typing job featured

So You Want a “Typing Job From Home”

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Everyone seems to want “typing jobs”. This is a phrase many people Google, “typing job from home.” I put this in myself this morning just to see what would come up.

People usually search this because they want something simple, quiet, and legitimate, often non-phone work they can do from home.

Thankfully, I saw some search results from sites that are trustworthy, but also a large number from online job boards that I wouldn't necessarily trust. It appears scammers are interested in ripping off the people who want to “type from home.”

So let’s clear this up early: while “typing jobs from home” can be real, the phrase itself attracts a lot of scams. The good news is there are legitimate work-from-home jobs that involve typing. Just not always in the way people expect.

If you are looking for a “typing job,” here is some help!

What is a typing job from home?

That's actually kind of a broad phrase, but when I think about it, there are three main types of work-from-home jobs that come to mind:

Data Entry

Data entry involves transferring information from one source to another.

For example, I did some data entry on MTurk a few years ago where I looked at an image of a business card online and typed all the details out (name, address, etc.) into an online form. There are no special skills required to do this, in most cases.

This is the closest thing to what most people imagine when they think of a “typing job.”

Transcription

Transcription is listening to an audio file and then typing out what you hear, word for word. It's actually a little more technical than just that, but that is basically what you do.

It's possible for beginners to start in general transcription, although getting training (like what's offered here) beforehand is never a bad idea.

Medical transcription always requires training before a company will consider you for employment.

Legal transcription is yet another field you can go into that doesn't always require training, but training like this doesn't hurt, either.

I do list many “typing jobs” in my weekly work at home newsletters. You can sign up to begin getting these (free) right here.

Writing

Writing work involves creating content rather than just typing what already exists. This can include blog posts, product descriptions, web content, and more.

How hard is it to get a typing job from home?

It's not hard at all to get a job writing from home. There are many, many content mills that take on writers with little to no experience.

Transcription is a little trickier because most of the companies that pay well do want you to have some experience. However, if you're OK with a lower rate of pay, there are plenty of sites such as the ones here that accept transcription newbies.

Data entry is extremely hard to get in on. And you have to be a lot more careful about scams when searching for remote data entry opportunities.

I only know of a handful of places that actually hire for data entry, and most of those almost never need workers. However, I discovered that it's not uncommon to find the work on Amazon MTurk (you can also find transcription and writing work there).

Do these kinds of jobs pay well?

Just like with anything, it varies depending on the company you're doing the work for. Both writing and transcription can pay very well, but they can also both pay poorly.

Data entry is a lot harder to make a decent wage with.

Most of the typing jobs I've outlined above are independent contractor opportunities, so keep in mind that ongoing work isn't guaranteed and you are responsible for putting back money for taxes on what you earn. The company you're doing the work for won't deduct that like they would if you were working a W2 job.

This is why it’s important to be realistic about expectations and pay when searching for these types of jobs.

FlexJobs has a lot of options for typing jobs, and you'll find roles that pay well in addition to those that are more minimum wage if you browse their listings.

Why does everyone want to type at home?

The phrase is popular because in most cases typing at home also means non-phone work.

There are a lot of parents out there that want to stay home with their kids and work, but they can't apply for most of the phone jobs because they can't do anything about the background noise.

Another reason typing work interests people is because it sounds so easy.

Typing at home kind of makes people think about just pushing buttons and earning money. Data entry is so far the only truly easy typing job at home. However, it's also typically the worst paying!

Transcription isn't as easy as people think and writing can be extremely challenging, especially if it doesn't come naturally to you.

So now that we've broken it all down, here are the best resources I have for typing jobs:

Need Experience Typing?

Many of the companies that hire work at home typists will make you pass a skills test in order to start work. So while you may be able to type, there's no guarantee you'll be able to type fast enough to get a typing job.

Luckily, there are a lot of free resources online you can use to brush up your skills. Try the ones listed below before applying to any typing jobs to increase your speed:

A Word of Warning: Captcha Typing Jobs

Some sites pose as legit data entry. However, what you're actually doing is typing in captcha codes. These are paying next to nothing and may also involve legal or ethical risks.

Captcha codes are in place to help stop spammers, and there are people who spend all day every day simply typing in these codes to make it easier for spammers to get past them.

I won’t go too deep into the technical details here, but according to Wikipedia, spammers often use human captcha solvers to bypass security systems. These workers are paid extremely little — often less than $1 per 1,000 captchas — and their work may help spammers create fake accounts and send spam.

That alone should be enough to raise a red flag.

I know people need money and I understand that.

For this reason, people are going to do this work no matter what. But my thoughts are that the pay is so little it's just not worth the risk!

Looking For More Online Typing Jobs That Are Legitimate?

FlexJobs is a good place to look for legitimate typing-related work from home without worrying about scams.

Every listing is hand-screened, and you can filter for remote, non-phone roles like data entry-style work, transcription, and writing.

There are no ads on the site, which is why there’s a small membership fee — but you can try it for $2.95 for 14 days, and it’s easy to cancel if it’s not for you.

Go here to try it out and see what you think.