Again, I feel your pain, but you have to get over

thinking or believing that the company you work for is your friend. I most certainly have experienced this same stabbing pain and have learned never to fall prey to those emotions again. I started with a small local company where you actually saw the owners face to face, and they were lying dogs in the end - complete betrayal over a $$$. They sold to a company, who sold to a company, who sold to a company, and each one lied to all the MTs over and over again. You have to have yourself covered, have 2 jobs, make sure your bank account is padded - whatever you have to do. But get rid of the emotions that any company is your friend. As Dr. Phil would say, take your power back. This is business and its cut-throat in America these days in any industry.

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I am currently working full-time at a hospital and looking for a part-time position as an independent contractor.  I have been transcribing for 33 years, so I have seen the ups and lately downs in medical transcription.

As an independent contractor, I am not going to accept less than 10 cpl, and I actually believe with my experience, I may be able to hold out for something higher.

I guess my advice which is given with the best intentions would be dependent on if you need benefits.  If you need benefits, you may be able to or have to accept less than 10 cpl, but I feel with your experience, that you definitely deserve at least 10 cpl as an employee.

Two hospitals in my area offer great benefits and pay 10 cpl during the week with a weekend bonus of up to 5 cpl! Currently, I am making an hourly wage with incentive bonus (if you want to call it that).  We have had 3 drops in our incentive in less than a year. I have gone from being fairly comfortable to barely making it, and actually have had to move.

I envy your 300 lines an hour! I average about 209, but our work is manually assigned to us and sometimes being experienced means you are given the hardest work.

Remember, you have a lot to offer a transcription company...your experience which is worth its weight in gold. You are an assest to the company and especially to the hospital which they service. Good Luck and it is nice to say Hi to an OLDBIE? Is that what we are??

Keep in touch with me if you like via private e-mail. I would love to help and would like your help also!

I have 4 kids ranging from 7 to 18.  Obviously the 18 yo can fend for himself as can my 17 yo, but the youngest two, 7 and 8, cannot.  They have a habit of picking up every bug known to man and always seem to get the worse of everything.  I am an IC as well, but have to work and also have a boss who when I cannot work, will give the work away and then I have to fight to get it back, which means normally waiting until the person that took over has to take time off. 

But, is what I have done, is keep the kids on the couch, set them up all comfy and they are within hearing distance.  I have given them walkie-talkies and they call if they need something, going to vomit, etc.  I check on them frequently as well.  I make sure to take a lunch break and spend that time cuddling with them.  If they aren't too bad like the last bout of chicken pox (even with the shot!), I have a table set up in my office that they can come in and color, etc and be with me. 

Keep your head up, you are Super Mom as we all are and things will work out in the end. 

anon...very, very frustrating these days in the MT world.  Unfortunately these company's true colors don't come shining through until you've experienced it first hand.  Best of luck to you.  Don't wait for things to get better as problems like this usually fall upon deaf ears. 

I am getting a little worried too.  If you can, wait until after Labor Day before you make such a major decision just in case it is simply last minute vacations before the kids go back to school.  I hope that will take care of some of it.  Good luck!

We all feel like that from time to time, but it doesn't matter whether you are an MT or working in any other profession - some days a job is just a job.  You sound like you work for a company like I did.  Too much management getting in the way.  That said, look at it this way.  At one point in my career I made 0.075 cpl for many years (raises unheard of).  I took that rate and turned it into $40,000 a year because I typed by fingers to the bone.  Minimum line count of 1,200 was not enough for me, but some people will only type the minimum and then quit. This is where their problem is.  It's called ambition.  Of course the pay will be low if you quit at 1,200 lines.  Being an MT for 5-10-15 years you certainly should be typing more than that.  If you are not, and it is not YOUR fault, but because of company dynamics, it is time to find a company and account that helps you reach your full potential.  Please do not cheat yourself.  The first thing I would do is not answer phone calls or e mail during your shift (do this before or after) because you are going to have enough to deal with to slow you down while you are working as you described. 

I do not move from company to company, never have, but I certainly would if I felt like I could do better than what is being offered to me, for whatever reason.  Again, no one is going to take care of you - except you, so don't cheat yourself.  Since you already have a job - go with the flow until you find what is absolutely perfect for you and you can make lots of $$ no matter what the rate ( to a degree of course).  It would be nice if we could all make 11 cpl or better.  I never have.  I have found a company and account that is perfect for me, making good money and love the work.  The kicker is, I would have taken that job for 7 cpl and because I am very good in that specialty - I could still make a decent living with it.  Don't go jumping at the first thing offered to you.  Think about it - and yourself.  What is it that you do best as an MT.  That's what you look for.  Being at this for 15 years, maybe you should just throw in the towel where you are but I think you do have the potential for something else.  Go for it - and good luck to you. 

I've been trying to live off of promises.  They promise there's work. I promise the electric company they'll get some money.  So far, no one is living up to their promises.

I get low periods, but I don't understand ZERO work available for weeks on end.  I wish services would just be honest and understand that these are the reasons good MTs don't stay with companies.  Try eating a promise, quite unfulfilling at best.  We've had to suck up and accept low wages, now low wages for no work is more than anyone should have to tolerate.  I'll be filing for unemployment this week.  Afterall, I'm a full time employee who isn't even making subminimum wage for a 40-hour week.

They are rude and they love to talk down to you, especially women....they think they know every damn think about everything and don't know squat. 

Indian men are A holes!