Monday, May 25, 2015

Proofread Anywhere Review

Hey friends. Many of you have asked about my new career as a legal transcript proofreader. Well, I'm here to explain more and give a review of the course I took.

Here's the short and sweet version of what I do. I proofread transcripts from depositions, examinations under oath, hearings, etc. for court reporters. They pay me.

Told you it was short and sweet! :)

Now, I grew up with impeccable English skills. My dad was a journalist for years and my mom did copy editing. I have my associate's degree in English. So this is a pretty natural fit for me! I'm always finding errors in books, online, signs, etc. I even found errors in the oh-so-popular, and oh-so-fabulous, Hunger Games books! Even amazingly huge novels like that have issues!

I never expected to use my English degree. Ever. I know so many people who don't use their degrees. For example, my dad is now a real estate agent.

So, I was definitely shocked and a little skeptical when I came across ProofreadAnywhere.com via MoneySavingMom.com. But, I was also excited. This sounded right up my alley!

I talked to Caitlin, who founded the site, a lot. I'm sure she got real sick of me asking question after question after question. ;)  But it was so nice to talk to a real person, get quick answers, and have a real conversation with her. I decided to take her full-fledged course.

Wow. This course was not exactly what I was expecting- which is not necessarily a bad thing. I do remember asking Caitlin what she teaches in it and how much she equips you. But, wow, did I feel out of my depth real quick. Certain punctuation and grammar rules were totally different from everything I'd been taught! I kept missing things I should have caught. About halfway through the class, I had a big panic attack and was losing my mind!

But here's what's really cool: I wasn't alone. She has a Facebook group set up and I was able to ask questions to several different people. I saw, and still see, others getting frustrated like me. And it's all okay! So she not only teaches this class, she creates this community to better each other, better ourselves, and support each other.

This is a hard class. It's not a quick-and-easy thing you can do in an hour. It requires an amazing eye for errors, it requires hard work, it requires time, and it requires humility. Really, I went in thinking it wouldn't be "that bad." I don't think I would call it "that bad" now, but it was kind of shocking (and very humbling!) to realize how much I had to learn from scratch.

Now, I am much more confident in my skills. I still tend to do things my own way, but that's okay. I now have a much broader scope of proofreading skills, and a sharper eye for legal transcripts in particular. I learned some things about me that I never thought I would, like how I now despise hyphens with a passion and that most reporters ignore the Oxford comma, which just makes me twitch a bit. (If you don't know what an Oxford comma is, I would say be grateful because it tends to induce twitching.) Some things you just gotta let go... woosaw...

I am very thankful my frugal self stumbled upon this course. It's challenged me in so many ways, grown me as a person as well as my skills, opened my eyes to this whole new legal world, and (hopefully!) will allow us to do some things we can't do right now (hello private school!).

Thank you, Caitlin, for this course, and everyone for letting me bother you day and night. I'm excited to see what it turns into. (Wait... in to? LOL just kidding...)

15 comments:

  1. Hey Sarah- I was hoping you could give us an update on life after this course. My husband and I are thinking of taking it this summer.

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    1. I'm so sorry. I just saw this- for some reason it didn't alert me there were comments here... Hopefully this isn't too late. I found that the class gave me the basics, but doing it in real life was much different. There aren't many industry standards with court reporting, so each CR does things differently. It was a much bigger learning curve, and I learned a lot of things the hard way than I expected. But it was good to know about this niche of proofing and getting the basics.

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  2. Hi! I was hoping to hear an update as well! I really want to try the course and be able to cut my hours in my curren full time job in order to have more flexibility and time with my baby, but my husband thinks it's a scam and I shouldn't waste my time. Do you think the course is worth the money? Do you foresee yourself being able to earn decent money and have you been able to find and keep clients? Any information or insight you have would be appreciated!

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    1. I'm so sorry. I just saw this- for some reason it didn't alert me there were comments here... Hopefully this isn't too late. I found that the class gave me the basics, but doing it in real life was much different. There aren't many industry standards with court reporting, so each CR does things differently. It was a much bigger learning curve, and I learned a lot of things the hard way than I expected. But it was good to know about this niche of proofing and getting the basics. It's not a scam though. As far as cost, she just raised it and changed it, so I would say I wouldn't have taken it after those changes.

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  3. For years now, I have been considering taking scopist training but this seems like it would be much more up my alley.

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    1. I'm so sorry. I just saw this- for some reason it didn't alert me there were comments here... Hopefully this isn't too late. Yeah I wouldn't want to do scoping, but that's just me. :)

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  4. Hi! Good to read this. I haven't known what to think because I've sent them three messages and have not heard back! And she says they'll respond within 24 hours. Is there another way I might be able to contact them to ask my ask my question?

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    1. I'm so sorry. I just saw this- for some reason it didn't alert me there were comments here... Hopefully this isn't too late. I would email caitlin@proofreadanywhere.com. I know she replies when I email her.

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  5. Er, questions. Bah, sorry, I'm tired.

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  7. Hello. I found your site after looking into the Proofreading Anywhere course and trying to decide whether it's worth the money or not. You said, in response to another comment, that you wouldn't have taken it after she raised the price of the course. Would you recommend someone who doesn't have an English degree and has no experience with proofreading (other than catching mistakes in books and articles that I'm reading) take the course? I really have no idea what transcript proofreading is like or how to get into it. But after 11 years of homeschooling my boys, they are both in school now and I need to earn an income. This sounds like something I would enjoy doing and still be able to be home when my boys are home. Do you think the course would be worth it for me?

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  8. If you need direct instruction you will need to find a different course. You will basically purchase materials and teach yourself throughout this course. There is a high failure rate on the exams.

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    1. I take it you don't recommend taking this course?

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  10. Did you pass the exams on the first attempt?

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