In our previous post, we tackled popular home based typing jobs – data entry, transcription, virtual assistance – as well as their requirements.
We also identified online typing job opportunities that are registration-free.
Needless to say, these jobs can be a source of sustainable (and even high-paying) typing gigs for a well-qualified work-from-home person.
This time around, let’s delve on a four-part discussion of the following essentials: typing speed improvement, related home based typing jobs, effective typing equipment to use, and tips to thrive as an online typist.
Let’s the start with the obvious: the more words you can input in a minute, the more efficient and profitable you will be as a home-based typist.
As per learn2type, the global average typing speed is 40 WPM, while a professional typist usually goes around 50-80 WPM.
Take note that various typing jobs from home have minimum speed requirements which you have to match or even surpass to get on board.
And of course, an impressive typing speed will be for nothing if you incur significant errors along the way!
This will hurt your adjusted speed, and your clients will frown upon mistakes on sensitive data.
Below are simple, yet surefire ways to enhance your typing speed:
To get your fingers blazing, there’s no substitute to practicing and having a can-do attitude.
By typing frequently, you get better familiarity with the keys, while your mind and fingers start to have better coordination.
What to type exactly? It could be anything that’s fun!
Interact with the comments section of your favorite social media group. Compose emails for friends and family. Type your favorite movie lines. Respond swiftly to your online game crew. Whatever it is, do it with repetition.
Consider this exercise:
Doing the above exercise regularly will help you unlock touch typing – a vital skill in the arsenal of every professional typist that does online and offline typing jobs.
As you type more, you’ll gradually grow your speed, familiarity, and typing accuracy even on hard-to-type keys (e.g., Shift+, special characters, etc.)
You may find it hard at first, but shying away from looking at the keyboard (from time to time) will pay dividends later on (e.g., touch typing, increased typing speed and precision).
Instead, set your eyes on what you are typing. Take it as a challenge to resist the urge of peeking at the keys, but do so if you really feel uncomfortable typing numerical and sensitive information.
It’s easy to fall prey to overworking, especially when you’re in a good typing groove. However, you have to take care of your hands too!
Going for extended periods without taking a break can result to stress injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome.
And your typing productivity actually dips when you do this. When doing typing jobs at home, take regular breaks.
You may follow these simple wrist and hand stretches suggested by Healthline:
There are lots of online sites that offer free typing tests, practices, and even fun games to help you progress. Below are some of the more renowned ones:
Transcription, data entry, virtual assistance, and microtasks were emphasized on our previous discussion.
Let’s now focus the spotlight on other typing jobs Philippines has to offer for competitive Pinoy typists.
Read more: How to Apply for an NBI Clearance Online 2019
Do you have a knack for correcting written works like article/blog drafts?
Fixing spelling, punctuation, and grammar mishaps is a huge part of the job, but you should also be prepared to improve the overall quality of the piece.
Though most clients will look for peeps with English-related degrees, you can still sell yourself with a solid editing portfolio or by acing their paid (or unpaid) test.
View editing jobs page of FlexJobs or an online editing market in EditFast.
We, Filipinos, surely love to chat.
A good way to monetize that passion is to apply for a customer service position in the form of live chat agents.
You’ll be tasked to answer queries from page visitors and customers alike using your product or system knowledge.
Some replies are already predetermined by the system, while others need meticulous answers.
As a form of typing job at home, most sites like The Chat Shop will require you to have an accurate typing speed of over 70 WPM, and almost native-level grammar and sentence construction.
As per Glassdoor, live chat agents typically make around $10-$14 per hour.
With adequate research, decent writing skills, and love for learning new stuff, you can actually make a living out of writing articles, sales letters, newsletters, and blog posts.
Of course, typing quickly and precisely allows you to get more work done.
It’s advisable to get paid per piece than hourly, as the income potential is greater.
For aspiring freelance writers with zero experience, you can check daily job postings in Craigslist under ‘writing/editing.’ There are plenty of mundane writing tasks there that you can accomplish in a heartbeat.
