Rev is well-established legit online transcription, dictation, translation and subtitling company that offers jobs to freelance workers. This review is from a transcriptionist point of view, not from a customer point of view. If you want to work for them, read this review first, so you don't get any surprise.
I left Rev in 2020 and things have
changed since. I know, for example, that now they require an ID document (passport for ex.) to be able to work for them, something that wasn't necessary when I was working for them. What is written below was written short after I left. I enjoyed my time there, loved my peers and
the jobs, but payment was exploitative and I couldn't make a living out
of it.
BEFORE GETTING ACCESS
You have to take a test to demonstrate your English language grammar skills. If you pass it, you'll be allowed to do a short transcription job. Rev graders will review it and, about 2 weeks, they'll let you know the results. If you pass it, you're be allowed to register and start working. When you register you also sign a formal contract with Rev as freelancer.
GOOD THINGS
+ They tell you upfront how they work, how they mark, what and how they pay, and what they expect from you. If you don't fit the bill or perform according to what they want, your account will be terminated. Zap! in a micro-second.
+ They pay in a timely manner every Monday evening, via PayPal, for the week that ends on Saturday.
+ You can work when and wherever it suits you. You only need a computer, a good set of earphones and a comfortable chair.
+ You don't need extra software or anything to work for them. Not even the usual transcriptionist pedals, if you don't want to. You can download some Chrome extensions to make your work easier, like Ears or a media speed controller.
+ Newcomers need to pass a period of assessment, still being paid for the transcriptions they do. They're called Rookies. Their jobs are graded/marked so that they can learn from their mistakes. It's a great training. They have a maximum of 100 minutes of transcription to achieve the required metrics/statistics to work for Rev after that.
+ The variety of subject files you can work on: thesis interviews, celebrities interviews for fashion magazines or TV outlets, board meetings, focus group studies, police or investigator surveillance and interrogation sessions, court trials, TV programs, meetings, research interviews, webinars, customer service calls, and what's not. Files come both in just audio, or audio and video.
+ Some projects are really interesting and enjoyable to do. I've learned so much stuff by just listening to some of the speakers. One feels privileged at having access to classified material that, many times, involves celebrities, politicians and well-known people.
+ If you are an approved transcriptionist (called Revver) you will earn 25% more for doing the same job as a Rookie does, and will have access to thousands of jobs that Rookies cannot work on. If you pass that level after 120 days (with very high metrics and a high volume of minutes transcribed) you will become a Revver+ and be in the best position to be, earning way more for the same jobs, having early access to files and some other perks.
+ Customer service is really excellent. They are friendly, helpful and caring. They want to help you. They want you to do well. They encourage you.
+ Forums like Lend an Ear and the chat Ask the Experts are really helpful. The people there, other transcriptionists, respond to your queries live, while you are still working on a project and you have doubts that need to be sorted out ASAP. Very supportive.
+ If you take a job that you cannot finish, because it's a pain in the butt, you don't have the time, or something comes up for you, you can unclaim it, and another transcriptionist can take it. Unless the project is just a couple of minutes long, they give you 60 minutes to work on it and unclaim it. You won't be paid for the time you worked on it, but your metrics won't be affected. However, that's better that not finishing the job by the deadline, spending hours on a file, not being pad and your metrics being affected.
+ They pay in a timely manner every Monday evening, via PayPal, for the week that ends on Saturday.
+ You can work when and wherever it suits you. You only need a computer, a good set of earphones and a comfortable chair.
+ You don't need extra software or anything to work for them. Not even the usual transcriptionist pedals, if you don't want to. You can download some Chrome extensions to make your work easier, like Ears or a media speed controller.
+ Newcomers need to pass a period of assessment, still being paid for the transcriptions they do. They're called Rookies. Their jobs are graded/marked so that they can learn from their mistakes. It's a great training. They have a maximum of 100 minutes of transcription to achieve the required metrics/statistics to work for Rev after that.
+ The variety of subject files you can work on: thesis interviews, celebrities interviews for fashion magazines or TV outlets, board meetings, focus group studies, police or investigator surveillance and interrogation sessions, court trials, TV programs, meetings, research interviews, webinars, customer service calls, and what's not. Files come both in just audio, or audio and video.
