To be more specific, I am a legal transcriptionist for a court reporter. You must love to listen to court proceedings and be able to type verbatim (exactly what you hear). Pros: A different and interesting story every day, like reading a crime novel. Must love to type. Cons: Too much sitting. You must force youself away from the interesting stories and stretch your legs once and a while. This career has expanded with opportunities through the internet because of digital. What about voice recognition? It's not nearly perfect enough! We will still need the human to proofread (homonyms like "too, two, to" and correct punctuation.
As an at-home, independent medical transcriptionist with 13+ years of experience I can honestly say that medical transcription was a great career choice. I emphasize the WAS, because with the advancement of technical capabilities there are far fewer opportunities in the medical transcription field for those wanting to pursue this as a stay-at-home position. There are, however, still many opportunities available in medical transcription for those willing to work in a medical office or for a large medical transcription out-sourcing company. Medical transcription is an informative occupation for those who are interested in continually learning new things. It is not, however, for those who are easily frustrated. Learning the nuances of a new doctors dictation is not an easy thing. Don't think that you can be a transcriptionist just because you are a great typist. The ability to listen to and decipher what the dictator is saying in spite of background noise, accents etc. is much more crucial. Overall, it is a great job and one worth looking into!