The joys of working for yourself, on contract, from home, or in a more ad hoc fashion
2019 08 04
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I was at a small social gathering some time ago - normally a thing I don't succeed at. The reasons for that are varied, and I won't get into them as that's another story entirely. But, what I did get into, was a conversation regarding the joys of working for yourself, or on contract, or from home, or in a more ad hoc fashion. It's not a luxury most of us have - as yet - but it will become a far more common thing as more and more work becomes automated on site, and more and more of that sort of work disappears entirely, shifting people into more service-based and knowledge-based endeavours, if there's any endeavour at all. Automation really is the job-killer - and eventually, transcription will be automated into historical record as well. Right now, though, voice-to-text automated transcription software still sucks, when it's possible at all, leaving a lot of clean-up.
Oddly, a lot of people who get transcriptions done already think it's all done by bots. It really isn't. Only some companies do that. But there's thousands of files per day done by an actual human, and it's not easy work. Bad audio, people who don't know how to use recording equipment, people not understanding how sound travels, accents, sloppy speakers. It takes the average person an hour to transcribe 15 minutes worth of audio, and that's only if the audio's clear and speaker numbers are minimal - in the one or two range.
Transcription is not just typing. There's a lot involved: good hearing, active attention, understanding of context, life experience to fill in gaps, education for the same, a good command of the English language (or whatever language the file is in), dealing with the bad audio, dealing with people whose sole mode of communication seems to be entirely made of false starts, no real complete sentences, and filler words. It's tedious, frustrating work sometimes, that doesn't pay too well, but it also has its perks. One of those perks falls under the umbrella of getting paid to get an education. But before I digress any further, the perks I really wanted to mention are the perks of freedom.
- I am free to work when I want on what I want.
- I am free from the obligations, traumas, and demands of a traditional workplace.
- I am free from dealing with customers.
- I am free from morally objectionable actions and the fallout and residue thereof.
- I am free to take whatever breaks I want and need, when I want and need them.
- I am free to pursue hobbies, volunteering, other work, whatever I want, because my flexible schedule affords me this.
- I am free from direct contact with a mansplaining supervisor who treats me like I have the IQ of a rutabaga.
- I am free from dress code constraints.
- I am free from the lunchtime problems associated with being broke and working in public, which means when I'm having a lean day, I can eat things to satiate which would not be possible in a public place.
- I am free from the weather.
- I am free to sleep off a sickness.
- I am free to enjoy a day off as an actual day off, and not merely a battery reset.
- I am free to travel.
- I am free from travel.
- I am free to deal with personal emergencies, my own, or that of others.
- I am free from stress I don't make myself.
And, for the first time in my life, I have employment that makes use of my education, language skills, intellect, and life experience. And for the first time it's employment I don't hate.