You can also solicit advice and enter training programs through Facebook groups like ‘Freelance Writers Philippines.’
Choosing the right equipment to work with is significant if you want to perform well as a typist.
For instance, if you use a keyboard with keys that have bad resistance, it’s likely to cause typographical errors which can cost your online typing job and your client’s trust!
For transcriptionists, a quality set of headphones is a must-have. It gives richer audio which spares you from playing it back a couple more times, resulting to more work done.
Also look for durable ones that are made of premium materials, as this will save you few trips to Octagon or PC Express to buy a replacement.
Consider this 2019 guide for purchasing headphones published by Flawless Transcription.
A home based typing job like being a transcriptionist demands a quality transcription software.
It allows your transcripts to be versatile.
One example of what such software brings to the table is time stamping. With time stamps, the end-users will know exactly when a statement was uttered.
“00:01:45 Her eyes were glistening jewels.”
One of the premier transcription software today is crafted by The FTW Transcriber.com. It not only provides spot-on sound quality, but also allows you to pre-set your time stamps.
What’s even better is that it can automatically translate your video or audio file into other formats.
It costs $22.32 for a 2-year license, with $0.93 monthly payments.
This software, however, is limited to Windows only, so before choosing a transcription software, you should check for compatibility too.
Needless to say, home based typing jobs are best done with a keyboard that provides comfort and ample resistance.
Don’t get me wrong, but you can still decide to go with your squishy laptop keyboard especially if you’re a really exceptional typist.
But the thing is this: once you have rested your fingers on the best keyboards, it’s hard not to take notice.
It’ll surely make work more enjoyable and worthwhile, which will eventually impact your typing results.
The best keyboard traits can be found in a gaming one.
Let’s take Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo as an example. It has superb illumination, sleek design, and compelling typing resistance.
Its keys bounce quickly to provide typing pleasure and to allow you to work on lengthy periods easily.
But with a price tag of $259.36, most of us Filipino typists would rather go with our dusty PC keyboards.
Heed this advice: find a scaled keyboard that has gaming traits for a much cheaper price.
Like any other job, it will take a great deal of time, motivation, and smarts to thrive in typing jobs from home.
In an era where freelancers who low-ball are rampant, you must always be on the lookout for new opportunities in online job boards and outsourcing sites.
You can really never tell when an engagement will end.
Without a doubt, paid job sites will really boost your hiring rate.
But with the time-tested free sites that we’ve enumerated in these last two guides, those are worth giving a shot first.
Check interactions, legitimacy of the post, and work details before bidding or submitting your proposal.
An online typing job, at times, may put your English language skills to the test.
You just can’t miss out on glaring grammatical or spelling mistakes while encoding or translating (unless your client specifically states to type verbatim or the exact text).
Correcting those mistakes consistently improves the overall quality of your work, which will likely result to rehires or project extensions.
You may even get the nod to proofread some client documents (with additional pay), or do basic content writing.
Mistakes on customer or business names are forgivable.
But imagine if it’s on the contact number or an alphanumeric code. It can spell a possible business loss for your client.
As a newbie, your borderline typing speed will work (for now) as long as you have 99-100% accuracy.
With repetitions and adequate motivation, your WPM will catch up soon enough.
Some entry level typing jobs from home, when done right and in bunches, can be lucrative enough.
But don’t stop there.
Remember that there’s more money to be made in advanced positions like law, government, and medicine.
Stick in basic typing jobs for a few years, get a typing certificate, garner industry-specific knowledge, and work your way to your chosen typing field.
As a wrap-up, any able person can type in a keyboard. But what’s separable are speed, accuracy, and add-on skills (e.g., writing, proofreading, editing, etc.).
A mundane job like this will surely be plagued with intense competition, so you have to be resilient and patient when bidders flood the interaction.
Sell yourself and your skills well. Avoid distractions as much as possible.
And start typing.
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