Are you looking for a work from home job that will enable you to earn a steady income, or maybe you need to supplement your regular income?
It could be that you have free time on your hands, or you need to fund a hobby, lifestyle, or a project.
Work from home jobs offer the advantage of choosing your working time, duration, and even how much you would like to earn per day. For whatever reasons, if your goal is to get a job that you can do right from the comfort of your home, then this review is for you.
We will review one of the companies that offer people the opportunity to work from home while earning money from transcription jobs. This review covers Speechpad in-depth and offers you details on how it works, applying, jobs, and many more.
Let’s set the ball rolling with an overview of Speechpad and what you need to know about the company.
About Speechpad
Speechpad is a company offering transcription services to its customers, while it provides freelancers with the opportunity to earn income for transcribing audio.
In a nutshell, Speechpad runs a marketplace system that involves its clients, and freelancers. The clients contact Speechpad because they have audio or video files that they transcribed.
Speechpad receives the transcription jobs and then offers these same jobs to freelancers that have the skills to do the jobs. The client pays for a job well done, Speechpad pays freelancers for an excellent job, and it nets some money in the process.
Well, that’s how the system works; the only thing is that it is more complex than it actually sounds.
The Speechpad system makes use of artificial intelligence for the initial stages of transcription but gets humans involved in the latter stages.
Speechpad has been in operation since 2008, which is more than enough time to have gathered plenty of experience in the game.
The job of the freelancer, or transcriber, is to convert the audio content of a file into text. The better you are at doing this, the brighter your chances are at earning more on Speechpad.
Before we jump right into the earning part, it’s good we find out just how legit Speechpad is.
Speechpad: Scam or Legit?
The worst part about work from home jobs is for you to do a job assigned to you without getting paid for it. To help you avoid this scenario, let’s find out if Speechpad is a legit or scam business. Here’s a little checklist I had to run through in order to ascertain if truly Speechpad is legit.
- The company has been around since 2008, which according to my calculations would be 12 years to the date of this review. That means they have been around for a while, plus they have managed to acquire and maintain a steady client base
- There is sufficient information about the company on the internet, such as emails, phone numbers, and a physical address
- Speechpad does have a social presence on Facebook with 1,500+ page followers and likes. This isn’t a huge crowd by any standard, but it does show that people are able to interact with the company through social media
- There are reviews about Speechpad and its services on sites like Glassdoor and SiteJabber. Of course, these reviews will contain both negative and positive views about the brand, and the important thing is that people are talking about it
- Does Speechpad have a valuable, sustainable business that would keep it for the next 10 years? The answer to that question is a resounding YES because businesses and individuals will always need to transcribe audio.
So my verdict is that Speechpad is a legit company and a good platform to earn a steady income doing transcription jobs.
How it Works
Speechpad offers a flexible working system where transcriptionists are allowed to choose their jobs. Also, you decide when to work and how long you want to work on the transcription platform.
The next few sections will highlight how to apply, requirements, and everything you need to know about how Speechpad works.
Application
Before you apply on Speechpad, it’s important you have the required skills to work on the platform.
For transcription, you need to have a good mastery of the English language, type faster than average, and have good listening skills and attention to details. That said, the application process on Speechpad is easy and quite straightforward.
To start on Speechpad, you will need to submit an application form and also take a short test.
You don’t have to fret about the test because it is meant to ascertain your typing speed. Speechpad is a platform that welcomes both new and experienced transcribers, so no need to get worried.
Speechpad runs a hierarchy system where the newbie starts out on level 1 and works their way to the top.
Requirements
It will amaze you to find out that there are no special requirements that Speechpad requires from new sign-ups. The basic tools you will need for transcribing on its platform include:
- A computer, laptop, or any device that has internet capability
- A very good and stable internet connection
- A good quality headphone (one with a noise cancellation feature would be ideal for you)
- Foot pedal which is optional but very helpful if you can afford it
Since Speechpad pays its transcribers through PayPal, you’ll also need to have an account in order to receive your earnings.
Speechpad Jobs
Your first jobs will entail transcription of audio and video files, though there are other related jobs on Speechpad.
Some of the jobs that can be accessed by freelancers on Speechpad include:
- Transcriber – This entails transcription of spoken words in audio and video files into text
- Captioner – This job entails placing captions on video files
- Reviewer – You are responsible for reviewing and making corrections on jobs done by other transcribers
- Translator – These are multilingual freelancers that have the skills to translate spoken words from one language to another.
You start out as a Transcriber and as you go higher, the other opportunities open up to you.
