Online Data Entry Jobs

Legitimate data entry jobs are pretty much one of the first work-from-home types of jobs that most telecommuters have in mind, and for the right reasons. Data entry jobs can be done right from the comfort of your own home, and in all honesty, data entry jobs are not that hard to do. With most data entry jobs, just a minimum of computer skills is all that's needed to get the job done.

What is Data Entry?
Data entry is actually a broad term that describes a whole host of occupations, such as typists, word processors, transcribers, electronic data processors, coders and clerks. As you can see it includes lots of jobs that could be described as virtual assistant jobs .

Normally, data entry jobs are done through micro-labor companies that hire either interdependent contractors or employees to get the job done.

To explain data entry in a simpler term, you could say data entry means operating equipment (normally a keyboard), that inputs alphabetic, numeric, or symbolic data into a company's system. This data may need to be verified or edited as needed by the data entry worker.

Now, although all the data entry occupations I mentioned above are technically considered data entry work, advertised data entry jobs on the Internet normally require the least amount of skills, and obviously pay the least as well.

Data Entry Salary
Obviously, when it comes to salary and how much you can make as a data entry clerk, the company you get hired by, your location, the specific data entry position, experience and skills, can all have a big impact. But the average salary for data entry jobs according to SimplyHired.com is somewhere around $34,000. With the typical hourly rate for a Data Entry Clerk in the U.S. being anywhere between $9.84 to $13.43.

Data Entry jobs Scams
Unfortunately, work at home scam also expand to data entry jobs as well. So, you will have to be careful when looking for legit data entry jobs.

Differentiating between legit data entry work from home jobs and scams takes some research and a bit of common sense. Obviously, when you see a data entry job that promises you huge payouts that makes it look too good to be true, common sense should tell you stay away from it.

I mean, why would a job like data entry that pays an average around $12 an hour, would pay $50 an hour, like some data entry scams claim!?… I know you don't want to hear this, but legit data entry positions are often low paying jobs.

Data entry scams are usually the same as any other work at home scam type of scams. And they all have one thing in common, all of them will try to get money out of you one way or another. Whether it's through bogus classes, pyramid schemes, fake certifications or payment for resources that can be found for free on the web, they will try to make you pay.

That said, normally, data entry scams come in a few different forms:

• Classes, Training, Kits, Certification
  This is the most used form of work at home scam that unfortunately is used by data entry scammers as well. Some data entry scams will try to sell you classes and special courses that will "help you get certified", which will supposedly enable you get a job. In some cases,they tell you that the company you are going to work for actually requires you to take that class, and needless to say, you have to pay for the class. It is important to note that although many specialized data entry jobs, such as medical or legal transcription do require special training, most basic data entry jobs do not.
• Transcription Jobs
  Although transcription is one form of data entry, scammers often will ask for a fee for "paid training" or a list of available employers. While many legit data entry jobs will require training and tests, with these scams, no one will ever pass the tests. But the scam company will "get a job for a nominal fee"!
• Medical Coding and Transcription
  Another form of data entry scam is done by scammers pretending they have medical coding jobs available for you. But you must pay to get a bogus certification or training.
• High Paying Data Entry
  As I mentioned above, legit data entry jobs are unfortunately, low paying jobs. So, if you see a company promising huge pay outs for it, it is a scam!
• Process Rebates Scam
  They advertise it as a job where you can make money easily by simply filling out online forms. This is the classic bait-and-switch scam. Once they convince you, you will be asked to pay $150-$200 for "access to work" which will enable you to "process rebates at home" and make money. But in reality, all you get is just information about finding jobs (that could be found for free with a little research), and not an actual job.

9 Legit Data Entry Companies

In order to make your job a little easier, I went on the hunt, and did some research to find a few trusted and legit companies that offer data entry online jobs .

As you may know, most data entry scam jobs charge you a fee to "give you work", and that's their scam. But most legit data entry companies are free to join. Doing data entry work for the companies mentioned below will not cost you a dime. You simply apply for the job, and if hired, you get paid for completing the job.

With that said, here is a list of 9 legitimate data entry job companies that you can work for:

1- Axion Data Services
You will be working as an independent contractor. Data entry jobs at Axion Data Services is done by independent contractors who are paid on a per-piece basis. They accept application whenever there are data entry jobs available.

2- Scribie
You can get hired as a freelancer to transcribe audio files with a length of about 6 minuets at a rate of about $10 per hour.

3- Clickworker
Clickworker is a famous international crowdsourcing company that hires independent contractors for data entry jobs. They also offer writing jobs, translation jobs, as well as research related tasks. ClickWorker pays on a per piece basis. Before you can begin working for CW, you must register and pass an assessment review to qualify.

4- DionData Solutions
If you have basic computer skills and can type with a minimum of 60 wpm, you are just what this company is looking for. There is no fee involved here.

5- DriverGuide
DriverGuide is basically a websites that offers computer drivers and support info. They hire database helpers from the U.S. and Canada, though you must have some specialized computer related skills. Your job would be updating databases of manufacturer and device drivers.

6- Working Solutions
They do both data entry and call center jobs . You will be hired as an independent contractor. Although the company hires people from around the world for data entry jobs, usually U.S. applicants are more preferred for call center jobs are

7- VirtualBee (formerly Key For Cash)
They have an evaluation process that all applicants have to go through. If you are one of the lucky ones who passes the evaluation process with flying colors, you will be put on a waiting list to be contacted whenever work as available.

You can expect to get 40-55 cents per 1000 keystrokes. There is a minimum requirement for cashing out which is $50. The data you will be entering is all encoded data, so it appears nonsensical. This company is somewhat of an international data entry that hires from the U.S and most other countries.

8- QuickTate or iDictate
iDictate is a partner of QuickTate. They provide voice mail and other audio files transcription services, by employing work at home transcribers. You can earn 1 cent per 4 words with QuickTate, and 1 cent per 2 words with iDictate. If you prove your skills with QuickTate, you may get lots of jobs from iDictate which offers transcription work on a much wider range of documents. Successful QuickTate transcriptionist is may receive work from iDictate, which transcribes a wider range of documents.

9- TigerFish
Tigerfish is a company that has been in business since 1989. If you are a quick typist, you can make good money transcribing documents for Tigerfish. You can send an application via email.

Please do keep in mind that because of the nature of data entry, some of the companies mentioned above only have part time data entry jobs, and some don't always have positions available. Which means, they only hire when they have jobs available. So, it wouldn't hurt to bookmark this page, so you can check back with each company once in a while so you don't miss any legitimate online data entry jobs.