GoTranscript

This is probably the most stressful company I've worked at. I was excited to come across the opportunity to work here, as it fits all my current needs. However, once the excitement wears off and you truly start working all that shine quickly falls away. You will quickly come to realize that this company relies on smoke and mirrors to make employment more appealing.

When you first get "hired" - if you can even call it that, you never interview or speak to a single person - you're given the opportunity to select languages you're fluent in, so that they will only show you files of that language. However they do not screen the files at all before they're put up for grabs. Some days all your files may be in foreign languages - but labeled "English" (or whatever your preferred language is) thus preventing you from doing any work at all that day. The amount of mislabeled files is astonishing, and you can't even report the mislabeling until you've logged several hundred hours.  Getting support for any other reason takes hours, when you may not even have that long to do a job.

The pay is atrocious, at times as low as $1/hour. I've had files as low as $0.35. In my experience, you would need to work an entire week, sun up to sun down, doing absolutely nothing but work to even make a single days wage from any other job. Getting that money is a whole other hassle, sometimes taking more than a week after you've requested a pay out.

If you're looking for something to give you a headache - the quality of most of the files is abysmal - and maybe earn you a few dollars every month, then apply. If you want to value your time, and effort, run far from this company.

A typical day listening to a wide range of audio files, from interviews to lectures, and transcribing them accurately within deadlines. It’s a flexible remote job, so I could choose when and how much I wanted to work, which was a huge plus. I improved my listening skills, typing speed, and attention to detail. I also became better at distinguishing different accents and understanding context from limited audio clues.
Management is mostly hands-off but responsive via the platform if you have any issues. There's minimal direct interaction, but the system for feedback on work is fair and clear. The workplace culture is independent—you’re working remotely, so your motivation and time management are key. There's a community forum, but engagement is optional.
The hardest part of the job is dealing with poor audio quality or strong accents, especially when speakers talk over one another. Meeting formatting guidelines and client-specific instructions also adds a layer of complexity. However, the most enjoyable part is the variety—you get to learn interesting things from the content you transcribe, and the freedom to work from anywhere at any time is incredibly valuable.

I've started my transcription journey in this company and I can say that I have to owe it to them. They are beginner-friendly for those who have little to no experience in the field. The editors who leave reviews for my work have been extremely helpful for knowing where I should improve myself next.

You don't have a minimum amount of work you have to do in a day or a week, hence, they are extremely flexible with work hours. 

My cons for this company is with the pay. The rates are extremely low for the amount of work you put in. Though I did not find this as a problem, more of a paid training to see what the feel of transcribing is and if it was for me.

Overall, I have learned a lot from this company. Recommended to those who are starting out.

The audio quality of most of the tapes sent out to freelancers is simply appalling and management shows no interest in either educating its clients or responding intelligently to transcribers' preferences.

The jobs offered are simply not worth doing. Perhaps GoTranscript believes that US $1 or US $2 an hour is worthwhile but frankly it is an insult.The payment system is anything but straightforward and it took several reminders before a bill was settled (despite all jobs being awarded the maximum 5-Star quality).

Something tells me that GoTranscript's business model is bound to sink. Turning the whole thing into a kind of arbitrage operation between clueless customers and slum-dwelling transcribers in The Third World is an unedifying approach and it deserves to fail.

I did three jobs for this company and never got paid.  For the first two I received high scores, however the third was so tedious that I received a below average score (their standard is high, above 88% accuracy).  These painstaking jobs took me over 2 hours each for less than 10 minute audios.  
My typing speed is almost 60wpm and I have always had excellent grammar and spelling skills, which is why I thought this would be a good work-from-home job.  
So I would have earned $8.33, but I had $1 deducted for too many mistakes.  However, that was unnecessary because since my average score was too low, I lost my transcription rights, and well, apparently, I also lost my rights to get paid!!  Does that make any sense?  What an unworthy experience.

In order to keep working for them, you need an average of 3.6 (from 1 to 5). I got rated with a 3 (terrible audio quality), a 4, and a 4. That's 3.66 last time I checked. They removed me and never paid what I earned...

Audio quality is terrible, and you'll probably hurt your ears. Pay is terrible. Audios last for 10 minutes (this translates into a couple of hours of work in order to comply with all the transcription guidelines), so you're stuck with terrible audio quality for a long time and you can't pause it.

People complain about their transcript quality and transcribers complain about the pay.

Working at GoTranscript is fun especially the interaction among fellow workers. The pay may not be that much but hey, it's a good source of additional income that you can do even in your pajamas. Also, you may apply as an editor if you hit the required metrics and earn even more. However, nowadays, there seems to be fewer jobs available on the site but I believe it's a low season for most transcription sites.

I started off well enough at this job. Was averaging less than one dollar per hour, but figured I would get better with more practice.  Very happy with the flexibility, and the fact that I could work on my own.  First two jobs seemed like good ratings: both over 90%.  Then, on my third job, some editor decided to label my work as AI.  No further explanation on why they thought that.  I was locked out from transcribing any more jobs and not even paid for the first two jobs that were reasonably well done.  What a joke of a company. 


While transcription doesn't pay a lot unless you're very skilled and fast, it is still a good way to gain some experience and make some extra money.  You will gain a huge appreciation for people that do this full-time transcriptionist and editors. The only downside is loading the audio to preview it and finding out someone else already claimed the job and then having to move quickly to claim a job.

GoTranscript is a great workplace for freelance transcriptionists like me. I work whenever I want. It is very flexible and I have learned a great deal working there.

On a typical day, I get working at 8:00 AM, work on around five to six 10-minute audio files and end the day at around 6:00 PM.

The hardest part of the job is that sometimes the quality of audio files is really poor, difficult to understand and transcribe.

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