+ Some projects are really interesting and enjoyable to do. I've learned so much stuff by just listening to some of the speakers. One feels privileged at having access to classified material that, many times, involves celebrities, politicians and well-known people.
+ If you are an approved transcriptionist (called Revver) you will earn 25% more for doing the same job as a Rookie does, and will have access to thousands of jobs that Rookies cannot work on. If you pass that level after 120 days (with very high metrics and a high volume of minutes transcribed) you will become a Revver+ and be in the best position to be, earning way more for the same jobs, having early access to files and some other perks.
+ Customer service is really excellent. They are friendly, helpful and caring. They want to help you. They want you to do well. They encourage you.
+ Forums like Lend an Ear and the chat Ask the Experts are really helpful. The people there, other transcriptionists, respond to your queries live, while you are still working on a project and you have doubts that need to be sorted out ASAP. Very supportive.
+ If you take a job that you cannot finish, because it's a pain in the butt, you don't have the time, or something comes up for you, you can unclaim it, and another transcriptionist can take it. Unless the project is just a couple of minutes long, they give you 60 minutes to work on it and unclaim it. You won't be paid for the time you worked on it, but your metrics won't be affected. However, that's better that not finishing the job by the deadline, spending hours on a file, not being pad and your metrics being affected.
+ Metrics are important for a Revver because those are the ones that will keep you working space open. If your metrics fall bellow what is expected from you, your account will be closed down without any warning.
+ Overall, the website is clean and easy to use.
+ Their online Line editor used to transcribe is very good. I have poor sight, so I love the customization of speaker labels and the dark grey background, as well as the slow-down audio tool. Line is way better than other online editors I've used in other online transcription companies.
+ Overall, the website is clean and easy to use.
+ Their online Line editor used to transcribe is very good. I have poor sight, so I love the customization of speaker labels and the dark grey background, as well as the slow-down audio tool. Line is way better than other online editors I've used in other online transcription companies.
SO SO
> Their modern online editor is unnecessarily clunky and slow at times. Not bad, but, you cannot adjust the sound settings to eliminate background noise. You have to switch to the old editor, which allows you to do that, but it is clunkier for other things.
> Rev Style Guide would barely pass any English academic exam and it lacks clarity, organisation and detail. TranscribeMe has a way better style guide, something you expect from a company that's anal about style.
> The time assigned to finish a transcription is usually OK, but not always. In the latter case, you might be in trouble. When the timing ends and you haven't returned the finished file, your metrics are affected, but you will be given an hour to finish up things. Recently, they added also a button to request extra time after that. Your metrics will still be affected. I sounds good, but some files are so difficult that you might work a full 8-hour shift, get barely any money and bad metrics. If you are the naughty type and decide to submit a poorly finished or unfinished work, you will be caught by the quality team, the customer or both.
NOT SO GOOD
> Some of the experts you ask for help have a knowledge of English that is as good as mine, not better. You ask them a question and they say, "go to Google". Really?
> Rev is totally anal about time tags and the style guide, but different graders will pass different things or not. Also, the client's ratings can overwrite the graders' for good or bad. If the client is a jerk with a sense of entitlement, you're in trouble.
> Graders are sometimes full of BS. Say that I do a 20-minute audio. Then the review it in 5 minutes because they just check a few lines or paragraphs. Sometimes they come with helpful suggestions, but it isn't the first time that they have misheard a word (or more) and 'corrected' the correct wording you've transcribed, all of which negatively impacts your metrics. You can dispute the rating, but that puts you in a bad position and you have to waste your time, sometimes for nothing.
> Once you are a Revver, any negative grade directly impacts your metrics and, as a result, it directly impacts whether you can continue transcribing for Rev or not. If you are a Revver+ you go down the scale, but if you are a Revver you don't go down to Rookie, you go out of the system forever.
> The work you do when you "unsubmit" a file is not paid, no matter you've spent an hour or six.
> Your work is graded the same regardless of the difficulty or length of the audio or the time that got you to work on it. Totally unfair. If it was paid fairly, I might understand, but no; they're paid basically the same, a few cents up or down.
> Although they recommend Rookies to start with small projects, most of the jobs in the job pool are 10+ minutes long, average 20+ minutes long, and deadlines vary from project to project.
