What the work involves

You receive audio or video files in Urdu — ranging from clean studio speech to overlapping conversation, phone-quality recordings, and regionally accented speakers — and produce verbatim or lightly cleaned transcripts according to a written style guide. A second, often larger, share of the work is review: reading existing transcripts against the audio and correcting spelling, segmentation, diacritic and spacing decisions, misheard words, and mislabelled speakers. Transcripts are then tagged with metadata the project calls for: speaker turns and identities, timestamps, non-speech events, crosstalk and inaudible markers, and sometimes code-switching flags where English or Punjabi enters an Urdu utterance.

The output feeds speech recognition and language model training, so consistency matters as much as raw accuracy. A transcript that is beautifully written but ignores the guideline on numerals, filler words, or Arabic-script spacing is less useful than one that follows the convention exactly. Expect guidelines to be revised mid-project and to be asked to apply updates retroactively.

What the screen looks for

micro1's process is AI-led and conversational, followed by practical task samples. It probes native-level Urdu command under follow-up — not a claim of fluency but concrete evidence: where you learned and used the language, what you can and cannot reliably hear in Punjabi-, Pashto- or Karachi-accented Urdu, and how you'd handle Urdu-English code-switching in text. It also checks typing and Urdu input ability (keyboard layout, Nastaliq-aware tools), prior transcription volume, and whether you can follow a style guide rather than impose your own preferences.

Logistics

  • Contractor engagement, fully remote, no fixed schedule; work is claimed from a queue and paid per hour or per task unit
  • Async collaboration with project managers and other linguists via chat and ticket threads
  • Volume fluctuates with client demand — treat it as supplementary rather than guaranteed full-time hours
  • You need a quiet workspace, decent headphones, stable internet, and a working Urdu keyboard setup
  • Turnaround deadlines are usually measured in days, not weeks