peace and hair grease. 
Monday 3/8/10
- Editor
- Customer Care Representative
- General Education Instructor
- Marketing/Administrative Support
- Writers
- Customer Service Representative
Tuesday 3/9/10
- Customer Service Representative/Dispatcher
Wednesday 3/10/10
- Writers
- Health, Fitness, Nutrition Writers
- Research and Analysis Assistant for a Psychology Book
Thursday 3/11/2010
- Blogger
- Bookkeeper/Administrative Assistant
- Customer Service Representative
Recommended Instant Work At Home Opportunities
Work At Home With Amazon.com (Data Entry, Typing, etc)
More Job Leads
HomeJobStop.com (Membership based site)
Sponsored Listings For ...
Did you know Eddy earns 5 figures monthly at home w/o a job?
All this, just by giving helpful solutions to hundreds of people.
You can too, with the right guidance. How?
Click here to find out...
BBB Listed Work At Home Company
Get Paid To Type Your Opinions.
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Get Paid To Search Google!
No Fees! No Scams! No Hype!
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Get Paid To Click on Ads!
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Do you need help finding legit ways to work from home? Our FREE Work At home Guide will help you avoid scams and find FREE opportunities! Click here for more...
Weekly Work At Home Recap
Hello All,
Sorry for the infrequent post in the last week or so. I went away to the Dominican Republic for a few days. Unfortunately it rained for a lot of that trip. But at least I missed that horrible blizzard that struck the north east.
In any event, I've decided to continue to do an "end of the week" post since some of you expressed that you like hearing from me regularly. Thanks, I appreciate that! However, I'm still trying to figure out what the format will be. The one thing I am sure of is that I will recap the work at home leads that were listed on job search page for the past week. Since I don't have much else to say today, I'll get right into that work at home job recap. lol
Monday 3/1/10
- Writers
- Blogger
- Bilingual Call Center Representative
- Overnight Bilingual Customer Service Agent
- Pre-employment Verification Specialist
Tuesday 3/2/10
- Customer Relationship/Content Manager
Wednesday 3/3/10
- Virtual Administrative Assistant
- Bilingual Customer Service Representative
- Administrative Assistant/Office Manager
- Mortgage Customer Service Representative
- Blogger
Thursday 3/4/10
- Reporter/Editorial Assistant
- Appointment Setting/ Telemarketing
Recommended Instant Work At Home Opportunities
Work At Home With Amazon.com (Data Entry, Typing, etc)
More Job Leads
HomeJobStop.com (Membership based site)
Sponsored Listings For ...
Did you know Eddy earns 5 figures monthly at home w/o a job?
All this, just by giving helpful solutions to hundreds of people.
You can too, with the right guidance. How?
Click here to find out...
BBB Listed Work At Home Company
Get Paid To Type Your Opinions.
No Fees, No Scams. Start Today!
Get Paid To Search Google!
No Fees! No Scams! No Hype!
Start & Earn Today!
Get Paid To Click on Ads!
Work At Home Now - No Fees!
No Scams! No Hype! Start Today!
- Do you need help finding legit ways to work from home? Our FREE Work At home Guide will help you avoid scams and find FREE opportunities! Click here for more...
Top 10 Free Ways To Make Money Fast!
I've been in this industry for many years and as such I tend to get the same questions every day. The questions range from needing help finding legitimate work at home jobs, what to do if one has been scammed or trying to assess if a company, person or website is a scam. These questions are fairly easy to answer because I've already created resources to address them all. For jobs it's just a matter of visiting my work at home companies page, our new work at home job search engine, my other website WorkAtHomeCareers.com or an membership based site such as HomeJobStop.com. In regards to work at home scams, it's just a matter of watching my scam video, reading the articles and comments listed in my scam section and visiting some other great scam fighting websites. (Hint, Hint! lol)
Stumped….
However there has always been one question that even I have trouble answering:
How can I make money as fast as possible without paying any fees?