> Their payment per minute is exploitative. It might be OK if you live in a country where the US dollar is a lot of money in your local currency. If you live in a developed country, you'll be cringing at seeing that a 30-minute recording (which could take you between 6 to 7 hours to do) is paid less than 10 bucks.
> You won't make a living on this unless you are lucky enough to become a Revver+ or an expert, and are at the top of the game, because you've also grading, reviewing and answering doubts.
> Even if you are an approved Revver and earn 25% more than Rookies, that is still a misery. Yes, you won't earn $10 for a 30-minute file (which can take your 6-7 hours), but $12. That's still ridiculous and should be illegal.
> They don't accept transcription of foreign language bits even if you happen to be bilingual in that foreign language. Totally stupid!
> They store system files on your computer to control you, something I find shocking. Thoroughly clean up your computer when you end your relationship with them using a good antivirus and manually locating the files.
> Some of the experts you ask for help have a knowledge of English that is as good as mine, not better. You ask them a question and they say, "go to Google". Really?
> Rev is totally anal about time tags and the style guide, but different graders will pass different things or not. Also, the client's ratings can overwrite the graders' for good or bad. If the client is a jerk with a sense of entitlement, you're in trouble.
> Graders are sometimes full of BS. Say that I do a 20-minute audio. Then the review it in 5 minutes because they just check a few lines or paragraphs. Sometimes they come with helpful suggestions, but it isn't the first time that they have misheard a word (or more) and 'corrected' the correct wording you've transcribed, all of which negatively impacts your metrics. You can dispute the rating, but that puts you in a bad position and you have to waste your time, sometimes for nothing.
> Once you are a Revver, any negative grade directly impacts your metrics and, as a result, it directly impacts whether you can continue transcribing for Rev or not. If you are a Revver+ you go down the scale, but if you are a Revver you don't go down to Rookie, you go out of the system forever.
> The work you do when you "unsubmit" a file is not paid, no matter you've spent an hour or six.
> Your work is graded the same regardless of the difficulty or length of the audio or the time that got you to work on it. Totally unfair. If it was paid fairly, I might understand, but no; they're paid basically the same, a few cents up or down.
> Although they recommend Rookies to start with small projects, most of the jobs in the job pool are 10+ minutes long, average 20+ minutes long, and deadlines vary from project to project.
> Their payment per minute is exploitative. It might be OK if you live in a country where the US dollar is a lot of money in your local currency. If you live in a developed country, you'll be cringing at seeing that a 30-minute recording (which could take you between 6 to 7 hours to do) is paid less than 10 bucks.
> You won't make a living on this unless you are lucky enough to become a Revver+ or an expert, and are at the top of the game, because you've also grading, reviewing and answering doubts.
> Even if you are an approved Revver and earn 25% more than Rookies, that is still a misery. Yes, you won't earn $10 for a 30-minute file (which can take your 6-7 hours), but $12. That's still ridiculous and should be illegal.
> They don't accept transcription of foreign language bits even if you happen to be bilingual in that foreign language. Totally stupid!
> They store system files on your computer to control you, something I find shocking. Thoroughly clean up your computer when you end your relationship with them using a good antivirus and manually locating the files.
BASIC INFO FOR TRANSCRIPTIONISTS
# The volume of jobs during the weekend decreases dramatically.
# Chrome works better than Mozilla on Rev.
# Transcription practice for Rookies is paid and they provide you with feedback and don't affect the metrics. That's great. The problem is that the experts' transcription can have accuracy issues. I'm sure of that. That's especially the case when they are listening to strong accents, Aussie, Kiwi and the like. I love corrections but, really, if you say in your Style Guide that non-verbatim has to change all informal contractions to formal speech, but then their expert corrects that as a mistake, your eyeballs will be rolling around your head.
# They only accept American grammar and spelling, even if the transcription is being made for a British person. A bit tricky if you aren't American.
# There is a pool of jobs from where you can claim a job and do it. You can preview (listen/watch) the job before accepting any as long as no one has claimed.
# Once you accept the job, depending on the duration of the file, you have a deadline to unclaim it without your metrics being affected. There is a countdown, really visible, that you can use as a guideline, which gets red when you have 10 minutes left to finish. If you keep the job no problem.
