VITAC Review – Captioning and Data Entry Work from Home

“Learn more about a career at Vitac. Many positions offer work from home too.”

Closed Captioning Work Available Via VITAC

Every program that airs on television or goes to DVD has to be closed captioned, and someone needs to type that closed captioning. One of the companies that provides the closed captioning movie studios and television stations need is Vitac. The same company also provides you with an excellent opportunity to make some additional money while working at home. (You might want to take a look at my post, List of Genuine Work at Home Data Entry Jobs for more ideas. I've also got a big list of transciption companies that offer work at home as well.

Type of Work You’ll Be Doing

Vitac has three different types of captioners that it works with, but only the real-time captioners work at home.

Offline Captioner: Offline captioners transcribe and caption programs that air on the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, PBS, BBC America, Sundance Channel, Lifetime, and many others.

Voice Captioners: Also known as voice writers, our voice captioners work from home and enjoy a flexible work schedule. Employees are provided training prior to transcribing for our customers. They start out working on a part-time basis with the opportunity to become full-time.

Realtime Captioner: VITAC’s realtime captioners are full-time and part-time employees who either work at our Pittsburgh (Canonsburg, Pa.) location or remotely from their home locations. VITAC accepts applicants who are skilled realtime reporters with consistently high translation rates and the dictionary range to support translation of broadcast TV material.

Applying to Vitac

If you want to work as one of VITAC’s real-time captioners, you’re going to have to put some effort into the application process. Turning in your resume is just one of the things you’ll have to do. In addition to your resume, the company also requests that you make a transcription of a recent news broadcast and submit that. Getting this transcription can be tricky. I advise that you spend some time practicing before you come up with the transcription you’ll use for your application.

VITAC requires that all transcribers have the ability to type at least 50 words per minute.

When Vitac checks out the transcription you submit with your resume, they’re looking for a practically perfect transcription. They will watch a recording of the news program to judge the accuracy of your work. In addition to making sure that you’ve completed a word-for-word transcription, Vitac also expects you to use perfect punctuation.

Issues That Have to be Considered

Technically, you do get to set your own hours while working at Vitac, but you should know that they require that you provide at least 15 hours of closed captioning work every single week. The good news is that you will know that you’re making money each week, but it also limits the amount of additional work you can pick up during the week. If you decide to work for VITAC, I suggest that you complete your 15 hours during the start of the week and use the second half of the week to focus on higher paying, but less reliable work opportunities.

While I don’t mind promising 15 hours a week to VITAC, I do have issues with the fact that they insist I work at least one weekend day each month. They also stress that independent contractors will also be expected to work on all business holidays.

Training

VITAC hires you as a freelance independent contractor based on your resume and the new transcript you submit. They do advise that you attend their transcription boot camp. The camp isn't required, but it will give you a good idea of what to expect from the transcription company and will also show the company that you’re serious about doing quality work for the company.

Final Thoughts

Although VITAC does require the submission of a news transcript, they don’t require that you have any other experience, making the company ideal for anyone who is interested in doing transcription and closed captioning work. It’s also a good choice for anyone who is interested in working at home, but who only wants to deal with one or two income streams.

It is a legit company and you can learn about their current openings here.

If you're interested in transcription and just not sure if it's right for you or what it involves, I have a suggestion. There is a completely FREE 7-Day Mini Course offered by Transcribe Anywhere. It will give you a lot of insight into what transcription is all about. This will allow you to make a better-informed decision if it's right for you. There is no obligation and nothing to buy to take the mini course.