Ever since the downturn of the economy I've received this question far greater times than I did in the past. The stories that lead to this question are heart breaking. It's usually a result of hardships such as sickness, accidents or layoffs. I can't tell you how much many of these personal experiences have touched me. It was extremely frustrating that I didn't have an answer to give. So I finally decided to stop feeling bad and to do something about it.
I went ahead and put my research skills to use and I've complied a list of opportunities that should help people who need money quickly and fairly easily without any upfront cost. I've read other list claiming to have solutions. But upon further inspection, most of the opportunities suggested wouldn't get money in folks hands until a month or two after the fact which may be too late for some. So keep this in mind as you read my list. Because I'm sure folks are going to wonder or comment why didn't I include x y and z.
Another thing I should mention is that some of these opportunities may make you feel uncomfortable. That's perfectly fine. As always you're a grown ass adult and can pick and choose the opportunities that fit your comfort level. My job is to provide all options regardless of how I may feel about them on a personal level. And your job is to pick what you like and ignore what you don't. So please keep that in mind as well before you go and judge a brother. You know who you are. lol
Okay now that's all cleared up, let's get into the list.
1. Quick Task Sites
These type of sites are based on the concept that there are still many online tasks or jobs that cannot be done by machines, robots, do hickies, Thing-A-Majigs, etc. Whether it's researching detailed information, transcribing audio or video recordings, picking out objects in photographs or videos, typing, data entry or writing content, some jobs are still just better done by humans. Thank God for that otherwise I would be out of a job and so would many of you. Because of this reality there are sites that connect workers like yourself with companies that need these human based tasks done. Any of you who have worked for Amazon's MTurk know this all too well. Although Amazon Turk is the biggest and best, there are a few more out there which I've listed below in addition to Mturk. Judging by many of the comments and emails I have received about Mturk over the last year or so, folks are doing very well with it. It seems to be a favorite consistent among many of you. So I'm sure you'll welcome some additional options like it.
- Crowdcloud (I receive money from these guys every day! So it can be consistent money if they have enough work to go around.)
2. Freelance Sites
They're very much like quick task sites but pay more and have a lot more different jobs in various industries. However the advantages of getting paid as soon as a task is completed is still present. So no matter what your skill set may be there is probably a job at a freelance site.
Here is a list of some:
- Guru.com
You can find additional freelance sites listed by clicking here.
3. Sell Used Books
If you have a lot of old books just taking up space in your closet, attic, basement, etc. You can turn your passion for reading into some hard cash. Some of you may be familiar with this since we discussed in our Make Money With Used Books article. So if you want to know how this works, just read that article because most of the sites operate this way. I've also provided some great tips there to make more money. However I've expanded my list to include more sites willing to pay you for used books below.
- BookScouter.com (I like this site since it searches multiple sites at once which can help you compare which sites will give you the best deals.)
4. Writing Articles
No I'm not talking about sites like associated content, helium, which are great ways to make money. But here's the problem. Usually the pay is based on how many people you can get to view your articles. This involves knowing a little about SEO or internet marketing. However if you know that stuff than you wouldn't need a middle man like those article sites to make money and you would start your own blog.
Craigslist
Today, I'm talking about making money writing articles regardless if you can get people to view them or not. There is a whole section in every city of Craigslist that is looking for people to write articles for a flat fee. You would just visit craigslist, then select your city. From there head to the Gigs section and just click on the writing section. (Check out the New York writing section as an example.) You don't even have to limit yourself to your city, visit as many of the ones as you like.
The great thing about the writing opportunities on craigslist is that many of these opportunities aren't looking for professionally trained writers (Although some do.). Most want regular folks like you and I to write short articles for their blogs, sites, ebooks, etc. If you can write an email, you can write an article. However if you're not confident of your writing, do some arbitrage. Get one of your older kids, neices, nephews, cousins, neighbors, etc to write the article for you and give them a percentage of the profits. What that percentage is totally up to you.
