What You Need To Know About Data Entry At Home Opportunities
Getting started
To get involved in data entry at home, the only experience you need is good typing skills (at least 45 wpm & some may require 60 wpm). In other words, you should be able to type at least 45 words per minute & some may require 60 wpm with good accuracy.
The fact that data entry positions have low barriers to entry is both a blessing and a curse. For example, it’s a blessing because there really isn’t any ramp-up time to get started and it does not come with any educational requirements. With that said, it’s a curse because the low barriers to entry will lead to a lot of people competing for the open positions.
Also, when people get plugged into working for a company that hires private contractors doing data entry at home, they never leave. Hence, there’s not a lot of turn-over.
That’s why I mentioned taking a data entry class from our “Online Training Courses Portal”. It may give you an edge in the hiring process. Of course, data entry experience will usually trump everything else. But, if you are competing with other newbies, or you are competing with other job seekers with experience and you have the same experience too, taking a course and reflecting that on your resume will give you a leg up in either category.
To sum it up, data entry positions are highly sought after due to the low barriers to entry. Moreover, a person that wants to break into the work from home model, targets data entry as a first step to working remotely.
Earning potential
So what is the earning potential for data entry at home jobs? It’s a good place to start a home-based business for those that want to stick their toe in the water but you typically won’t get rich. It’s a starting point for a lot of people that don’t know where to start but after a year or two, they will probably upgrade to a transcriptionist job or virtual assistant job from home.
The pay is on the low end for home-based opportunities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that on average, data entry jobs are around $15.00 an hour. Consequently, some opportunities will pay less while others will pay more.
Equipment Needed
So, the equipment needed for data entry at home is pretty minimal. Of course, you need a computer with high-speed internet access. Second, you will need programs such as Microsoft Office and maybe Googles G Suite. I would not pick up G Suite unless you have a job that requires it. Microsoft will be the main software you will utilize.
Some people like to use a number pad. A number pad makes it easier if you are entering large amounts of numbers. Again, I would only pick this up if a job requires a lot of number entering. A number pad can be integrated with your keyboard or as a stand-alone device.
Also, some jobs may require dual monitors so you can transfer data from one document to another with ease. It makes the process easier and reduces your time per project which translates into more money for you.
Skills Needed
Let’s discuss the skills needed for data entry at home. As mentioned earlier, this type of work does not require heavy skills but you do need basic computer skills. For example, you need to be comfortable around a computer and understand how to load software and keep it up to date. Also, you need to be able to type at least 45 words per minute or better with good accuracy.
Most companies will test your typing skills first before they hire you. The good news is you can easily improve your typing speed and accuracy. So, below this section I’ll add two links; one for testing your typing speed and the other for improving your typing speed.
Second, organizational skills will help you make more money and keep your jobs running smoothly.
Third, you need to be able to tolerate repetition. Data Entry is a very repetitive job, so if you like constant change, this won’t be good for you. One more thing, you will be sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time.
Scams
With all good things in life, there always seems to be some scams you have to look out for. So, what are the scams?
Situations to avoid
1) Never pay any money to any company to get a data entry job. There is only one exception I know of and that’s with Axion Data Entry Services. They are a legitimate date entry services company but they charge between $5.00 to $10.00 to stay in their jobs database because they were getting ten of thousands of applicants applying and they needed to reduce that number.
Personally, I would not recommend paying their fee just to be in their database. In other words, don’t pay any fees to any company to get a job (period).
2) If you see claims that you will make a lot of money.
3) They promote no skills required. Most legitimate companies won’t actually promote that fact.
4) If you don’t see a company name or contact info for a data entry ad, stay away.
5) Again, if they want money upfront in the form of a deposit for business supplies or online tools to set up your account, stay away
Final Thoughts and Data Entry Companies
Data Entry at home can be a decent first “work from home” opportunity to get you into the world of working remotely. With that said, make sure you do your research on the companies that hire, watch out for scams and be prepared for this process to take a while.
I will give you some companies (below) that hire people for data entry positions as well as a few job boards that match people with jobs. I like the job boards because you can post your resume so companies can find you, while you can review the remote online opportunities as well.
Remember, there are many people working in this space, so you will have to be patient to get your foot in the door. Once you are in, then you can relax a little because most people do not leave for quite a while.
