Who Needs Transcription Services in 2024?

It is irrefutable that technology has been exponentially increasing and dramatically changing the services that people require in the 21st century. As a result, many professions have become obsolete and a relic of the past. Transcription is one of the many services that has taken a direct hit the past couple of decades, as technology has given people the ability to use different automated transcription solutions to convert speech to text freely and more efficiently. 

Why Is Transcription So Important?

Even though requests for transcription services have been declining in the last few years, transcription still plays a key role in certain fields to this day. Upon examining this topic analytically, one realizes that transcription is necessary for many more professions than one imagines. 

What is Transcription?

In reality, transcription has been present as a service in one form or another for millennia. In ancient times, kings and nobles would hire scribes to write down their decrees as they spoke. From the dawn of civilization, humans realized that they needed to record what they spoke in writing to maintain a permanent record. In simple words, transcription is the process by which speech is converted to text.

After the invention of the typewriter, transcription took a newer, simpler, and more professional form, allowing secretaries to document what they heard and print it simultaneously. With the evolution of technology and the invention of the audiotape, transcription as a service took the form it has today. The modern-day transcriber does not have to be present in the room when the speaker is talking. All they need is access to the recorded audio or video file. 

7 Key Transcription Clients

Who needs transcription services? Even though transcribers may have observed a decrease in their clients, there are still many industries that heavily rely on transcription.  

• The legal field is in the biggest need of transcription agencies. Attorneys, jurors, and judges often require any audio footage to be transcribed so that it can be presented to the court. This is because evidence that is presented in writing is much less ambiguous than audio or video footage.
             
   
• The academic field also uses transcription services. This is especially the case in post-graduate courses, where students who have limited time and cannot attend classes can read the course materials in lecture transcripts.         
             
   
• Reporters also often choose to hire transcribers to convert audio footage of an interview into written form. This cleaned-up version of a conversation is significantly easier to navigate, summarize, and review.       
             
   
• Medical professionals often seek transcription companies to update their patient files. Doctors have a very stressful schedule, hence they turn to transcribers to help them transcribe audio recordings of their patients' information so that they can revise their patient history easier.
             
   
• Scientists are another group that utilizes transcription for their work. Professionals involved in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering often rely on transcribers to gain information from conferences, lectures, and online meetings they could not attend.           
             
   
• Podcasters often seek a transcriber's service to convert their podcasts into text because they wish to make their content more versatile, easier to find, and available in many different forms. Consequently, they may observe an increase in their popularity and views.    
             
   
• Businesses employ transcribers since they want to transcribe any recordings from brainstorming sessions and staff meetings. Thus, they can have a permanent record that can be used for staff training, legal protection, market research, etc.  

The Future of Transcription

With the advent of more sophisticated and accurate speech-to-text algorithms, many believe that transcribers will find it difficult to locate clients in the future. However, machine learning still can't compare to the best transcription tool known to man - the human ear. With that in mind, transcribers will still find employment in cases where accuracy is the most critical factor. 

Final Thoughts

Transcription continues to play a major role in a wide variety of industries to this day. Even with new automated solutions popping up every day, seasoned transcribers have nothing to worry about. While they're impressive, the AI-based options still can't come close to humans. What is certain, though, is that the ancient profession of transcription is not obsolete, at least for the time being.