Internet Forums
Aside from craigslist most internet marketing forums are looking for articles to be written so that's another fertile resource. If you're a member of Wealthy Affiliate you already know there are tons of these opportunities listed in their job section. But you can find other internet marketing forums using Google.
Blogs
Blogs are also another great source. Approach one of your favorite bloggers and ask if they could use help with some additional articles or research for their articles. Or you can write a guest post for them where they link back to your site or an affiliate link you request.
So there is a great opportunity here. This is by far one opportunity where there are tons of availability. But you have to be brave enough to get out your comfort zone to give it a try. Trust me, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the better your writing gets.
5. Sell Stuff on Craigslist
Speaking of craigslist, there's yet another great opportunity listed there. By far the easiest and fastest way to make money quickly is to sell stuff on craigslist. You would be amazed what people will buy from you. Chances are you have a ton of "junk" in your home that you don't use or want. Your junk is someone else's treasure. Or maybe you have a skill like web design, bookkeeping, accounting, writing, painting, landscaping, etc. Well you can offer that too.
Craigslist is a super online classified site where you can sell anything or buy anything for that matter. Unlike ebay you don't have to worry about bids or fees. You list your item for free in the city where you live and depending on what you list, you should be getting some calls or emails from interested buyers. Depending on what you put up for sale, you may have money by the end of the day. So if you're in a pickle, selling stuff on craigslist is the way to go. Click here for some more tips on how to be successful at it.
If you want to take it a step further, put ads up on craigslist offering to clean out folks garage, basements or attacks. Your ad can offer to do this for free or for a small amount of money. If you're smart, you can then sell some of the items these folks discard right back on craigslist and make even more money.
6. Selling Blood Plasma
As much as this gives me the heebie jeebies, I have to mention this option because if you're looking to make some quick cash and you're healthy it's definitely the way to go. You can get paid to donate your plasma. What the hell is plasma you may be asking? Well it's the clear yellowish fluid portion of the blood that transports water and nutrients to all the cells in the body and is used for transfusions to people who have suffered shock, burns or trauma. Enduring the needle can earn you up to $35 for each donation. However if you have been vaccinated for hepatitis B, you can earn up to $60 per week. But don't get any funny ideas of making a living off your bodily fluids. (ill! I just read that and it didn't sound right. lol) There is a twice a week maximum regardless of how willing you are to part with more of yourself. (Hee Hee)
If you want more of the gory details, click here to learn about the process. (Can you tell I don't like needles?)
To find establishments where you can donate your plasma visit the following links:
7. Sell Your Hair
Ladies you all know how weaves and hair extensions are very expensive especially when it's real human hair. Well if you happen to be one of those people with long flowing lockes, your hair may be worth some money, $5 to $10 an ounce. Visit the following site to see how much your hair may be worth:
For tips on how to make money with your hair please click here.
8. Sell Sperm
Ummm…Ladies you may want to leave the room for a few minutes… Fellas, what can I say? You and I both know what most of your time online is spent doing and you might as well get paid for it. lol Apparently your lifetime "habit" is worth $60-$75 per donation. But all jokes aside, please keep in mind that this is a very serious decision, there are a lot of things to consider and the process isn't as simple as you may have imagined. You can read more about it by clicking here.
To find out where you can get paid for your… *ahem* alone time, visit the following site:
Okay, I'll leave it at that for the sake of my predominant female audience.
9. Sell Eggs
Okay ladies you can come back for this one. Apparently your eggs are worth a lot more than our man swimmers. You can earn up to $10,000 for your eggs and some cases even more. However like everything in life, my ladies have to go through a lot more to get paid. Donating eggs is a complex procedure that requires women to endure numerous shots, a barrage of psychological test, and going under general anesthesia for an operation to remove the eggs. Obviously there are some serious risks to consider. Either way you're definitely going to have to earn what you make! I wish it were as easy for you as it is for the boys but we already know life isn't fair when it comes to the sexes.
In any event if you are interested, you can learn more about the process by clicking here.