If after reading this article, you may have decided that data entry is not for you due to so many people applying for these opportunities or maybe the money is not what you had hoped. If that is the case, I will recommend some “work from home” opportunities that pay more money (at the bottom of this page).
Read my articles about the opportunities in home transcription and Virtual Assistants by clicking on them.
Job boards and companies that have legitimate data entry at home job opportunities
Remote Job Companies
I love the job boards because you can see immediately if they have data entry positions available. Plus, you can post your resume so the job boards are always working for you, even when you are sleeping.
Upwork, Flexjobs and Indeed do a pretty good job of scanning their jobs for scams but I recommend that you still be on your toes for anything that looks odd. Flexjobs is probably my favorite because they seem to have the largest selection and really go through their job postings looking for bogus opportunities. They are the only ones below that does charge a fee (14.95) for their service but it's worth it.
If you find more jobs through their service, it pays for itself immediately. Also, there are no contracts.
Pay attention when you are on Indeed because they have a mix of remote jobs and on-site jobs.
Remote.co and Remoteok.io are two additional good remote job companies and worth keeping them in your daily jobs checks.
Click on a "Remote JOBs company" below for direct ACCESS
Companies that hire remote data entry workers
AccuTran Global
http://www.accutranglobal.com/
AccuTran Global typically hire transcriptionists but they do occasionally hire data entry keyers, so stay plugged into their HR department.
Axion Data Entry Services
https://axiondata.com/employment/
Axion is a legitimate data entry services company based in Pennsylvania. According to the company, they have a solid workforce of independent contractors that work from home.
Consequently, they state that they don’t have many openings since their contractors never leave. With that said, if you want to get into their system/database, you’ll need to pay a fee between 5.00 and 10.00 dollars.
Also, they say that the fee is to discourage those that don’t have any experience. You must have 2-3 years of experience and type at least 50 wpm. It seems like a long shot to me and probably not worth the fee to stay in their database due to very little turnover.
Amazon mTurk – aka Amazon Mechanical Turk
https://www.mturk.com/worker
Generate revenue in your spare time. According to their site, there are 1000,s of projects that you can take on. Anything from writing, data entry, transcription to removing duplicate content in business lists and rating the accuracy of search results (just for a few examples). Go to their site and click on “Get Started”.
Birch Creek Communications
http://birchcreekcommunications.com
Birch Creek Communications occasionally looks for private contractors for data entry and transcription. You can set your own schedule but it is primarily a Monday through Friday for the most part. Your pay is on a per-job basis.
Cass Information Systems
https://www.cassinfo.com/careers
They offer information and payment services. When these positions open up, they are based on geography and you will see it labeled as an offsite invoice payment specialist or offsite Data Verification Clerk. You will have to travel to Columbus Ohio for 90 days of training before you can start back at your home office. You must live close to Columbus Ohio.
Clickworker
https://www.clickworker.com/clickworker/
Similar to Amazon mTurk, Clickworker is a company that offers individuals an opportunity to take on many jobs from data entry to proofreading, surveys, taking product pictures and many more tasks. You sign up for free and fill out an assessment that they base the task that you are qualified to apply for. You determine your own schedule and you get paid per job either weekly or monthly.
Data Trace
https://www.datatracetitle.com/contact-us
Here is there indeed URL (https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Data-Trace/jobs). They will occasionally have remote work but typically you will find it on Indeed.
Drivers Guide Cass Info
https://www.driverguide.com/
They are sometimes in the market for remote workers to help them update their databases. They do require PC experience. You have to be residents of the US and Canada only.
Great American Opportunities
https://southwesternfundraising.com/
Ibotta
https://home.ibotta.com/careers/
Microworkers
https://www.microworkers.com/
SigTrack
http://sigtrack.net/
Smart Locating
https://smartapartmentdata.com/contact-us
TDEC
https://www.tdec.com/careers/
TTEC
https://www.ttecjobs.com/en/work-from-home
Xerox
https://www.xerox.com/en-us/jobs/work-from-home
Alternatives to Data Entry
If you decide that Data Entry work is hard to find work or the pay is not what you expected, then I would recommend reading these two posts:
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