Job Board
After your application to join Speechpad is accepted, you will be able to access a job board where you can search for jobs. These are transcription jobs that you can filter based on your unique preference.
You are offered the option of setting the length and price of the jobs you want.
After you have decided on a job to take, click on the Accept Job button and you’ll be directed to that job.
Take note that there is a deadline for every job that you accept on Speechpad. And failure to meet the deadline will make it impossible for you to get paid for that job.
There are some jobs on the Job Board that have “Get Qualified” buttons attached to them. This implies that you are not qualified for those jobs but Speechpad is offering you the opportunity to qualify for the jobs. By clicking on the “Get Qualified” button you will be able to find out what it takes to qualify for the job.
Sometimes you may be required to take a test before you can qualify for certain jobs.
Speechpad Qualifications
It is good that you keep tabs on your qualifications in order to track your progress. You can do this by clicking on the Qualifications tab which can be found at the top of your screen.
Green shaded areas indicate the qualifications that you have attained while Grey means that you haven’t earned them yet, but you can apply.
If you want to get higher-paying jobs, it is essential that you improve on your qualifications – the more qualified you are, the more the jobs and earnings you can apply for.
Speechpad offers various types and levels such as qualifications that require learning of new transcribing styles, the one that asks for a background check, and invite-only.
Speechpad offers Reviewer and Rush Job through invitation only, while Reviewer roles require you to have transcribed 1,000 worth of audio minutes. Plus you must maintain an average rating of 96 and beyond.
This doesn’t mean that the newbie cannot access juicy jobs; it just means that they need to improve on their qualifications.
It starts first by earning good ratings from the transcription jobs you have done in the past. Always watch the ratings and work on maintaining an average rating of 96 if you want to climb faster on Speechpad.
Your ratings are so important that they determine the number of jobs you’ll be able to access on the platform. The higher your rating the higher the number of jobs you can access on Speechpad. And if you’re able to keep this up, then it will impact your qualifications and grant you access to other roles.
One other area of importance you need to work on is your typing speed because it affects how fast you can complete a job. You can place yourself on a program that will help you improve your typing speed in order to submit your jobs ahead of the deadlines.
Transcription Console
As a freelancer on Speechpad, you need to know your way around the Transcription console. It is the dashboard on which you will be able to get a lot of things done.
The editor is positioned at the left side of the console, while you type or copy and paste your transcription from a word document.
The right side contains the built-in audio and video player to play files that you will transcribe. The console makes it easy for you to access both the editor and audio (or video) files on the same screen.
There’s also a countdown timer that is featured on the console which is located at the top of the right-hand corner. By working closely with the countdown timer, you will know how much time you have left for any job.
How Much Can You Earn on Speechpad?
One concept that you need to understand before you discuss payment is audio minute. Audio minute refers to the actual length of an audio or video file that you are required to transcribe. On the other hand, work minute refers to the actual time you spend in producing a transcribed job.
Let me explain the differences between these two concepts using a simple example. Let’s say John is given audio to transcribe and the length is 2 minutes.
If John spends 15 minutes to complete the transcription before submitting it to Speechpad, we say that the work minute is 15 minutes. John, or any other transcriber gets paid for the audio minute and not the work minute.
So John will be paid for his transcription work for the 2 audio minutes that he completed. Transcribers and transcriptionists on Speechpad receive payment ranging from $0.25 to $1 per audio minute.
Payment for the entry-level transcriber falls within $0.25 per audio minute but the pay rises as your rating increases. Captioners on Speechpad are able to earn anything from $0.30 to $1 per audio minute, while Reviewers earn $0.20 to $1 per audio minute.
If you’re skilled at typing, you can get more jobs done and earn higher than the less skilled ones. You get credited for your work after work is approved but payment request via PayPal is done twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays).
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Speechpad offers you a work from home job that allows you to decide when to work, duration of work, and how much to earn
- A payment schedule of twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) is convenient for those who need to make use of their earnings.
Cons
- The payment for Transcribers is pretty low especially for those who are at the entry-level
- There is a limit to the number of jobs that newbies can access because most jobs require higher ratings.
In Conclusion
If for any reason you decide on a work from home job, then you should consider signing up on Speechpad. It’s a transcription marketplace where you get paid to transcribe audio and video files into text.
This review gives you all the details you need to decide if Speechpad meets your need for a work from home job.
Would you like to build a multi-million dollar brand while you earn a side income as a transcriptionist? If your answer is yes, do not hesitate to visit my Wealthy Affiliate review and leave a comment in the box provided.