Off-Topic Working from home part time

[sherry7899]

Caitlyn-did you work in the legal field before you started this?

Thanks !
Sherry

[caitlinpyle]

Yes. I worked at a court reporting agency for almost two years. I was receptionist for 6 months, then moved into transcripts, then marketing. Learned the most working in transcripts. I have always had an eye for detail but there are also certain formatting issues important when it comes to transcripts. That's why I recommend working or interning at an agency for a while to understand it better. A lot of people tell me they can do my job, but I test them with a transcript, and they miss a lot. You have to be able to notice when the reporter spells things 2-3 different ways (my name is spelled Caitlin ;-)), uses a wrong number, has the wrong speaker listed, leaves out words, etc. You can't always correct grammar, since you're reading spoken words... overall it is a challenging, fun and rewarding job. Yesterday I read 800 pages (you HAVE to work up to that, I read very fast now) but you are paid per page by the client and yesterday's work was a mix between rush and regular. I made over $400. I have two cats and my husband worked until 8:30pm, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to put in that much time. While flexible, is not the kind of job you can take lightly... I have an open schedule and fully expect work to come in daily. Sometimes it's a little, sometimes it's a lot. I ask my clients to give me a heads up when they have rushes coming so I don't decide to go to the mall and as soon as I get there I get a rush and have to go back home... I actually get very mad when someone forgets to let me know, or they send me 200 rush pages all at once that I didn't know about. I ask them to send it in "chunks" so I can work on it as they are working on it. Most people comply :-)
The fact that you're paid per page is what keeps you on task I know the more I let myself get distracted, the lower my "hourly" rate will be. If I focus I can make good money, fast!

[Joni O]

Great article, Caitlin. I automatically proofread EVERYTHING I see and I see so many errors - newspaper and magazine articles, signs, menus, etc. Sometimes I think it's a curse!

[wishiwasinhawaii]

Not to be a Debbie downer, but I work in publishing and was a paralegal before that. The type of work Caitlin does requires intense concentration and staying focused for long periods of time and I just wonder if someone with small children at home who are constantly interrupting could do that type of work.

[paideiamom]

Not to be Debbie Downer Part II, but I am a court reporter of 30 years and I will say that Caitlin has had a picture-perfect career in proofing.

Starting with a CR agency was a HUGE benefit to her. I am sure she does excellent work, so her ability was praised amongst that group and word spread. Getting in a CR agency as a proofreader is not easy. Not all CR agencies hire them. If you are hired by a CR agency to proof, it is generally because a CR agency wants their transcripts to all look a certain way, have a certain continuity in styles. That is easy to learn and implement. If you are proofing from a pool of independent reporters, they all have their own style and way of doing things and they will differ all across the spectrum.

While there is nothing "wrong" with what Caitlin says, there is a lot glossed over. If I thought I could make the kind of money she does proofing, I would be doing it instead of the actual reporting at this point in my life.

Word spreads quickly in the CR industry, especially with social media. If all goes well, yes, you could build up a nice cohort. But if you screw up one deadline, if you mess up one transcript, things could get out of hand quickly.

Keep in mind that people don't speak perfect English. This is not a book or a script you are proofing. You have to have excellent grammar skills of the variety taught in school, but you also have to be facile in how you handle the testimony of the poorly educated, the overly excited, or the Ph.D. who wouldn't know how to speak properly if it were written for him.
You also have to be very well read to know all of the allusions that can be put in a day's worth of testimony, by witnesses and attorneys. You have to KNOW enough to know you don't know it all and you don't just assume because "that's what it sounds like" that that is correct.


And while I am glad she gets workers' comp depos to proof, here in Georgia that is the lowest paid work possible for a court reporter. Most proof it themselves. And no one is going to want to pay more than 30 cents a page for that. To make $30, you would need a 100-page transcript. Well, workers' comp depos just don't go that long generally. It is usually 60 pages and done. Insurance companies don't want their attorneys taking much more than that because, frankly, it is not worth it.

