Work At Home Job Alert: Realtime Captioners

VITAC is hiring Realtime Captioners!  VITAC is the nation’s leading provider of closed captions, subtitling and other accessible media services.

What is realtime captioning?

Realtime broadcast captioning has traditionally been used by the deaf and hard-of-hearing to allow viewers to read what is being spoken. In addition to this core audience, viewers who benefit from realtime captioning include those learning English as a second language; children learning to read or improving their reading skills; patrons of restaurants, bars, health clubs, airports or other public facilities who are not able to hear the TV audio due to background noise; anyone living in a noisy area such as near a busy street; and anyone wishing to view a program without using audio.

What does it take to be a captioner?

Candidates are realtime writers, prepared to caption, with dictionaries that support a full range of programming.
Accuracy Rate of no less than 98%.

From their website:

VITAC’s Realtime Captioner employees are highly skilled court reporters who caption live programming with 98% accuracy. Captions are “written” on a steno machine, translated by a computer, and instantaneously translated into words through special software using dictionaries developed, updated and maintained by the individual captioner. Captions appear seconds after the spoken words, therefore, the captioner needs not only be very accurate on the steno machine, but must be able to quickly recognize and process words, maintain composure in stressful situations and be technically savvy.

And from their FAQ’s:

Just as you must be a qualified writer and well versed in court procedures when applying for an official court reporting position, and just as you must know the art of freelance deposition reporting before applying to a firm, so too must you know the business of captioning before entering. What does that mean?

First and foremost, you must be able to write television. The first round of the application process for a remote position is submitting first-run files from television programs. What are we looking for in these files? As near perfect translation as possible, because that is your job as a captioner…to provide near perfect translation of television programming.

Can I really work at home for VITAC?

You can, but you’ve got to be good. You’ve got to be trained in captioning. Approximately 99% of all captioner applicants want to work remotely. So, of these hundreds of students and working reporters who are trying to land remote captioning jobs, you’ve got to be the stand-out.

According to their website, VITAC offers:

• A great work environment
• A wide choice of programming to caption
• Paid equipment – our  captioners never see a  phone bill
• 24/7/365 technical support
• Guaranteed bi-weekly payment
• Company benefits,  including medical, dental,  vision, life insurance and  vacation time
• Quality of life scheduling, including the opportunity to work five eight-hour shifts  per week

You can get more information and apply at their website.

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