# If you unclaim a job before the countdown timer stops, you won't be penalised, and your metrics won't be accepted, but you will work for free.
# If you unclaim a job after the countdown timer tops, you will be penalised and your metrics affected. Also, you've worked for nothing.
# The system will notify you that the end of the job deadline is approaching, both by email and by an orange banner at the top of the page, which is really great if you aren't good at managing your time.
# If you haven't submitted the job before the deadline, you will have an extra hour to do so before they grab it from you. Your metrics will be affected either way.
# Sometimes there is a constant stream of jobs, and others there aren't many. Easy short jobs tend to disappear at the speed of light. Most of them are lengthy and a pain to your ears. The best jobs are taken by Revvers+, so the rest are the scraps from someone's else table.
# There are two types of jobs, those that you have to type yourself (you don't get those until you are an approved Revver), and those that have an automatically-generated draft transcript. They pay you very little more, sometimes the same, but the former are double the work for you. There are exceptions to this statement, but I've found difficult audios that you have to transcribe from scratch paid a the same rate as others that had a Line draft.
# They will pay you for your job unless your file is unworkable. That's especially great when you are a newbie and starting as a transcriber.
# The volume of jobs during the weekend decreases dramatically.
# Chrome works better than Mozilla on Rev.
# Transcription practice for Rookies is paid and they provide you with feedback and don't affect the metrics. That's great. The problem is that the experts' transcription can have accuracy issues. I'm sure of that. That's especially the case when they are listening to strong accents, Aussie, Kiwi and the like. I love corrections but, really, if you say in your Style Guide that non-verbatim has to change all informal contractions to formal speech, but then their expert corrects that as a mistake, your eyeballs will be rolling around your head.
# They only accept American grammar and spelling, even if the transcription is being made for a British person. A bit tricky if you aren't American.
# There is a pool of jobs from where you can claim a job and do it. You can preview (listen/watch) the job before accepting any as long as no one has claimed.
# Once you accept the job, depending on the duration of the file, you have a deadline to unclaim it without your metrics being affected. There is a countdown, really visible, that you can use as a guideline, which gets red when you have 10 minutes left to finish. If you keep the job no problem.
# If you unclaim a job before the countdown timer stops, you won't be penalised, and your metrics won't be accepted, but you will work for free.
# If you unclaim a job after the countdown timer tops, you will be penalised and your metrics affected. Also, you've worked for nothing.
# The system will notify you that the end of the job deadline is approaching, both by email and by an orange banner at the top of the page, which is really great if you aren't good at managing your time.
# If you haven't submitted the job before the deadline, you will have an extra hour to do so before they grab it from you. Your metrics will be affected either way.
# Sometimes there is a constant stream of jobs, and others there aren't many. Easy short jobs tend to disappear at the speed of light. Most of them are lengthy and a pain to your ears. The best jobs are taken by Revvers+, so the rest are the scraps from someone's else table.
# There are two types of jobs, those that you have to type yourself (you don't get those until you are an approved Revver), and those that have an automatically-generated draft transcript. They pay you very little more, sometimes the same, but the former are double the work for you. There are exceptions to this statement, but I've found difficult audios that you have to transcribe from scratch paid a the same rate as others that had a Line draft.
# They will pay you for your job unless your file is unworkable. That's especially great when you are a newbie and starting as a transcriber.
THE CLIENT'S FAULT
Many of the difficulties I've found while working for Rev are derived from clients expecting people to produce almost perfect files while they are providing crappy-quality material. Some of the difficulties transcriptionist can find are:
-- The recording has a dreadful sound, with lots of background noise. The interview might have been done in a cafe, factory or a crowded place. Unless you are an investigator, there is no excuse to set your recording place in a noisy place.
-- The file has many speakers, that can barely be identified because the file has no video or the speakers have very similar voices.
-- In an interview, the interviewer is overpowering the interviewee, not letting them finish a sentence or interjecting active listening sounds that are louder than the interviewee's voice.
-- In an interview for the media, the crew comments and interjections have not been cropped out, it could be 3-6 people without a microphone talking of things that have little or nothing to do with the interview. However, those extremely-difficult bits have to be transcribed because that's Rev mandate and clients aren't really thoughtful about editing their videos/audios before uploading.
