Work from Home Closed Captioning

\nAnyone who has the discipline to set their own schedule and meet deadlines without much oversight may find working from home to provide great advantages. Whether you are a parent looking to spend more time with your family or you simply enjoy the flexibility and comfort of working on your own terms, Closed Captioning is one of those unique professions that is both rewarding and lucrative, as well as one that affords you the luxury of working from home.\n

What is Closed Captioning?

\nClosed captioning is the text you see at the bottom of your television screen. This text is being produced by a closed captionist from a remote location, such as their home! There are two types of captioning jobs – real time captioning and offline captioning.\n

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• Real time captioning: Live, televised events, such as news broadcasts, sporting events, award shows and anything that takes place live requires real time captioning. This requires a captioner to provide the text as it is being spoken. Real time captioning is more lucrative than offline captioning because it requires extremely fast typing speeds.

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• Offline captioning: For pre-recorded audio or video, offline captioning is used to transcribe the words without requiring real time capabilities. However, in order to be successful, offline captioners still need to type at an extremely fast pace. Often times, offline captioning requires a special set of skills to know how to place the captions within the video at the right time, so court reporters and other transcriptionists may need additional training.

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What Do You Need?

\nCaptioning is a very specialized type of transcription. It is not a job you can break into with just a fast typing speed and a computer. It requires specialized skills and equipment, such as a steno machine, in order to do the work.\n\nExperience or a certification in court reporting is helpful when pursuing a career in captioning. The National Court Reporting Association provides courses to become a Certified Broadcast Captioner, which is often required to make it as a realtime captioner. Fortunately, for those who are looking for the flexibility of working from home, there are plenty of quality online court reporting schools that allow students to virtually interact with their teachers from any location.\n\nIn addition to your education, specialized equipment is necessary to help you reach the typing speeds required of a captioner – a staggering 200 words-per-minute (wpm) with 98% accuracy. A steno machine is a specialized keyboard that allows stenographers to press multiple keys at the same time to spell out full words and phrases. You’ll also need specialized CAT software, a computer, headset, pedal and high speed Internet to do the work.\n

Used Steno Machines for Sale

\nThe equipment to become a captioner can be a large upfront cost. Fortunately, you can finance used steno machine writers for a fraction of the cost. If you’re just beginning your education, used student steno writers utilize the same technology as a professional writer but for a more affordable price. Once you’ve completed your Court Reporting program, you’ll want to upgrade to a professional steno machine. A recent price reduction in pre-owned Diamante writers is making these machines more affordable than ever. Call us 1-800-323-4247 or contact us to learn more about special pricing for used writers and other required equipment to launch your career in closed captioning.