And her speed is amazing. I am glad she can do it that quickly. Again, that is very much not the norm.

So while I don't disagree with Caitlin, I think there is a lot more not said.

If you decide to do it (and I would encourage people to do it if they think it would fit their needs), when you go to these FB forums, DO NOT USE TEXT SPEAK. Write words out. Capitalize. Paragraph when you can. When you are on a forum that is FILLED with court reporters who will mentally catalog each and EVERY error you make, you need to put your best foot forward.

Will the reporters make mistakes on their social media postings? Of course. Will they speak in text speak? Of course. But the difference is they are the "boss." They can do that. It is your job to find the errors. They don't want to look at a posting from their proofer or scopist (another animal entirely) and see mistakes or text speak.

[MelissaR]

Originally Posted by caitlinpyle

do you like reading, and are you good at grammar and noticing errors?

Thanks Caitlin! Great & very helpful article! I'm a Case Manager RN & I'm trying to get a job doing UR at home working for an insurance agency. It's proving to be very difficult to get (few positions, lots of applicants). The proofreading job you mentioned might be something I can do in the meantime. I can't tell you how many clinical reports that I read that are SIGNED by MD's that have TONS of errors!!! Seriously, if these cases ever went to court, someone would be in big trouble. Most are stupid spelling errors (spelling errors or using "he" when the patient is a female), but sometimes I have to read the note several times to try & figure out what they are trying to say. Do you know if there are any positions for proofreading medical documents?


Does anyone have an eReader? One of my pet peeves is when the eReader separates 2 words so they are both spelled correctly, but when read in context, the sentence makes absolutely no sense at all. Once I see the mistake, it kind of makes me laugh, then I'm a little miffed at the time I wasted.

[caitlinpyle]

+1,000,000 to everything paideiamom says... it is ALL true. No need to worry about being a Debbie Downer ;-)

I can't stress enough how NOT easy this job is... I would be able to quit if I had a dollar for every time someone told me, "Oh, I could do that!" I try to emphasize just how hard it is. I have a cousin who asked me to send her an e-mail about what I do/how I do it, etc. and I sent her my article with a lot more info... she never responded. LOL. If you can't answer an e-mail, it's a good sign you're not cut out for this type of work. You've got to be constantly "online", so you don't miss something... part of the reason I've been successful the last two years has been my availability... my clients know they can count on me to respond promptly.

I read workers' comp, arbitrations, hearings, criminal trials, appeals, expert opinions (geologists, economists, engineers, etc.), CMEs, personal injury, medical malpractice, construction litigation, product liability, everything. I am also NOT employed by an agency... I am a freelancer and I pay quarterly taxes. I read for about 35 independent reporters who usually work for an agency. I do constantly receive referrals, because I know that doing good work is my "marketing" so to speak... if I do a good job, people talk about it. Also, the agency most of my clients work for contracts with me as well. They have a quality assurance department that randomly pulls reporters' work to check for errors. I am paid less for this work.

The agency I used to work for paid proofreaders $0.30/page. I couldn't survive on that. I have received some referrals who were surprised at the rates I charge. But, those who use me for their proofreading know that it is worth it -- I google terms for them, figure out words they're stuck on, and in general help keep them from looking like a dummy ;-)

It is also true that I earn more money than some of my reporters. While I don't know how much they make, one of them recently shared with me they got a total of 10 pages to transcribe in the last month. They are paid a higher page rate than I am, but if you're just reading the pages and not taking them down and transcribing you have potential to really rake up some income.

I also do not proofread on paper anymore. I use an iPad and an app to annotate PDFs of the transcripts. When I first started, I was told to print out the pages and then scan back the ones with errors... if I were still doing that, I'd have been Baker Acted by now ;-) haha!!

I don't think anyone with small children at home could do it unless they are super concentrators ;-) with noise-canceling headphones. I need silence. My cats make enough noise!! I remember the first time I read 400 pages in a day, my head hurt (I think I also needed glasses... LOL) and now 800 a day is doable. 400 a day is a good number for me. I really don't like reading more than that because then I don't have any free time!!!!