To find out where you can donate your eggs, visit the following pages:
- IHR.com
10. Get Paid To Recycle
Have you noticed that everything you see now is about going green? Sure a lot of folks are concerened with saving our planet. But there is a lot of folks making money off this new found concern for the environment and you can be one of them. And let's not kid ourselves here, It doesn't mean you love the earth any less if you want to make money saving it. In any event, you can get paid for recycling cardboard boxes, scrap metal and electronics.
Boxes
Electronics (Cell phone, Music players, Flat Panel Monitor, Digital Cameras, Game Systems, Laptops, GPS, Camcorders, games, dvds)
- Gazelle.com
Scrap Metal
You can read more about the process of getting paid to recycle scrap metal by clicking here.
So there you have it. If you need money right away or could just use some extra money in addition to what you're doing, You may seriously want to consider the options listed above.
Additional Ways To Make Money Quickly!
By the way there is a great ebook called Emergency Cash Generators with a lot more ideas of how you can make money right away. I'll be honest I was very skeptical of this ebook because of my past experiences with my make money fast schemes weren't good. I only bought the ebook because of a recommendation from Paul at WorkAtHomeTruth.com who I trust greatly. Needless to say it was definitely worth every penny ($39.99) and more. It was eye opening for me and I know it will be for you. Like some of my recommendations above, some of the options listed in Emergency Cash Generators aren't for everyone. But there are so many ideas listed, everyone is bound to find a few winners. If you implement even one or two of the ideas listed there, I'm confident you'll cover the cost of the ebook and more.
In any event, let me know what you folks think of my list above. I would love to hear from folks that have tried any of these things or if this has given you some ideas to consider.
Are there any other opportunities you can think of that meet the requirements of being free, can be started right away and can have cash in someone's hands within a week? If so please share in the comments below.
Sponsored Listings For ...
Did you know Eddy earns 5 figures monthly at home w/o a job?
All this, just by giving helpful solutions to hundreds of people.
You can too, with the right guidance. How?
Click here to find out...
BBB Listed Work At Home Company
Get Paid To Type Your Opinions.
No Fees, No Scams. Start Today!
Get Paid To Search Google!
No Fees! No Scams! No Hype!
Start & Earn Today!
Get Paid To Click on Ads!
Work At Home Now - No Fees!
No Scams! No Hype! Start Today!
- Do you need help finding legit ways to work from home? Our FREE Work At home Guide will help you avoid scams and find FREE opportunities! Click here for more...
How to Make Money At Home Typing at Amazon!
The following is a guest post by one of our visitors Sarah Dillingham who is an aspiring writer. Judging by the article below, I think she has a great career ahead of her. In any event, she read our review about Amazon Mturk Work At Home Program and took action! As a result she's already making money! A lot of you have had the same success there but some of you may still be on the fence about Mturk or some other work at home opportunity. My hope is that after you read this article, you'll learn how to take action because that's the only way people make money from home. They act! (Assuming you've done your research. lol)
Like so many of my fellow WAHNS readers, I recently changed careers and found myself in need of part-time work I could do from home. After a little research, I figured that with my administrative experience and fast typing skills, my best bet would be some form of typing for pay. As many of you in the same boat have discovered, legitimate typing and data-entry jobs of the non-scam-you-into-bankruptcy variety are almost non-existent, which is probably why the question “how can I find a typing from home job?” is one of Eddy's top pet peeves. However, there is one loophole in the Give Up Your Pipedream of Typing for Pay rule: transcription.
Trans – Who?
Transcription is the conversion of recorded speech into written documents, which requires not only fast and accurate typing, but also the ability to correctly interpret and edit all kinds of recordings into comprehensible, grammatically correct text. At the moment no software can do this as well as humans, so there is still a magnitude of medical records, insurance documents, and quarterly meeting minutes being transcribed by people every day. (Humans 1, Robots 0.) Realizing my hopes of one day becoming an at-home typist weren’t completely crushed, I decided remote transcription is the perfect job for me . . . even though my transcription experience amounted to a week-long temp job back in 1998, I mean, who’s counting? I can speak English better than most robots I know.
