What is Scribie?

Scribie is a freelance platform that offers general transcription work and was first founded in 2008 by Rajiv Poddar in San Francisco. Your job is just to transcribe audio files into text files accurately. You are then paid based on audio hour which I will further talk about in the review below.

How does Scribie work?

Once you get accepted to work with Scribie, you can immediately start working. There is no minimum requirement of how much or how long you must work in a week. Your working schedule is completely up to you and you can work whenever you want.

When you log into your account, you will see a list of audio files ready to be transcribed and you can review the audio before taking up the job. Most of the files are usually speeches, phone calls or interviews and is no longer than 6 minutes each audio file.

After you have picked up an audio file, you can then begin to transcribe, review then submit it to the system to be checked. You must follow a set of instructions allocated for each job. There will then be a moderator to review your submission. Once the transcription is reviewed, the client will approve or reject the job and you can get paid per audio hour.

Requirements To Work For Scribie

Firstly, fluency in English is required as most of the jobs are in English. Next, you would need to have a verified PayPal account as this is their form of payment to their workers.

You would also need to have a computer or laptop and have access to internet to log onto the website. Besides, you can only access the website using the latest FireFox or Chrome browser.

Lastly, it is advisable to have headphones or earphones while working so that you can hear the audio files without external distractions. Working in a quiet environment also helps with getting work done faster as you can focus better.

How do I join?

In order to work for Scribie, you would first need to get a Transcription Certificate by them. The certification process starts when you register for an account. The registration requires basic information such as your name, email, PayPal address, average tying speed, years of transcription experience and so on. After registering, you will get a notification informing whether you have been accepted or rejected within 1 working day.

You will receive an invitation to create an account if you manage to pass the application. But if you didn’t manage to pass the application, fret not as you try applying again up to 10 times. Do not worry as the application is not difficult and they do not require you to have any experience prior joining.

After being accepted, you can then proceed with taking an online test where you have to select and transcribe an audio file. You will be granted the certification upon passing the test. Not only that, you will get your first pay as they pay you for the transcription test. You can now start making money on Scribie anytime you want.

How Much Can I Earn With Scribie

Scribie pays their transcribers between $5 to $25 per audio hour. Audio hour stands for the length of the audio and not the amount of time you spend working on the audio file. Audio files on Scribie are usually divided into files that are as long as 6 minutes or less. Each 6-minute file can earn you about $0.50 to $2.00. I would say that the pay is below average for a transcription job but as you become more efficient in transcribing you can earn a decent amount.

Furthermore, you can be promoted to a reviewer and a proofreader as you grow with progress. You can then choose whether you want to be a transcriber, a reviewer, a proofreader or any combinations of the above. People are promoted to become a proofreader if you can maintain an accuracy rate of at least 80%.

You can earn 2 times more as a reviewer or proofreader compared to a transcriber. Being promoted is very easy and you just have to submit 10 raw transcripts and reviewed files in the time span of 2 days. Hence, progressing from a transcriber to a reviewer and proofreader can help you make much more money.

Scribie also rewards its workers with bonus of $5 for every 3 hours completed for any transcriptions or reviews. This reward system is great encouragement for people to work more. There are also other ways to earn money from Scribie such as joining the referral program where you can earn 5% lifetime commission on the earnings of those people that you refer to Scribie using your referral link.

There is also an affiliate program where you can earn 10% lifetime commission on orders from Scribie customers using your link. This is a win-win situation for both Scribie and the worker as Scribie gains an extra customer and you can earn lifetime commission. As you can see there are many money-making opportunities with Scribie and it all depends on how to want to work with Scribie.

You can check out this post to see how is it like to earn a living as a Scribie Transcriptionist.

How Do I Get Paid?

You can get your pay from Scribie by using PayPal as that is their only form of payment method. You can get your pay any time of the day as there is no minimum withdrawal limit.

You can decide when you want to get your pay and you will receive your PayPal money after 1 working day. However, there is a 2% charge for every withdrawal less than $30 but anything more than that is free.

