Pros
- Low minimum hours - I think it was 16 per month
- Don't make you pay for a background check, regardless of how long you are employed
- Do not require a copy of Word or a pedal (though a pedal is very helpful)
- House style is clean verbatim - don't need to include ums, uhs, false starts, as you're producing professional documents based on dictations
- Quick responses to job questions via help ticket system and to emails
- Typists are not responsible for researching name/place spellings to ensure accuracy
- Nice Facebook community for getting tips, answers to questions, etc.
Cons
- Hard to get enough hours, especially if you have a low-hours week, because all the shifts will be taken the next week
- Many social work and police clients, so content is often about abuse/violence
- Dictations are sometimes poor audio quality -- clients dictating while driving, eating, in a busy office, etc.
- Have to schedule shifts in advance - occasionally this is lifted when they have a lot of work available, but it was less flexible than I thought it would be
- The pay worked out to about $13 per hour for me at my most focused, and it was not easy -- all their clients have different word lists, style/formatting preferences, etc.
- Website style guide is kind of a pain to use/navigate
- They discourage taking breaks - you're scheduled in hours, and they want you to not be away from the computer at all for short shifts (1-2 hours)
- Hard to export the abbreviations you add in their proprietary software