Freelancing for Data Entry Operators: An Overview
Posted on 08. Nov, 2009 by Amod in Data Entry
Data Entry is perhaps the easiest skill to get paid for anyone with a computer and an internet connection; assuming that one has basic typing and web surfing skills – that’s it.
Some types of data entry projects usually posted are:
- Convert hard copy to soft copy: Clients will usually send the print / manuscript copy to be converted into say, MS Word/ MS Excel etc. It can be as simple as a multiple page essay or book to tabulated data in MS Excel. Sometimes you may need to do this by typing manually (e.g. when the copy is manuscript) or you can use OCR software to first obtain the data and then do the corrections.
- Data Extraction from Files: A client may want only certain data e.g. email addresses of those businesses residing in New York with net worth more than US$ 300,000. If the data is huge and has some structure, you can even use a software solution to extract this data.
- Data Extraction from the Web: Also known as online data extraction or web scraping or copy-paste from web, which indicates that it is as easy as copying data from websites and pasting it into MS Word / MS Excel etc. The most common sub-type for this project is extraction of contact info from websites. e.g. obtain contact info (including mailing address, phone, fax, email and web address) of all realtors in California. Manual copy-paste in this case is tedious and time consuming. So there are a range of software / scripts available for web extraction.
- Proof-Reading: Proof-Reading simply put is correction of data; spelling mistakes or typos, grammatical errors etc for a book are the easy ones. Some jobs may involve basic knowledge of the field e.g. proof-reading of a contract requires familiarity with legal terminology, medical journal requires knowledge of medical terms.
- Transcription: Medical / legal transcription was the beginning of data entry outsourcing. It involves listening to audio / video recordings and transcribe the conversation in a prescribed format. Transcription today is not just limited to medical or legal fields but also to others like business owners who require a Virtual Assistant to transcribe their thoughts for the day. Its best to invest in a good headset and software for these kinds of jobs.
Often, I see many freelancers (even designers and programmers) begin their freelancing career by taking up data entry projects and build up their ratings – this is especially applicable to sites like Rentacoder.com. Many would argue against this approach as it is unrelated to your actual expertise. But I would suggest taking them up as good ratings reflect not only your ability to complete a project, but also your attitude to a job. Moreover, you get to understand the intricacies of a bidding process before you begin to bid on projects that are specific to your skillset.
A Word of Caution: Look for projects on freelance marketspaces like Guru.com, elance.com etc and don’t bother about the vast multitudes of work from home and earn $6000 for data entry scams. The reality is that no single person has EVER made millions doing data entry (a company with 100s of data entry operators perhaps).
My advice is to use Data Entry as a stepping stone to win projects of a different category – yes, you will need to upgrade your skills for that – if you stick with freelancing, I guarantee that you will find a skillset that you love within a year. If you don’t find it or if you need help, I am just an email away.
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