You might think a transcriber’s age has nothing to do with the quality of their work output. After all, how difficult can it be to listen to an audio and key in what’s heard, word for word? A young adult with competent computer skills could do it, right?
The short answer; yes – and no. An important key factor can often be missed: direct experience. Experience adds value, and more “mature” transcribers – aged 40 and older – are a powerhouse of wisdom and knowledge gained from decades of past work experience in diverse industry verticals, such as:
- Corporate / Business
- Finance
- Medical
- Legal
- Government
- Nonprofit
While many stay-at-home moms and younger professionals make up the base of transcribers, around 25% of all expert TranscribeMe transcriptionists are considered to be “mature” – aged 40 or older. These transcriptionists’ careers have made them goal and detail-oriented, proficient wordsmiths who value excellent work and understand the urgency of deadlines.
Nearly 25% of all TranscribeMe transcriptionists are 40+ years old.
Besides being talented and productive, these amazing transcriptionists often carry an invaluable set of principles gleaned from their past experience.
Reliability
In many cases, mature transcribers are free from distractions. Their children are grown and have fled the nest, and are retired or are nearing retirement; they have the flexibility to work on urgent jobs, high volume needs or special projects.
The ease of putting in uninterrupted hours for this group of workers is simply not available to those transcribers with young families or busy day jobs. Mature transcribers take professional pride in getting their work done quickly and error-free, just as they did in their domain-relevant past positions.
Resourcefulness
Although technological advances have sped up the search and transcription process, mature transcribers still retain the higher-level skills of extracting important data from primary sources, while paying close attention to the flavor of the audio topic, tone of voice, phrasing and inflections.
Anyone can look up an unfamiliar term, but only a mature transcriber has the ability to dig into their extensive personal memory bank and make connections not readily found online. If a client chooses to have their content transcribed with clean verbatim, mature transcribers use “old school” English skills to streamline the client’s conversational English to eliminate filler words, merge incomplete sentences and present a polished, succinct, easy-to-read copy.
Dedication
As in their previous careers, experienced transcribers take pride in doing great work — and most people turning 50 today can expect to see another 30+ happy, productive years! This group of transcribers value stability – they’re not looking to prove themselves and move on to the next job; they’re in it for the long haul.
Transcription jobs offers these amazing workers new challenges and opportunities. Through these work experiences, the flexibility of online projects keep their minds active and healthy, and their wealth of skills and knowledge provide dedicated, professional services to their clients.
This article was written by TranscribeMe transcriptionist Jacqueline H. Are you interested in contributing to our blog? Please contact us.
This article was originally published on February 7, 2017.