Scribie’s Grading System

Scribie has their own grading system where they grade your performance from the scale of 1 to 5. 1 indicates poor performance while 5 indicates excellent performance. All transcriptions you submit are graded indicating your performance.

You must maintain your grades at 2.5 and above to accept job offers. Anyone with grade lower than 2.5 is denied getting the job.

Furthermore, if you want to be promoted from a transcriber to a reviewer, you would need to maintain your grade at 3 and above.

What I Like About Scribie

Flexible Working Hours

Same goes to every freelance job out there where you can work from home, Scribie has very flexible working hours as you work based on when you want. You can work for Scribie on top of any full-time job to earn some extra cash. Furthermore, most of the work in Scribie does not take a long time and you can do this during breaks or even if you have little time to spare.

Growing Space

I like how Scribie allows people to grow from a transcriber to a reviewer or proofreader. Most of the transcription jobs out there only offer jobs to be a transcriber and there is no opportunity to be more than just a transcriber.

This allows people to constantly seek for better performance and progress in order to be promoted as a reviewer or proofreader. Besides, Scribie’s bonus for every 3 hours of transcription is great to motivate people to do more.

Beginner Friendly

There is no experience needed to apply for a job with Scribie as they only require you to pass a test they have created. Once you pass the test you can begin working and the job scope is also not too difficult for anyone to do. Furthermore, you can reapply for the test up to 10 times if you fail. This gives people an opportunity to continue applying even after failing.

Easy To Use

As there are automated scripts provided for each audio file, it makes it easier for transcription as the automated scripts are 60-90% accurate. Transcribers can take less time working on each audio file enabling them to do more.

Furthermore, Scribie also informs the transcriber about the accent of the speaker of each audio file before you start. This is great as you will be prepared of what the audio file may sound like instead of having a complete shock when listening to the audio file.

International Love

Everyone with a verified PayPal account is welcome to join Scribie. This enables anyone from any country that has PayPal to work with Scribie.

No Minimum Withdrawal Limit

The moment you start making money, you can request for withdrawal of the money anytime. You can even get your money after the first day of working. This is only the case if your work is approved on the day itself you submit the work.

Anyways this is great as you do not have to wait to earn a certain amount of money before withdrawing. Unlike other companies that only withdrawal after working for a certain amount of time or money, you can withdraw your hard earn money anytime you want.

What I Do Not Like About Scribie

Low Pay

As you can see from the review above, the pay isn’t amazing and it may not be worth it for people that are earning a minimum wage more than $10 an hour. There are many jobs out there that have much better pay than this. This is not something where you can get stable financial income but just something a little extra to have. You will not be able to live off working with Scribie even if you do this full-time. the amount of time put into this work is not equivalent to the pay you get.

Putting all these negativities aside, this may be good for people from other countries with weaker currencies as it may be converted into a decent pay. Hence, it all depends on whether you find this job worth your time or not.

Audio Files Not Audible

Most of the time you will not get an audio file where is it 100% clear. Many times, the audio file will be recorded in low quality and sometimes even not audible. This results in more errors made during transcription as transcribers cannot hear the files clearly and misinterpretation occurs. Transcribers then get rejected for their work as the result is incorrect. Transcribers then have to pay the cost for transcribing wrongly by not getting paid for the work they put in. Eventually, people may start to give up working with Scribie if they do not try to fix this problem.

Is Scribie A Scam?

All in all, no Scribie is not a scam. They have many real people working under them and you can probably find many reviews on them online. In my opinion, it is a nice platform for beginners to start some transcription work. It is also good for those wanting to earn a little more money in their spare time.

However, do not expect this job to make you a millionaire or even replace your full-time job as the pay is low and unsustainable. There is a saying that there are many jobs opportunities but not all pay well. This job may not pay as well as other online gigs but having a job is better than none. Hence, if you meet all the requirements needed to work for Scribie, I would say to give it a try as you might find your forte in transcription.