The answer to this question is different for different people. It all depends on your customer’s needs. The best advice for a transcriptionist is to position themselves based on their skills and strengths.
People who may be living in a foreign country, but have experience living or working in another country could easily become a general transcriptionist and enjoy a superior standard of living. For example, people who have relocated from the USA to low-cost countries can easily become a successful transcriptionist and earn a comfortable living.
A person living in another country who has the experience of interacting with people of the USA can become a successful transcriptionist for US projects after completion of the certification and internship. Call center operators based in the Philippines or India can easily do simple general transcription work for American customers because of their experiences talking to Americans as part of their call center work. A typical call center operator in India can easily quadruple their income and still undercut their competitors abroad by getting trained as a work-from-home general transcriptionist.