Dear Rat Race Rebellion, I used to do a lot of transcription in my old job. My boss would dictate long memos and things, and I would type them out. Are there any jobs like this working from home? —Andrea in Mobile, Ala.

Dear Andrea: Yes, we see home-based transcription jobs regularly. Here are just a few from recent research:

—Focus Forward seeks English-language transcribers. Per the company's website, "We would prefer someone familiar with ftp file downloads and Express Scribe. You must also have an excellent grasp of grammar and punctuation rules. This is a virtual position. Must be able to take at least 4 hours of sound a week. Files are 60 minutes or longer. Compensation is $10 per 15 minutes of sound."

For details, see http://fftranscription.com/join-team.html.

—Rev.com (which just received venture-capital funding and is ramping up) is looking for transcriptionists. "Earn $0.40 — 0.50 per audio minute, plus many opportunities for bonus pay. Get weekly payouts via PayPal for work completed the prior week. Work your own hours and choose which projects to work on."

For more, see http://www.rev.com/careers.

Dear Rat Race Rebellion: I've heard that you can get paid for driving to your local courthouse and looking through their records. Is that true? —Sam in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dear Sam: Yes, there are several companies who hire courthouse researchers. These are usually part-time jobs that pay on a per-record basis. Earnings can range from a few dollars per courthouse visit to $20 or more, depending on the assignment.

Sunlark Research, for example, is a longtime employer of researchers. Per their website, "There are many types of court researchers gathering various information from the public records available. The type of research depends on the needs of the client. ... In some areas, we also collect information from court documents, including civil case filings."

Workflow depends on the population of your county and the needs of clients. "A very small county (i.e., under 10,000 residents) may have only one hour of work per month, while a very large county (i.e., over 1 million population) can sometimes keep a fast-working researcher busy for 30 — 40 hours per week and could even need to be done by a team."

For more, see http://sunlarkresearch.com/Work-for-Us.php.

Jellybean Services, or JBS, also hires courthouse researchers. Their site offers a slightly different profile of researchers: "A successful court researcher has a cell phone and a laptop. Almost all projects require collection of information, whether it be on a spreadsheet or into a data entry program. You'll be using the public terminals located at the courthouse you visit to collect this information. Once hired, you'll have access to complete training material that will teach you how to understand the information you are looking for."

For details, see http://www.work4jbs.com/jbs/crdescription.htm.

Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is "Work at Home Now," a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.