I passed Becoming a Proofreader with distinction (finally!) and want to tell you all about it. 

TL;DR: Becoming a Proofreader is fantastic, and you should take it if you have the money.

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The Ins and Outs of Becoming a Proofreader

“Knowadays provides online courses developed by experts to help learners build the confidence and skills they need to start a new, fulfilling career. Our courses have opened the doors for thousands of learners seeking highly flexible work and extra income.” – Knowadays

Becoming a Proofreader popped up for me a year ago, and I was immediately intrigued, especially because if you passed the course with distinction, you are guaranteed a job with their sister company, Proofed. I was out of a job, aimless, a little depressed, and ready to start a new career. I had just published my first picture book, and the process was incredibly gratifying. So much so that I wanted to do it again, but before I could stomach the journey enthusiastically, I knew I had to hone my chops a bit. 

There are many facets to publishing a book, but proper editing was one I knew I could handle right away. I had been a copy editor in college and for a few years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. How hard could it be to proofread a few words here and there? Spoiler alert: it’s hard. But that is where Knowadays came in. I searched, I found, I ingested, and it was great.

User Experience of Becoming a Proofreader

“All Knowadays courses are certified as Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This means that any Knowadays graduate will have an internationally recognised certification that meets the requirements of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.” – Knowadays

I am super picky about user experiences. If a website is clunky, a piece of software is outdated, or an app is slow, I can’t use it. I’m not a monster, though—I don’t leave bad reviews or smear the company; I just back away slowly and wait for them to get their shit together. I had never heard of Knowadays, so I didn’t have high expectations. I worried this might be a back-away-slowly situation, but I figured it was worth a try.

I dropped the $500 (I know, more on that later) and started Becoming a Proofreader. After the initial pain of the cost, I was immediately impressed. The user experience is ridiculously seamless, and the courses are flawless on both desktop and mobile. So, if you like to study in bed on your phone, in the dead of night when all other reasonable human beings are asleep, and your insomnia is rearing its predictable head, this course works well. The colors are beautiful, the text is easy to read, and the organization just makes sense. I am highlighting the user experience first as it worried me the most and then impressed me the most, so it is worth noting prominently.

Course Content of Becoming a Proofreader

This is where my ego takes a hit. After completing this course, I now know just how much I don’t know about proofreading and editing in general. Quickly copyediting news articles in AP style before print wasn’t nothing like proofreading complex academic papers in APA. I “passed” the first time (67 percent), but I didn’t pass with distinction, meaning I couldn’t get a job with Proofed. And because I was pretty cash-poor then (still am), the job was definitely the goal. Luckily, I had just been offered an English tutor and editor position with an online tutoring service, so I spent the next year honing my editing skills. I used what I had learned in Knowadays literally every day, building on the incredible course content. When you purchase a Knowadays course, you have lifetime access, so I could reference the course materials as much as needed during that time.

Knowadays Customer Support (Stellar!)

“We offer a detailed 7-day free trial of each course so that learners can see exactly how the course will benefit them. Additionally, a full refund is available within 14 days for any Knowadays course that doesn’t meet a learner’s expectations.” – Knowadays

I have had nothing but excellent experiences with everyone at Knowadays. When I received my score for my first attempt at the final exam, the depth of the attached report was outstanding. On top of that, I was able to schedule a one-on-one interview with one of the tutors to review my results. She was patient, kind, and very thorough. Those experiences alone are worth the expense of the course.

After that year of honing my skills with students, I was ready to try the final assignment again. I reached out and asked if there were any additional mock tests I could access, as it had been a while since my last attempt. A tutor responded immediately, hooked me up with tests, and answered any questions I had.

The Cost of Becoming a Proofreader

“Installment plans are available via Klarna in the US and UK.” – Knowadays

Knowadays courses are pricey. They definitely employ the quality-over-quantity strategy, and although the cost can be difficult to stomach initially, I am here to tell you that if you can swing it, it’s worth it. Now, what if you can’t swing it? That is totally understandable. The world kind of sucks right now. Luckily, Knowadays does frequent sales, often as much as 40 percent off. That’s pretty huge. Based on their newsletter, it looks like those big sales are happening every one to two months. So that means you can likely get Becoming a Proofreader for $300 rather than $500. Hopefully, that will start to breach your realm of possibility. And something to keep in mind: I have taken multiple editing courses and exams over the past couple of years that averaged $150 apiece. That is still a chunk of change, and Becoming a Proofreader was the best, no contest.

Remember, Klarna offers payment plans for the courses in the US and the UK. I used Klarna for all of my courses, and it worked perfectly. I would not have been able to purchase the courses if my only option was to pay the entire fee upfront.  

The Final, Final Assignment for Becoming a Proofreader

The first final assignment you take is included in the course cost, but because I was taking it again (at the time of this writing, you are allowed to take it three times before they give you the boot), there was a $75 fee attached to it. Again, it was painful, but warranted. 

I wouldn’t characterize the final assignment as easy, but it is also not super hard. You will likely do quite well if you have been a proofreader for a while. If you are prone to over-editing (like myself), you might find it challenging (like I did). If you aren’t familiar with APA and the infinite complexities of citations and references, it also might be a bit more difficult, but as one of the tutors reassured me, once you get the hang of referencing, it can end up being the easiest part. 

Long story short, I passed with distinction the second time around—which requires a score of 80 percent or more—and I was damn proud of myself. I was really nervous, but thanks to those mock tests, I had a good idea that I was going to pass with a high enough score to onboard with Proofed. And that brings us to now. 

Onboarding With Proofed

“What makes us [Knowadays] distinctive is that our top graduates are offered guaranteed work with partner companies. For our two existing courses, Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor, we have partnered with Proofed. For our future courses we are in discussions with exciting new partners.” – Knowadays

I am onboarding with Proofed right now, and so far so good. After passing with distinction, Proofed sent me an email almost immediately to start the process. They made it clear that they onboard once a month, so it might take a few weeks to get everything in the system. But as of today, I officially have an editor account, and I am awaiting further instructions. So far, the pay ($9 per 1,000 words) is a bit lower than what I make editing now, but I really have to hustle to get those clients. I look forward to (hopefully) having a queue I can tap into each morning.

I will update this post when I have some more experience with Proofed under my belt, so stay tuned! I will also be reviewing the other Knowdays courses very soon!  

To the Future of Proofreading and Editing

Full disclosure: I have now purchased nearly every Knowadays course. I was so impressed with Becoming a Proofreader that I snatched up the others during sale prices or bundle offers. Becoming an Editor is next on my list.

Does it make me a complete word nerd to say I am super excited about it? I think it does.

Knowadays Course Catalog  

● Becoming A Proofreader retails at $499

● Becoming An Editor at $499.

Note: Learners may purchase both Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An

Editor courses at a 15% discount by taking advantage of our bundle offer.

● Becoming A Freelance Writer retails at $999

Our Freelance Writing course offers learners who pass with distinction (i.e. 80%

or above) the opportunity to have three blogs published on our site. Each blog will

go through an edit, and their author biography will be published on our public

writer directory as well.

● Formatting in Microsoft Word retails at $199

● Communications Success retails at $299