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MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION

If you're experienced in medical terminology-and this isn't something you can fake-typing for psychiatrists and law firms that handle personal injury cases can be very profitable. Since most typists can't or won't handle such work, the specialty is well paid.

Being a nurse, I sort of fell into my favorite job: typing for a psychiatrist who dealt with personal injury cases going into litigation. He turned out to be a model employer, who both asked for my preferences regarding dictation technique and then conformed to those guidelines. What a sweetheart! He spelled all names twice (once on the tape and once on a written form accompanying each job), made most of his own corrections or paid me extra to do them, rarely sent rush jobs, didn't care if the copy was verbatim (depositions, in contrast, must be totally accurate to dictation, down to a's, nd's, and the's) and handled very interesting cases. He also furnished me with a typewriter, ribbons, stationery, erasers, and paper clips, and all work was delivered and picked up by his service. The money was good, the typing was easy, and I really enjoyed the whole experience.

I should mention that few dictators are as nearly perfect as that doctor. If you come across something incomprehensible either on a tape or in written copy-don't hesitate to call your client and ask questions. I've never been snapped at for doing so and even if you are, it's better than guessing wrong and having to retype a page.

THESIS AND DISSERTATION TYPING

If you live near a university, registration with the graduate student office will net you thesis and dissertation work which can be very profitable. A highly experienced thesis typist I know gets 750 per page for straight copy and $1.30 each for tables. To qualify for that kind of money, however, you must be a grammatical expert and know all the various forms for theses, bibliographies, and the like. (In any case, you should familiarize yourself with some of the more popular styles: Campbell's, Turabian's, and the American Psychiatric Association's, for instance.)

Every college and university has a list of specific requirements for a proposed study: style of type, table and appendix format, enumeration procedures, margins, bibliographical conventions, and overall arrangement. Ask the students you type for to furnish you with a copy of these directions for your reference.

Another requirement for such scholastic works is that they must be done on special paper, usually of 20-pound weight and 50 percent rag content. The larger universities carry the necessary stock. (Since the paper is frequently imprinted with the institution's watermark, however, be sure you're furnished with enough for all corrections and the final draft.)

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