Transcriptionists, is there much of a demand for them?

[mj22]

One of my best friends that has been doing medical transcription for doctors at the 3rd largest hospital in the state over the past 20 yrs, is getting laid off. I guess the hospital is switching to voice recognition software and they are closing down the entire department march 31st. Im helping her get started with upwork.com and am looking else where for freelance work. She is really good at it, over the last yr they had been laying off people left and right in her department, she was a top performer and is one of the last ones standing prior to them changing. I guess i figured id ask around and see if there are other options for someone like her so she can keep working from home.

Thanks in advance for any feedback guys.

 

[mmm91492]

I can't speak from a firsthand but from what I see it's not dead. I think there's definitely been a shift to leveraging software and cheaper offshore personnel to handle the actual transcription / translation. I have a friend who works in that space and started in translation, but moved on to project management, which is where I think the opportunity lies for US professionals.

She recently parlayed her old position into a higher-paying one at a translation / transcription startup and it sounds like they are growing pretty fast. I think there is management demand for people who have the skills and know how that industry works.