After the birth of my daughter I found myself in a dilemma of being a mother or a career woman. If you are a woman who takes pride in her financial independence, and her individuality, you would easily identify with my predicament.

Torn between these two choices I looked around for a job which could help me do justice to both. That is when I came across this advertisement in the newspaper ‘Ever thought of working from the comfort of your own home, in your own time, at your own pace, when you want and where you want, then online data entry is just what you’re looking for.’ And this was the answer to my prayers.

In today’s high-tech world, data has become a vital and integral part of our daily lives. With the computer boom era data entry has gained a lot of importance in collecting and presenting information. In traditional data entry, one is asked to either copy-paste certain details in multiple documents, or to input information in some simple forms. Basically, it is a tedious kind of work which is repetitive in nature.

What is Data Entry?

Data entry can be broadly defined as the act of transcribing some form of information into an online document, database, program, etc. It is mostly a time consuming and tedious task which is often outsourced to save time and money.

In addition, home based data entry jobs may also include the preparation of correspondence, reports, spreadsheets, lists, records and also the management of this information. Working from home need not be construed as ‘easy money’ which many ads wrongly claim. It requires tremendous amount of dedication and professionalism as demanded by a full time job. The differentiating factor between the two is only where you are working from, home or office.

Categories In Data Entry Jobs

These are some of the profiles related to data entry.

  • Document Data Recording 
  • Medical and Legal transcription
  • Database management
  • Medical coding
  • Typing Projects & Word Processing
  • Litigation Coding
  • Blogs and website management
  • Input Data Capturing

Requirements of a Data Entry Operator

A data entry worker would need:

Infrastructural requirements :

  • Some specific types of equipment, network capabilities and software.
  • Setting up and maintaining a data security system and a data protection process to ensure that the information is kept private and secured.

Individual’s requirements :

  • You should have the patience and capacity to accurately record and/or scrutinize data to give the right picture about the business.
  • Good typing speed to capture and record  the data provided correctly and also in a time efficient manner
  • You need to be reliable and punctual in the delivery of the work.
  • Having good computer skills and a strong command on English are a few unwritten essentials in this job.
  • Having some data entry experience is certainly advantageous but is not a pre-requisite. Many companies requiring specialized data entry work often impart training to such job seekers before recruiting them. In this scenario you need to have the aptitude to develop and enhance the required skills during such training sessions.
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