Salary
Average Salary: $34,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,419,432
You'll probably earn between $34,000 and $35,000 a year (source).
However, that number could be higher or, more realistically, a lot lower than this depending on the doctor you're transcribing for and where you live.
There are also large companies that will farm you out to do work and pay you a little less. They pay closer to $29,000 a year (source).
The advantages are that you can work from home and they will find you steady pay. The biggest disadvantage is that $29,000 is just not a lot of money.
However, if you work at home, you're saving tons of cash on gas.
If you've still got a 56K modem, then it's probably not going to work out...so you'll have to spend a few bucks upgrading your Internet connection and getting equipment like headphones and a foot pedal transcription machine. You can always write things like that off of your taxes, though—the same goes for any home office expenses if you work as an independent contractor.