Data entry: working from home

[awakenedsoul]

My boyfriend just pointed out to me as he watched me on the computer that I could make money as a typist. I love typing, and I'm fast. I'd like to do this. Does anyone have any experience with it?

He was saying that I'd need to get a better computer and take a test.

[catherine]

I am a 78wpm typist, trained at Katharine Gibbs, and it served me well. I was a typist/secretary and then a word processor. There was a long period of time, up until about 7 years ago, that people would comment on and value my fast typing, even after I left my typing job and entered the field of market research.

However, now, all the "younger people" type pretty fast. They are, after all, raised at the keyboard. Therefore, fast typing isn't the unique skill it used to be. Plus, because of this, people all do their own typing. In short, all those traditional markets for typists have pretty much dried up.

However, there could be opportunities for you in transcribing. I hire transcriptionists on occasion.

[rosarugosa]

What about court stenographer?

[awakenedsoul]

catherine, Thanks for the replies. I wondered about that. I'll research transcribing. I'd need to practice daily to get my speed back to where it was. 78 wpm is amazing! Wow!!!

rosarugosa, I used to rent a guest house from a woman who worked as a court reporter in LA for many years. She retired early and moved to Santa Fe. I believe the keyboard they use is different than that of a typewriter. One of my yoga students took a course to become a court reporter. She said they are phasing them out...

I don't really need to get a job, but I do really enjoy typing. I may just get back into writing again. That way I'll be using a couple of skills.

[catherine]

catherine, Thanks for the replies. I wondered about that. I'll research transcribing. I'd need to practice daily to get my speed back to where it was. 78 wpm is amazing! Wow!!!


There are a lot of sites online where you can test your speed for free. If you are interested in transcribing, beyond typing all you would need to know is how to operate the software, and sometimes people specialize in different fields. For instance, my transcriptionists know medical terminology.

Good luck. Worth looking into because it's a great job for telecommuting.

[Tradd]

Medical transcriptionists are being phased out as well. I have enough a friend who has worked from home as one for more than 10 years. Software such as Dragon is doing away with the need for them.