The big question: Can I proofread legal transcripts if I live outside the United States?
It’ll depend on the court reporter, but I do have program grads living in the UK, Canada, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Kenya, Mexico, and even the Philippines who’ve had success finding clients and are now working — you really only run into possible issues with time zones and payments, not ability.
Need proof?
NOTE: If your native language is not English, you will have issues getting clients. If you’re unable to adapt to the rules of American English from your dialect, you will have issues getting clients.
Will being a different time zone be a problem?
Time zone differences can also be a great friend, though, as being 5–9 hours ahead of your clients could also work to their advantage. If they send you stuff at night while you’re asleep, you can start working on it while they’re still asleep! Payment agreements should always be made upfront, and platforms like PayPal work best for proofreaders in the UK/Canada.
How can I get paid if I live outside the US?
PayPal does charge the client a small fee to send to foreign accounts, I think, and I’ve learned that Skrill is a great option for accepting payments internationally. For personal transactions, it’s only a 1% fee to send, and you could simply discount your services 1% to cover your clients’ costs if they have any issue, but most do not, especially if you’re good and dependable.
From Skrill’s website:
At Skrill we are committed to keep our fees permanently low and totally transparent.
- Sending money costs 1% of the amount sent but is capped at a maximum of $10
- Paying at a shop or transferring funds with any merchant is free
- Receiving money is free of charge
- Uploading funds into your Skrill account is usually free, but some options involve a small charge
Occasionally you’ll run into reporters who only want to send checks, but those are becoming few and far between, as online payment is so much faster these days.
Ability and availability are paramount for court reporters… if you suck or can’t take their jobs when they need you, THAT will be the reason why they don’t use you, not where you hang your hat.
Hi,
Your course looks really interesting and helpful. I’m a Canadian living in France and I’m seriously looking in this course in order to earn some money working from home while caring for my kid.
My question is, do I have to set up as a business in France to bill the court reporters or agencies? How is the transaction considered?
thanks a lot for your help,
Jasmine
That is a good question, but not one I have a concrete answer for, ’cause I’m neither Canadian nor familiar with how things are in France w/ working and stuff — you may want to contact someone familiar with the business system in France to be sure. Some reporters will want to give you a tax form, too, whereas others will just send PayPal.
I’m definitely going to check out this Skrill thing, as i’m only familiar with PayPal. Since I’m looking into moving to Costa Rica, I did some research and PayPal will end up charging you 10% of your income monthly! That’s a charge of $200 if you made $2,000 for the month 🙁 Yikes. This is the fee for having clients from the U.S. pay you and then the currency conversion charge from dollars to the Costa Rican colone. If there’s any proofreaders reading this from Costa Rica, please tell me it’s not true!
With Skrill, however, it worries me that clients won’t feel comfortable using it as it’s not as popular.
I live in New Zealand and am contemplating doing your general proofreading course. Are there any reasons you can think of why your course would not be suitable for me, based on my location? TIA
Hi, Paula. Students from all over the world have successfully taken the General Proofreading course. I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t be suitable for you based on your location. 🙂
Hi Paula
I’m in NZ too and considering this course. Have you enrolled or completed it.
Can someone become a proofreader even if they are not native speakers?
While we do have international students, please note that the course is focused on American grammar, spelling, and punctuation and working with American English-speaking clients. Some of our international students do exceptionally well, while some have really struggled. Only you can know for sure whether this course is a good fit for you.
Hi I am Singaporean and of Chinese ethnicity. Even though English is my first language (as it is for most citizens here), I am concerned that there may be a bias against me as I don't fit the stereotypical profile of an individual who speaks and writes English as a native language.
While it is assuring that only ability is judged, would clients even give a person of my profile a second glance after they see that I am not a stereotypical native English speaker/writer?
Hi, Eugene! We have several students and grads who come from all different ethnic backgrounds and have been able to find work. As a proofreader, your job will be to find the errors and correct them, so as long as you have the skills your clients need and you are committed to excellence, you shouldn’t have any issues finding and retaining clients.
Also, many of our students and grads either live outside the US or travel all over the world while proofreading. The majority of my students are from the United States, but we have international students too. 🙂
Hi Caitlin, I’ve just joined the course but I live in the UK and I’m used to UK English. Can I still do the course and be successful? I am familiar with US English as far as spelling and some grammar but obviously there are differences between the two!
We get these types of questions a lot. While we do have international students, please note that the course is focused on American grammar, spelling, and punctuation and working with American clients. Some of our international students do exceptionally well, while some have really struggled. Only you can know for sure whether this course is a good fit for you.
I also wanted to mention that we have two sections in the course about the differences in spelling and the differences in punctuation in American, Australian, British, and Canadian English with PDF lists and links to other resources. We use The Chicago Manual of Style as our reference tool for the rules of grammar and punctuation to navigate the course practice work. We advise all of our students to purchase this guide to complete the course and to use it for proofreading in the future.