But like all pipedreams, this one comes with a catch: it turns out everyone on the planet with good typing skills, and their sister and mother-in-law, also decided remote transcription is the perfect opportunity—which is why these jobs are so scarce and in demand. Many of them require costly specialized training, and most employers demand a minimum of several years prior experience. The few firms who accept entry-level candidates require long application forms online, and I mean long. Get ready to spend several hours on each one of these applications, which usually include a series of multiple-choice questions to test spelling, grammar, and editing skills, and one or more audio files to download and transcribe. These are obviously designed to weed out the duds, and the files will inevitably include some weird background noise, eccentric accents and mumbling, and at least one completely inaudible passage to see if you’ll note it correctly or just take a guess. (Hint: don’t do that.) Even if you test really well, you might not get a response from these firms for weeks or even months—if you hear back at all. So we have a problem: how can talented, attractive, potentially great transcribers like us gain the necessary experience to land one of these jobs?
Rising To The Top…
If you're willing to start at the bottom and be patient, there are some lower-paying jobs available immediately on the Amazon Mechanical Turk site (mTurk). Even if you're the fastest typist in the West, you're likely to end up earning less than minimum wage for each hour you transcribe using this site. But you will probably earn a little more than you would completing surveys, watching ads, or just clicking randomly, and better yet, you'll immediately be realizing your dream of typing online, for pay!
(Eddy Commentary: That being said it doesn't mean you shouldn't try those other opportunities as well. Multiple streams of income are always better than just one source of income! )
You’ll also notice your earning power start to increase quickly as you become familiar with the specific guidelines for each mTurk employer (requester). Most importantly, mTurk is a great environment to learn the ropes and make those unavoidable rookie mistakes before applying for the higher-paying independent contract jobs. And in addition to some extra cash, you’ll be banking that coin of the realm for transcription work—experience.
What I've Earned Typing on Amazon?
I started working with mTurk several weeks ago, and I've been averaging between $3-$10 per day for working anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours each day. You’re probably chomping at the bit to get started by now, but I strongly suggest you learn from my mistakes and go through the steps below before you dive in:
How Can You Do It?
1. First, know your typing speed.
Every potential employer will want to know your current typing speed and accuracy. You can test yourself for free here. If you type less than 65-70 WPM with less than 95% accuracy, you may want to get some more practice before taking qualification tests.
2. Familiarize yourself with the basics of professional transcription.
If you're new to the industry, it may help you to learn some basics before taking any tests. Transcribers are expected to be familiar with concepts such as proper use of speaker tags, verbatim transcription versus editing for clarity, and standard indications of non-verbal sounds. Each industry has slightly different requirements, so most employers publish a unique style guide and many are posted online. Here are some examples:
Tiger Fish is a firm that hires entry-level remote transcribers and requires a transcription test. Its style guide is posted here.
SpeechInk posts transcription jobs frequently on mTurk. Their basic style guide is available here, which also links to a more exhaustive industry style guide here.
CastingWords is another mTurk requester that has posted a sample transcript and grading samples in addition to its style guide—all very handy if you prefer to learn by example.
3. Gather the necessary equipment and start practicing.
You'll need a digital audio player and a good set of headphones to get started. You can use any audio player you're comfortable with, but I suggest downloading the free version of Express Scribe, which includes some useful features specifically for transcription. Once you have chosen an audio player, load up your favorite podcast or audio book and practice until you're comfortable with the software. If you've downloaded Express Scribe for the first time, I suggest reviewing the tutorial, and taking the time to set up a few hot-keysii if you're not using a foot pedal.
