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Cross those Ts and Dot those Is as a Scopist at Home If you are looking for a way to make good money from the convenience of your own home you should consider becoming a scopist. In recent years scopistry has become an increasingly popular field for individuals wishing to change careers, and explore less traditional alternatives to the work force.
Scoping was developed when computers were introduced to the court reporting industry. Before the introduction of computers court reporters utilized note readers to create transcripts manually or with the use of a typewriter. The word scopist comes from the first computers, which utilized a diode scope screen.
If you are considering becoming a scopist from home, it is important to understand the fundamentals of scoping. The job
description of a scopist includes reviewing, editing, and proofreading court transcripts. They are basically responsible for translating a court reporters transcript that is created by a stenograph machine into plain English. The translation is usually translated with the help of computer aided transcription software and then edited by the scopist.
Scopists are usually hired by court reporters, but can also be contracted by other professionals as well. When a scopist is employed by a court reporter the duties of a scopist are easily outlined. First, the court reporter will send the scopist a copy of the trial proceedings via email, disk, or a direct connection to their computer. Then the scopist is responsible for translating the stenograph to English and check for errors. The most important part of this step is for the scopist to make sure no words were incorrectly translated, because they were not found in the computers dictionary.
Once the transcript is edited, corrected, and in the appropriate format they are sent back to the court reporter. The reporters well most likely then send more transcripts for you to work on.
Becoming a scopist is a great work at home opportunity for parents who would like to stay home with their children rather than put them in daycare. However, it should be mentioned that working as a scopist takes quite a bit of dedication, so your children should be independent enough to understand to give you time to work.
Learning to be a scopist also takes some training. The cost for the classes needed to learn the trade varies depending on where you choose to take them. You could end up spending anywhere from $1000 to $10,000, so it is important to do your research to find scoping classes that will fit your schedule and budget.
Most beginning classes for potential scopists consist of courses in grammar, sentence structure, and medical and legal terminology. In addition, you will need to have a working knowledge of the different types of software and transcription equipment. You will also need to learn machine dictation, need to know how to translate shorthand, and be able to type at least 120 words per minute.
Besides the things you will learn in training, a good scopist should be a motivated self-starter. Because you work at home you must be good with tome management, create your own schedules, and be able to meet deadlines consistently. You should also possess the capability of researching strange or unusual spellings and be able to spend many hours at a time sitting in front of a computer screen.
Being your own boss has a multitude of perks, but along with them come various responsibilities. For example, a work at home scopist should also be able to handle their own billing, pay all relevant state, local, and federal taxes, and handle all accounts receivable. Since scopists are considered independent contractors they are solely responsible for handling their fees and payments. |
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