This is going to be a long review, but read through the whole thing. It's worth your time if you're thinking about working for Speechpad.

I've worked for Speechpad for 2 1/2 years now. I love my "job" and wouldn't go to another company for anything. When I started, the qualification test was a VERBATIM insurance file, which is probably the hardest type of file there is IMO. I failed it the first time. I studied what my mistakes were and when I was sure I understood them, I took it again. I passed the second time - just barely. The new qual tests aren't anywhere near as hard as the test I took.

I see bad reviews that are, honestly, quite ludicrous.

When I started, the only jobs I qualified for were for. 25 or. 35 per audio minute. That isn't much, BUT you work your way up to better paying jobs. Consider the lower paying jobs when you start as paying your dues or the probationary period when you start a new job. Most companies won't even consider you for a raise until 90 days after you start. You have to prove yourself. Same thing with Speechpad. If you do a good job on the lower paying jobs and maintain a high quality rating, you start to become qualified for the better paying jobs. It can happen a lot faster than 90 days, too.

Becoming qualified for better paying jobs is partly dependent on how many total minutes you've typed AND your rating. You have to keep your rating up by consistently turning in quality work. We've all had instances where we got a low rating. Sometimes it's you, but sometimes it's not. If you disagree with it, contact them. If you're not sure of something in the guideline or how to type something in the transcription that you can't find in the guideline, contact them right away. Don't wait until after you've submitted the file. If you can't finish in the allotted time, contact them.

If you really did just do a bad job - consider it a lesson and make sure you do better next time. If you consistently turn in bad work, don't expect to continue to be able to work. Whether you're picking up jobs on the Speechpad job board or MTurk, this is still a "job" and there are expectations that you have to meet in order to continue working. A job done isn't the same thing as a job well done. This isn't a survey on MTurk where your answers don't really matter. These are real customers wanting a quality transcription returned to them. Remember that.

The most important thing is to always communicate. You can't solve something if no one except YOU knows there's a problem or a perceived problem. Everyone at Speechpad is open to communication and are extremely friendly, helpful, conscientious, and receptive.

Speechpad is the BEST transcription company out there for a number of reasons.

- First and foremost, you get to choose which jobs you take. You have complete control over how much you make and how hard or how easy it is to make. That is absolutely priceless.

- Once you get past the "probationary period" you have unlimited earning potential. Consistently turn in quality work and you can make. 60 and up per audio minute. There are, as I type this, jobs up for $1.60 an audio minute. Does everyone have access to these jobs? No. I've EARNED the qualification that gives me access to those.

- Your earning potential is limited only by YOU. That gives you a freedom that clock punchers don't have.

There are other transcription companies out there, but they don't give you the freedom of choice, unlimited earning potential, or the flexibility in your schedule that Speechpad does.

Do a GOOD job and you won't have any reason to complain.

I should start by mentioning that I had done a lot of research into the notion of working from home before finally finding Speechpad (well, before my fiance found it for me, that is - credit where credit is due, right?) I couldn't even get past the test file at Rev. Mind you, transcription is nothing new. I've been transcribing for many years and have had clients varying from doctors and lawyers right down to college professors wanting their lectures typed out. I've worked in-house, from home, as employee, as contractor, and as freelancer. Most every other site I've been to for transcription has been, at best, a poor choice to fall back on. Most either maintain an impossible expectation of an adherence to their standards (which can often be contradictive of themselves,) or simply don't pay well enough to fathom undertaking such jobs - like 7 cents an audio hour unless your grade scores at or above a level 7 on their scale, then it's 12 cents an audio hour and you get a 3% bonus if it's done in x amount of time and... wait, what? No. Speechpad is simple and straight forward - You know what the job pays and how long the audio is. And if you click on the sample audio icon, you even get a feel for what that job is going to sound like. If it ends up being too much, you return it with no penalty (other than not being able to work on it again, but someone's going to grab it before you would have been back to it anyway.)
Payment is via PayPal and is always on time (sometimes even early.) It's fair compensation for the jobs provided and often even better than fair (have seen and worked jobs at $0.60 per audio minute and $0.75 per audio minute.) Just this last weekend I pulled a job that was one hour twenty-one minutes long and paid $49.03. The audio was clean, the review was fair (below the threshold even, but I was expecting that as I was seeing double near the end - I accepted it at midnight, worked it through 5AM, requested the extension I knew I'd need, took a nap, woke up, woke up, and polished it off with time to spare.)
Regarding the complaints about reviewers I keep seeing on these review sites - Let me put it in perspective for you: They are users just like you. They strived and toiled to get and keep their rating up, worked on and with the stie for a good time, had all the same hiccups each of us have at one point or another, and then refined their skills to a point that the Speechpad team felt they were qualified. They're still human. This is still spoken word being recorded as written word. This still leaves much to interpretation. Regardless, the staff has always taken the time to address any issues I just couldn't let slide and either explained where I went wrong or explained where a reviewer might have gone wrong and then adjusted the score accordingly.
There's a "Send Feedback" button at the top of the site - use it, it is your friend.
Now, mind you, if you turn in subpar work, don't expect employment and payment on par. But this is no different than with any other employer or freelance type project out there.