A few words about foot pedals: You may notice after reading a few job postings that most potential employers don’t seem to want to touch anyone who doesn’t own a digital foot pedal. In fact if you’re like me, you might jump to the conclusion that thousands of recently-released violent felons and/or marginally literate toddlers who did NOT own foot pedals all applied for these jobs on the same day . . . in other words, employers may be using this criteria to distinguish the serious candidates. Fair enough. It's true that using a foot pedal can greatly increase speed and accuracy by eliminating mouse-clicking to perform common tasks, such as speeding up or rewinding a recording while you type. But they’re also expensive, and I've found it’s almost as effective to set up custom hot-keys in Express Scribe. Now I don’t claim to be an expert on foot pedals, having only ever used one for a week back in the ‘90’s, but I've decided not to make this investment until I have a more consistent source of work. Some folks may decide to purchase a pedal upfront and that makes sense, but I suggest you work on mTurk for a few weeks first and use your earnings to buy one. This way, you'll at least get a realistic sense of your enjoyment and aptitude for the work before shelling out any cash.
4. Create a free account on mTurk and start transcribing for pay.
Now that you've mastered the tools and standards of transcription, you’re ready to set up a free mTurk account and get started. Once your account is activated, you can find paid transcription tasks (HITs) by searching on the words “transcription” and “transcribe” in the “HITs” tab. At first you might see a number of jobs with the hyperlinked message “you are not qualified to perform this HIT – why?” Clicking that link will lead you to the correct page to take the requester's qualification test. You can also click directly on the “Qualifications” tab and search on “transcription” to see the qualification tests available.
A few employers will start you out with a very easy test and award you a low score, such as 80 out of 100. This will give you access to their entry-level jobs, and as you complete those accurately, your score will improve and you'll gain access to more jobs. Other employers will give you a harder test upfront and award access to jobs based on your test results.
Tips For Success
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Look for a style guide on the instruction page of every qualification test, and review it carefully before you start.
- Once you start working, try to work for one requester at a time. Many requesters have conflicting style requirements, and it's easy to become confused and make mistakes if you switch back and forth constantly. Remember to review the instructions or style guide before starting the HIT.
- Complete one HIT for an unfamiliar requester and wait to be paid before accepting more HITs from that source. Requesters can reject your HIT and refuse to pay for it without much consequence from Amazon, even after you complete the HIT. This is one major drawback of mTurk. Most reputable requesters don't do this—they want quality workers to take their HITs—but a rejected HIT can prevent you from getting future jobs in addition to ripping you off, so exercise caution.
- Review the Turker Nation message board, especially the Requesters Hall of Fame/Shame, if you have any doubt about a requester. This site is the official user forum Amazon has set up for mTurk workers (turkers), and has a rating system in place so turkers can rate requesters as “thumbs-up” or “thumbs-down” and describe their experiences. As with all message boards, some comments should be taken with a grain of salt because, well, message boards can be magnets for the bitter and disenfranchised (present company excluded, lol). But on the whole, this site is full of useful information for transcription jobs as well as a lot of other interesting HITs you might find on mTurk. The basic guidelines here provide a good launching point.
After several weeks, I’ve found that my favorite requester for transcription work is SpeechInk. They have the highest pay rate among frequent requesters per minute of audio, and their bonus system is consistent and fair. They also take the time to post your work with corrections for you to review, so you can improve your bonus pay quickly. But there are several requesters who pay promptly and offer consistent work, so your preference will depend on your particular skills and the kind of work you find most interesting. That’s one of the big advantages of transcription—there’s a wide variety of pretty fascinating stuff out there that someone said, and someone else wants you to type.
5. Now you’re ready to apply for permanent employment as an experienced transcriber.
I strongly recommend waiting until this stage to apply for permanent jobs, even though you may feel like opportunities are slipping away by the minute. After just a few days of practice, you’ll notice your ability to decipher garbled speech starting to improve, and you’ll develop ways to listen and edit more effectively. Every week that goes by without a response from potential employers is one more week of transcription experience you can claim on your next application, because you’ll be gaining access to more HITs every day.
When you're ready to start submitting applications, you can Google current jobs or try this site. Once you start doing some research, you’ll be amazed at just how many resources and information are available for free, so I suggest holding off on expensive training and equipment until you've done some looking around. Meanwhile those pennies you're earning on mTurk will start to add up. Good luck, and happy hunting!
