8 Work-at-Home Typing Jobs for Fast and Accurate Typists

By Holly Reisem Hanna

There is one job that people always ask about, and that’s data entry. The reason I don’t cover data entry gigs on the website is most straight data entry jobs only pay pennies per document, which is by no means a fair wage. And often these companies have substantial account threshold requirements, so you won't get paid until you reach that amount (which could take months).

In fact, Ashlee over at Work at Home Happiness tried one of these straight data entry gigs and had this to say, “I felt like I had keyed and keyed and keyed some more but only managed to bank $8.72. Even today when I login, I can still see the $8.72 in my account. I never was paid because I didn’t meet the $30.00 threshold.”

However, if you’re a fast typist and you’re looking for data entry type gigs, there are other options available that you may not have considered, and best of all they pay well.

Here are eight work-at-home careers to consider if you’re a fast and accurate typist.

Online Chat Agents.

Along with the Internet and online shopping, came a new breed of customer service, and that's the live chat agent. Live chat agents answer customer's questions and queries on the spot via online text chat platforms. Some chat positions require background knowledge of a particular area (such as tech support), but many others are more general in nature and don't require any specialized skills (except for quick and accurate typing).

According to CareerBliss.com, chat agents make an average of $12 an hour, with specialized agents earning more.

For companies that hire remote chat agents, check out this list.

Closed Captioning Work. 

Do you like watching videos? Then perhaps working as a captioner is your dream work-at-home gig. Closed captioners watch TV shows, movies, and videos, type what they hear and sync it to the video. One company that offers captioning gigs is Rev, and they pay $0.40-$0.75 per video minute. Typing accuracy and speed will factor into how much you can make.

Looking for more closed captioning gigs? Anna has a great list over at Real Ways to Earn.

Virtual Assistants.

Virtual assistants are highly-skilled, home-based professionals that offer companies, businesses, entrepreneurs, and bloggers administrative support. Virtual assistants perform a wide variety of tasks, so excellent typing skills are a must. Some of the most basic tasks that VAs perform are sending email correspondence, creating documents, marketing tasks, editing, data entry, and internet research — all which require accurate typing skills. According to PayScale.com, the median income for a virtual assistant is $16 an hour.

Check out this article for a bunch of companies that hire virtual assistants.

Editors.

Do you have an eagle eye? Then perhaps this is the typing gig for you. Editors work with a variety of professionals to polish their written documents and works. They check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, as well as fact checking and improving readability. Many editors have English or journalism degrees, but others break into the field via internships, on-the-job training, and some have a natural gift and are self-taught. Needless to say, editors need excellent typing and communication skills. According to PayScale.com, the median wage of an editor is $47,819 annually.

Check out EditFast, FlexJobs, and Upwork for editing positions.

Freelance Writers. 

You may think that you need a specialized degree to be a writer, but that's not the case. All you need is practice and a love of the craft, and you can make decent money writing articles, newsletters, social media updates, white papers, blog posts, sales letters, case studies, and video scripts. In fact, Gina Horkey was able to build up her freelance writing business from $0 to $4k/a month in just six months. And the faster and more accurate you can type – the more work you can churn out. According to PayScale.com, the median income for a freelance writer is $28.50.

Check out this article for paid writing gigs.

Transcriptionists.

Are you a fast and accurate typist? Do you have excellent listening skills? Then perhaps transcription is the gig for you. Transcription is the process of listening to audio files from and transcribing them into written documents. There are many types of transcription from medical and legal (which require additional training) to general transcription which does not require specialized training. Most companies will make you take a test to ensure you can meet quality standards. And again, the faster you can type, the more documents you can crank out, the more money you'll make. According to Glassdoor, general transcriptionists earn $30,940 annually.

Want to know more about Transcription? TranscribeAnywhere has a FREE 7-part mini course that veteran transcriber, Janet Shaughnessy explains the industry, how much you can earn as a transcriber, where to find clients, and what you need to get started.

Paralegal.

Does the law appeal to you? Do you have excellent critical thinking skills? Maybe this word processing opportunity is right for you. Paralegals support attorneys, law agencies, corporations, and government agencies by summarizing depositions, preparing interrogatories, drafting procedural motions, performing legal research, and typing research memos. Most paralegals have formal training which could be a certificate program, associate degree, or bachelor's degree. However, some individuals have on-the-job training and work their way into the position. According to PayScale.com, paralegals earn $44,579 annually.

For paralegal gigs check out FlexJobs and Upwork.

Another occupation similar to a Paralegal, is a Scopist, which is editing transcripts for court reporters. You can learn more about scopists here.

Translation. 

Do you speak more than one language? Then consider becoming a translator. Translators take written and audio files from one language and translates it into another language. According to PayScale.com, translators make an average of $20 an hour.

Apply at Welocalize and Language Translation for freelance translation gigs.

Looking for more legit data entry gigs? FlexJobs has a list of 9 more positions that revolve around data entry and typing.

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