__ The speaker has a strong foreign accent and/or can barely speak English.
--The speaker is an English-native speaker who constantly mumbles, mispronounces or speaks a grammatically-incorrect English.
-- Files with lot of industry-related jargon or very niche subjects.
Many of the difficulties I've found while working for Rev are derived from clients expecting people to produce almost perfect files while they are providing crappy-quality material. Some of the difficulties transcriptionist can find are:
-- The recording has a dreadful sound, with lots of background noise. The interview might have been done in a cafe, factory or a crowded place. Unless you are an investigator, there is no excuse to set your recording place in a noisy place.
-- The file has many speakers, that can barely be identified because the file has no video or the speakers have very similar voices.
-- In an interview, the interviewer is overpowering the interviewee, not letting them finish a sentence or interjecting active listening sounds that are louder than the interviewee's voice.
-- In an interview for the media, the crew comments and interjections have not been cropped out, it could be 3-6 people without a microphone talking of things that have little or nothing to do with the interview. However, those extremely-difficult bits have to be transcribed because that's Rev mandate and clients aren't really thoughtful about editing their videos/audios before uploading.
__ The speaker has a strong foreign accent and/or can barely speak English.
--The speaker is an English-native speaker who constantly mumbles, mispronounces or speaks a grammatically-incorrect English.
-- Files with lot of industry-related jargon or very niche subjects.
-- Files with names of towns and words that are specific to certain countries or regions.
-- Files with indigenous words commonly used in certain English-speaking countries (Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, for example).
-- Files with foreign words or creole language.
-- People talking over each other, which is especially bad when there are more than two speakers.
__ Clients do not provide the name of the speakers, even though sometimes there are just two or three of them.
-- Clients do not provide the subject of the conversation nor the type of English accent of the person speaking.
-- People talking over each other, which is especially bad when there are more than two speakers.
__ Clients do not provide the name of the speakers, even though sometimes there are just two or three of them.
-- Clients do not provide the subject of the conversation nor the type of English accent of the person speaking.
TIPS FOR REV'S CLIENTS TO IMPROVE QUALITY
-- Record your interview in a silent place. Seen from outside, it seems quite dumb choosing a cafeteria or a noisy place for that. Unless you are a policeman or private investigator, there is no excuse for that.
-- If you are recording a conversation, remember that even if you mic sounds great, the other person will be barely heard unless you connect a speaker to your computer.
-- Provide a glossary if you work in a scientific or technical field. You might feel that everyone should know what you are talking about, but there is tons of niche jargon out there and transcriptionists are just humans. Also, remember, the fact that you have a professional jargon and someone else doesn't know it doesn't mean that is relevant outside your field.
-- Provide complete names of speakers, specially if the spelling is difficult, when you upload the audio.
-- Edit your video/audio before uploading, especially if the crew chat is of no interest to you. Otherwise, transcriptionists have the obligation to transcribe it, the difficulty increases and the payment is the same.
-- If you are the main speaker, please learn not to interrupt. Give space to the other person so s/he can reply and speak. Everyone wants to be the centre of a conversation, but if you are interviewing and replying your own questions, you are a bad interviewer.
-- Before starting an interview, write down some questions instead of making a question that lasts 5 minutes and has no query in it. It's a pain to listen to interviewers who cannot make a proper question in three lines and need a whole paragraph full of like, sort of, kind of, like, and other fillers. These are mostly native speakers, so there is no excuse.
-- Provide information about the speakers' accent. Is it Australian? Kiwi? British? Canadian? Indian? Southern US? There are transcriptionists specialized int those accents, so if they see that mentioned, the'll pick the file quicker and it'll go to the right person.
-- Use a good recorder.
-- Don't upload crap files and then pretend that we have divine angels whispering what you are saying to us. We use our ears and it can be extremely painful.
-- Read the guidelines before complaining about the service. I'm tired of seeing people slamming Rev's transcriptionists for not doing things that are clearly stated in the guidelines we won't do. Like, transcribing non-English language. Like leaving course language or bad English as they are.
