Not bad for entry-level job seekers but I wouldn't necessarily look at the IRS for long-term employment.
Pros
When I came out of college and needed a job, the IRS was a good place to get my bearings. You get experience in a professional environment as well as begin to learn skills that can be parlayed into other employment opportunities. Best yet, the workers are generally talented and driven people who are usually working to further their education or to find a place of better employment. Workers go through paid-training and are given fairly long probational periods to get their typing speeds up. Once you achieve a certain typing speed (based on the previous year's performance), transcribers can earn incentive pay. Because it is seasonal employment, managers are much more sympathetic to those who are looking for new jobs. In other words, you do not have to hide your job search as you would at a traditional job.
Cons
The IRS is rules, rules, rules. If you cannot follow rules and direction, this is not the place for you. The biggest downside of working as a transcriber is that it is seasonal work which means you only work for 5-7 months out of the year full time. The IRS tends to operate on a need to know basis. When upper management doesn't assign work properly, many times it is the transcribers who are collectively held accountable. You are not allowed to do most things without permission. Tours of duties are rigidly enforced as are break and lunch times which are disgustingly short. Being late frequently can result in being charged with AWOL even if it was within five minutes of your start time (depending on how vindictive your manager is). Workers are frequently shushed and talking to each other is frowned upon even though most employees can get as much work done as when they are silent and can get it done with more ease and happiness when doing so. In the same vein, anyone who wishes to speak to you from another unit must ask permission of your manager first. And last but not least, it is a highly secure area to work in and requires you to wear a badge at all times above the waist and to go through various checks daily which is not necessarily a bad thing but can be jarring if you are not accustomed to working in a secure environment. If you don't mind being treated like an overgrown and unruly child at times, you might be able to hack it without walking out in a huff.
