We get it. Making the choice between transcribing or scoping is a valid and understandable concern!  And it is a big decision to make, too, when on the search for work-from-home career training.

First, what is the difference between transcribing or scoping?

• Transcription is CREATION of English words on the computer screen matching voices speaking the words.
• Scoping is CLEANING UP (editing) of those English words after they are on the computer screen, normally input by a court reporter using either CAT (steno) or voice software.

That’s it in simple terms.

Which is easier to do?

Ah-ha! Now we’re getting into “it all depends” on many different factors. What factors? Here’s a small list:

• How clear is the audio? Bad audio is a killer for transcription and a semi-killer for scoping. 
• Are the speakers talking too fast?  With both transcription and scoping, the audio can be slowed down a bit to make the recording more understandable.
• How good are the notes to be scoped?  Bad writing by a court reporter can be a nightmare.
• What about difficult-to-understand accents?  Those can be a real headache for both a transcriptionist and a scopist.

What is the work forecast for transcribing or scoping?

• Many scopists seem to have a hard time finding consistently steady work due to some online schools that engage in extremely aggressive marketing.  These schools sometimes enroll too many students at once, saturating the marketplace.
• There is a current shortage of well-trained transcriptionists, however. Here at Learn to Transcribe™, we are helping fill that void in the legal industry by providing quality training.

What is the difference in pay between transcribing and scoping? 

As a general rule, transcription pays more per page than scoping.

What about training for transcription or scoping?

We have another article on this very subject which explains things in more detail.  However, generally speaking …

• Legal transcription training takes a few weeks to a few months, depending on the student’s time to study.
• Scoping training takes longer than transcription training due to having to learn new software and how to read steno.

RELATED:  Training for Transcriptionists and Scopists.

In conclusion …

The best money for the various types of transcription is legal, and nobody in the industry would argue with that. So if you are interested in that field, check out our legal transcription course with apprenticeship opportunity.  

We’d love to teach you everything we know about how to produce near-perfect transcripts of testimony!