Well... work calls. One of my reporters is going on a cruise today and I'm trying to finish some work for her. She's driving me nuts... but then again, she's paying for MY cruise in December ;-)

[kittybug]

Originally Posted by caitlinpyle

check this out been doing this for almost five years, and it has been my full-time job for over two years now. I wrote the article

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-...ourt-Reporters

Nice article, Caitlin! I should really talk to you, LOL....I'm a transcriptionist (medical, property loss, worker's comp, etc.), and a very burned out one at that. I had looked into scoping years ago but never pursued it. I must PM you...

[Aquajock]

Originally Posted by caitlinpyle

+1,000,000 to everything paideiamom says... it is ALL true. No need to worry about being a Debbie Downer ;-)

I can't stress enough how NOT easy this job is... I would be able to quit if I had a dollar for every time someone told me, "Oh, I could do that!" I try to emphasize just how hard it is. I have a cousin who asked me to send her an e-mail about what I do/how I do it, etc. and I sent her my article with a lot more info... she never responded. LOL. If you can't answer an e-mail, it's a good sign you're not cut out for this type of work. You've got to be constantly "online", so you don't miss something... part of the reason I've been successful the last two years has been my availability... my clients know they can count on me to respond promptly.

I read workers' comp, arbitrations, hearings, criminal trials, appeals, expert opinions (geologists, economists, engineers, etc.), CMEs, personal injury, medical malpractice, construction litigation, product liability, everything. I am also NOT employed by an agency... I am a freelancer and I pay quarterly taxes. I read for about 35 independent reporters who usually work for an agency. I do constantly receive referrals, because I know that doing good work is my "marketing" so to speak... if I do a good job, people talk about it. Also, the agency most of my clients work for contracts with me as well. They have a quality assurance department that randomly pulls reporters' work to check for errors. I am paid less for this work.

The agency I used to work for paid proofreaders $0.30/page. I couldn't survive on that. I have received some referrals who were surprised at the rates I charge. But, those who use me for their proofreading know that it is worth it -- I google terms for them, figure out words they're stuck on, and in general help keep them from looking like a dummy ;-)

It is also true that I earn more money than some of my reporters. While I don't know how much they make, one of them recently shared with me they got a total of 10 pages to transcribe in the last month. They are paid a higher page rate than I am, but if you're just reading the pages and not taking them down and transcribing you have potential to really rake up some income.

I also do not proofread on paper anymore. I use an iPad and an app to annotate PDFs of the transcripts. When I first started, I was told to print out the pages and then scan back the ones with errors... if I were still doing that, I'd have been Baker Acted by now ;-) haha!!

I don't think anyone with small children at home could do it unless they are super concentrators ;-) with noise-canceling headphones. I need silence. My cats make enough noise!! I remember the first time I read 400 pages in a day, my head hurt (I think I also needed glasses... LOL) and now 800 a day is doable. 400 a day is a good number for me. I really don't like reading more than that because then I don't have any free time!!!!

Well... work calls. One of my reporters is going on a cruise today and I'm trying to finish some work for her. She's driving me nuts... but then again, she's paying for MY cruise in December ;-)

Caitlin, I too was very interested in your article AND in your responses on this thread. Thanks so much! I too am going to be looking at change-of-job challenges in about two years, as I file for retirement from my current job as a paralegal in a prosecutor's office to move to Tallahassee with hubby to begin Act II. This option looks interesting, and I SINCERELY appreciate your candor!

Thanks again!

A-Jock

[Aquajock]

Originally Posted by rheash92

Does anyone have any recommendations to work from home? I'm just looking for something part-time. thanks!

Rheash92, I don't have any experience with this myself, but I'm acquainted with some who has built a nifty little side business house- and pet-sitting for people who are traveling. I'd bet you wouldn't actually have to sleep at the dwellings; you could certainly work things out so that you are doing daily oversight and daily pet-care checks. Just a thought.

A-Jock