Finding proofreading/transcription work.

rosie383

I have been working from home as a proofreader/transcriber but need to generate some more work.
I have had flyers printed and have handed them out at my gym and to any students that I know. I have had a little bit of work from that, but my sister has been the one who has very helpfully passed work on to me.
I have been transcribing interviews for Master's students and also proofreading dissertations and have proofread one book for publication.
I have been looking on online employment sites such as jobserve, but so far haven't found any suitable jobs.
The local university was very discouraging, so I don't really know what else I can do. Any helpful tips will be very welcome.

charlie-chan

Have you looked at advertising on Gumtree?

You might be able to also advertise on online tuition websites and join local Facebook selling groups to advertise yourself on there.

asajj

Gumtree, local Facebook groups and local Twitter pages if there is any, also Fiverr although pay isn't great, People Per Hour etc. Downside of for the likes of Fiverr, PPH is that there will be someone outside the UK (Eastern Europe, India) will do the same job as a fraction of your fee.

rosie383

As for people outside the UK I doubt there would be as much competition for the type of work that I do compared to other online work. I may be wrong though. I seriously would doubt that someone who is doing a Masters or PhD would trust a non-native English speaker with their thesis.
I will have a look into using Facebook and advertising on Gumtree. I think last time I looked into that I had limited experience and low confidence.

charlie-chan

It might be worth checking out local business too as they may require transcribers for meetings.

rosie383

charlie-chan wrote: »

It might be worth checking out local business too as they may require transcribers for meetings.

Thanks for that. It honestly didn't cross my mind. I love MSE!

charlie-chan

rosie383 wrote: »

Thanks for that. It honestly didn't cross my mind. I love MSE!

You are very welcome.

It had come to mind after checking an agency's job page and them asking for someone to do a job similar to transcribing.

agrinnall

If we have funding for it we get research interviews professionally transcribed, and I have always assumed that the company passes on our recordings to people working from home to do the transcription. So you could search for companies that do this type of work and ask if they are looking for new transcribers.

Southend1

Universities often have a list of approved proof readers that have signed up to say they will comply with university regulations. You could write to some (not just the nearest) and ask how to be included.

Paully232000

Universities often also have a lot of postgrad students and research assistants who will do a lot of their transcriptions as well.

rosie383

Thank you so much folks. The transcription that I was doing was for M Phil students' interviews for the research part of their dissertation.
I am so grateful for the pointers in some new directions for me.

Does anyone have any idea which department of a university I would need to contact? I have done transcription for peace and reconciliation studies, as well as business management and theology dissertations for students in Germany! It would be interesting to find out which universities in other countries teach in English, as I may get some work through that. All of my work so far has come through recommendation apart from one from my flyer.