Proof-reading course

[Rosie55]

I am considering signing up for a postal proof-reading course but would love to know beforehand how realistic are the chances of gaining work from it!

[mystress]

Hi Rosie,

If you mean proof reading as in Newspaper/Magazines?Books,then I would say that there is very little of this done nowadays.Why do I say this?Well, most Newspapers/Magazines/Books are spell and grammar checked by computer now.

Unless someone else can point out how it's not,I would say proof reading is basically a dead art.Sorry!

[Mistopheles]

Proof readers are still required in the publishing business - spellcheck is invaluable, but grammer check is far from perfect, and proofreaders can also pick up on different meanings of words etc. (I worked free-lance as a proofreader for a bit).

I was not trained though, and have no idea whether these courses are helpful or not. Proofreading is still required, but it isn't terribly easy to find a job!

[ursula62]

Some city law firms have document proof readers - this is particularly valuable where documents have been retyped or scanned in from older documents (e.g. leases).

Proof readers are also still used in journalism - a PC spelling and grammar checker can't recognise that a paragraph has been included too many times or is the wrong font size etc.

[Paige1985]

My friend did a postal proof reading course, and now has a part-time job proof-reading for Auto Trader (around �8-9/hour) and plans to look for more work in the magazine/newspaper sector after her children leave home.  The course is definitely beneficial, but natural aptitude and typing ability etc. may also be important.