Hey it's Eddy again. So what did you think of Sarah's article above? I even learned some new things. That Hall of Shame forum was an ah ha moment for me. Now I know where to refer people when they want to research an employer (requester) on MTurk. In any event, let me know what you folks think. I personally thought the article was informative and entertaining. You might be hearing more from Sarah in the future.
P.S. If any of you want to get some shine on this blog or possibly paid, please feel free to email me privately with a unique article. But the article has to do the following:
Add value: No one wants to read a pitch fest. Someone should be able to walk away from your article feeling they learned something new even without having to buy or sign up for something. I don't mind linking to your site if you want exposure so you can pitch to them from there.
Be entertaining: No one wants to fall asleep reading dry content. You can be informative without sounding up tight. Think conversation and not a term paper. Think about why many of you like this blog. For better or worst, I write how I would talk to you.
Be Unique: Don't send me stuff already on the web or on your site. You can cover the same topic you've discussed else where. But make it unique for this site.
By the way if you're an aspiring affiliate marketer, my requirements above are a winning formula to get you more conversions for whatever you're promoting. You're welcome!
Cheers!
Shout out to Sarah again for a great article! I'm still rolling about this part of her article:
"(Humans 1, Robots 0.) … I can speak English better than most robots I know." LMAO.
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New Work At Home Job Search!
Well I've finally finished one of the projects I've been working on. I realized that I was being too much of a perfectionist and it was time to get this thing out there. There were some additional features I wanted to have available but it would just further delay this project. So for now I've kept it bare bones and right to the point.
Maybe in a couple of months I'll add some of the other features I have in mind.
In any event, after several months of working with my team, we've created a great work at home job board. It's already filled with job leads that have been screened to the best of our ability.
What you need to know.
- Daily Updates
The Work At Home No Scams job board will be updated daily so you won't have to wait until fridays anymore to get your fix of work at home job leads. I know you go through withdrawals when I fail to deliver them and it's not a pretty sight to see you go through the shakes. So this job board will give you more leads in a timely manner, which will hopefully better your chances of landing the work at home job of your dreams.
- Multiple Search Options
The new interface should make it easier to narrow down the jobs of interest to you. Because now you can search by keyword or category. There will be no more of me just slapping jobs up on a page. lol Sadly this means we won't have our weekly friday posts. But I'm going to try to make it up by posting more reviews or advice.
- Cost
Did I mention this service is free? That's right, there is no signing up for an account. You just visit the work at home job page and get your search on! But like any good job site we need to make money. But we'll be monetizing this new job board with sponsors and ads. I think it's a fair comprimise instead of charging job seekers some monthly fee or jumping through hoops. I'm pretty sure you agree too.
That's pretty much it in a nutshell. I've created a little video to walk you through the new Work At Home No Scams Job Board. I definitely encourage you to watch it, then get your job search on.
Did you like what you see? If so, please be sure to share the news with anyone you know that may be looking for a legit work at home job. Tweet, facebook, blog or do whatever you do to get the word out. Let me know what you folks think below. If there are any other features you would like to see or services you would like me to offer feel free to comment below. Enjoy!
- Do you need help finding legit ways to work from home? Our FREE Work At home Guide will help you avoid scams and find FREE opportunities! Click here for more...
New Work At Home Leads For 01.29.10
Well it's the end of another week. I hope it was a good one for you. If not here's a quote to consider:
"Nothing is worth more than this day."
- Goethe
It's simple but true when you really think about it. So just keep that in mind instead of replaying things in your mind that didn't work out the way you wanted. Think about how you would've preferred things to turn out and work towards it today.
In any event, I've found some new work at home jobs. But before we get to them, let's get some housekeeping items out the way to prevent any confusion, hateful comments, threats, demands, etc… You know who you are.
- Do you need help finding legit ways to work from home? Our FREE Work At home Guide will help you avoid scams and find FREE opportunities! Click here for more...