If you take care of these things, transcriptionists wil do your job better, quicker and the accuracy will be better.
-- If you are recording a conversation, remember that even if you mic sounds great, the other person will be barely heard unless you connect a speaker to your computer.
-- Provide a glossary if you work in a scientific or technical field. You might feel that everyone should know what you are talking about, but there is tons of niche jargon out there and transcriptionists are just humans. Also, remember, the fact that you have a professional jargon and someone else doesn't know it doesn't mean that is relevant outside your field.
-- Provide complete names of speakers, specially if the spelling is difficult, when you upload the audio.
-- Edit your video/audio before uploading, especially if the crew chat is of no interest to you. Otherwise, transcriptionists have the obligation to transcribe it, the difficulty increases and the payment is the same.
-- If you are the main speaker, please learn not to interrupt. Give space to the other person so s/he can reply and speak. Everyone wants to be the centre of a conversation, but if you are interviewing and replying your own questions, you are a bad interviewer.
-- Before starting an interview, write down some questions instead of making a question that lasts 5 minutes and has no query in it. It's a pain to listen to interviewers who cannot make a proper question in three lines and need a whole paragraph full of like, sort of, kind of, like, and other fillers. These are mostly native speakers, so there is no excuse.
-- Provide information about the speakers' accent. Is it Australian? Kiwi? British? Canadian? Indian? Southern US? There are transcriptionists specialized int those accents, so if they see that mentioned, the'll pick the file quicker and it'll go to the right person.
-- Use a good recorder.
-- Don't upload crap files and then pretend that we have divine angels whispering what you are saying to us. We use our ears and it can be extremely painful.
-- Read the guidelines before complaining about the service. I'm tired of seeing people slamming Rev's transcriptionists for not doing things that are clearly stated in the guidelines we won't do. Like, transcribing non-English language. Like leaving course language or bad English as they are.
If you take care of these things, transcriptionists wil do your job better, quicker and the accuracy will be better.
EXTRA THOUGHTS FOR REV'S CLIENTS
Rev might be great for clients, but not for workers. Rev, the company, doesn't have a social conscience. It is not that they don't care about the workers, or do not consult with them, or do not hear them, or take some of their requests on board. They do. However, but they care more about clients and profits. The client is what matters, and that's great if you are a client.
I wonder if Rev's customers are aware that the people who go through their material work for barely no money, with strict deadlines and high-end demands, and that people have to work bordering perfection to keep top metrics for their account not to be closed off.
Listen, Rev's customer. Entry-level transcriptionists are paid between 0.30 to 0.58 cents per minute transcribed (that can take you 5-10 minutes, or more depending on the quality of the audio-recording). Yes, that's right. Approved transcriptionists earn 25% more. Still, a misery. Would you want to work for that money? Do you think that payment is acceptable? If you didn't know that this is how you get such cheap pricing, now you do. If you don't want to pay people properly for the job they do, you are an exploiter, it doesn't matter that you are an University professor, a lawyer, a researcher, a film-maker or whomever.
Why do you think it is okay to pay the prices I've mentioned and then provide recordings that are barely audible and/or speak your native English badly?
Rev might be great for clients, but not for workers. Rev, the company, doesn't have a social conscience. It is not that they don't care about the workers, or do not consult with them, or do not hear them, or take some of their requests on board. They do. However, but they care more about clients and profits. The client is what matters, and that's great if you are a client.
I wonder if Rev's customers are aware that the people who go through their material work for barely no money, with strict deadlines and high-end demands, and that people have to work bordering perfection to keep top metrics for their account not to be closed off.
Listen, Rev's customer. Entry-level transcriptionists are paid between 0.30 to 0.58 cents per minute transcribed (that can take you 5-10 minutes, or more depending on the quality of the audio-recording). Yes, that's right. Approved transcriptionists earn 25% more. Still, a misery. Would you want to work for that money? Do you think that payment is acceptable? If you didn't know that this is how you get such cheap pricing, now you do. If you don't want to pay people properly for the job they do, you are an exploiter, it doesn't matter that you are an University professor, a lawyer, a researcher, a film-maker or whomever.
Why do you think it is okay to pay the prices I've mentioned and then provide recordings that are barely audible and/or speak your native English badly?
