Cost of living is higher
Posted By: mtme on 2009-06-08
In Reply to: new option is now going to Eastern bloc countries - no work
In eastern bloc and Ireland and India. They're gonna want as much as we make. And if not now, then soon once they seal the deal. Plus our HIPAA laws still don't apply anywhere but here. There is still that.
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You either need a job to fit your cost of living or a cost of living to fit your job. sm
While I agree that you cannot live in California on $35,000 a year, no one is forcing you to live in California. Suze Orman says either find a way to lower your expenses or find a way to earn more money. It's common sense :)
There was a post a few weeks ago about not everyone being cut out to be an MT. I agree.
The original poster needs to stop whining and either get a job that pays more or get a new career. She can make $15,000 on minimum wage at a mall or Walmart.
BTW, it was insulting of her to say that MOST woman don't need to work. How dare she? In this day and age, most adults need to work. This is not 1958, this is 2008. I am not a bra burner, but my husband and I both make similar money, clean the house, cook, raise our 3 children. I am just lucky to have a job where I can work from home. I hated commuting anywhere, hate traffic, no patience.
But that doesn't mean that I work less. I treat my job like a job. I work in my home office but I work all day. I do not do laundry, chat with friends, cook. I go to work each day by getting ready as if I were leaving for an office, pour my coffee, make sure I have everything I need and start. I take bathroom breaks and a lunch break and take the full hour that I would somewhere else. I work 8 full hours as I do not include my lunch hour, so my day is 8 to 5. When I am done for the day, I turn everything off, leave the room and close the door, as if I were in an outside office.
My husband has a salary of $71,000 and I make near the same as him each year. I do not work overtime except very rarely, an occasional Saturday here and there, just like if I were on salary in another profession.
I am not perfect, but I love my job and do it well. I also know that MT'ing is not for everyone, although it seems as if a lot of MT's who are not very good at their jobs have a sense of entitlement.
Variables in cost of living
Some states sound good, but then check out the taxes - real estate tax, personal property tax, sales tax, cost of heating/cooling, transportation, license plates, insurance, etc. A lot of it balances out in the end. Some states have outrageous license plate fees, (I paid over $600 for my car last year). I also get a personal property tax bill each year for everything including my dishes and silverware. State income tax is out of sight. Cost of heating in winter is unbelievable. I have to have 2 sets of tires for the car, 1 for winter, 1 for summer. I have to have 3 complete wardrobes for the weather changes.
does anyone know the cost of living in Bangalore? I need a job... lol nm
x
Cost of Living Increases
I work for a large MTSO and after four years have not received a cost of living increase. Is this standard operating procedure? Things cost more than they did four years ago. Do you think CEO is getting the same pay as four years ago? Any thoughts?
It also depends on your cost of living.
I live on the California coast, which basically means I can't make a living at the national going rate. Fortunately, I also have one small local account that pays at a rate commensurate with the local cost of living, and because I have this, I can survive. Not sure I'd call it a good living, but I can get by.
They haven't forgotten about the cost of living.
They are having to compete with India and other countries and to do that they have to hold their line rate. Their rent goes up, they have to pay support staff, etc. I'm sure the majority of the companies are not struggling to meet their obligations every month, but the profits aren't what they used to be. As MTs we were spoiled when we were making $60,000+ year when that was very good money, but now that $60,000 doesn't go very far, but you'll be hard pressed to find that kind of money in most positions in other job markets.
But the MTSOs knew the cost of living would
contract with the hospital was even dry. They cut it too close by too much bottom-line bargaining, and didn't leave any wiggle room in order to be able to continue to pay the MTs that are the ones who actually produce what it is they're selling. No wonder we all play job-leapfrog all the time! The way they do business is too short-sighted to even be believed, sometimes. And the hospitals (most of which are WALLOWING in money) are taking total advantage of the average MTSO's lack of foresight, and most MTSO mangers' lack of even the slightest clue as to what medical transcription is, or how it's done. It's all too pathetic for words.
Heard no more raises or cost of living either.
a
to long time MT - the cost of living is about the same as the midwest - sm
you can have rent ranging anywhere from $500-900/month depending on where you live and what you want. It's not expensive like NY or DC or VA. The line rate is ABOVE - A-B-O-V-E 8.5/line and the docs are fairly easy with the exception of a few marblemouths, but I think every hospital has to have a few marblemouths, or it just wouldn't be right. If you are seriously thinking of it and would like to send us a resume, let us know your email and we will contact you!
We posted this because we wanted to know our options - rather than to have an outside service take the overflow.
Medware has been paying $14 for years, No cost of living increases there! nm
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Slipping Backward - Line Rates and Cost of Living
This is for those of us who have been in the business awhile.
I stumbled across an online calculator that lets you input a dollar amount and a year in the past, and see what it would be today with cost of living increases. (Link below).
You can use this with line rates and do it two ways - either as cents, which gives you a whole number result, or as dollars, which gives you the decimal portion as well. In other words, if you made 8 CPL, you can either enter it as $0.08, or you can enter it as $8 and then move the decimal point over to the left two places in the result. The multiplier is the same either way, so the dollar method with the extra decimal points is more precise. Just remember to move the decimal point over.
I was making 10 cpl in 1990, so I gave it a spin and ran some different line rates through it using 1990 as the base year:
8 CPL = 12.96 in 2009
9 CPL = 14.6 in 2009
10 CPL = 16.2 in 2009
11 CPL = 17.8 in 2009
12 CPL = 19.4 in 2009
Is there any doubt that if the line rate had even kept up with the cost of living, people would not be feeling the way they do about this industry?
Then I did something else and tried different input amounts to see what amount in 1990 would have equalled 9 CPL today - a typical line rate. I had to back off to 5.56. Someone earning 9 CPL today is making the equivalent of less than 6 CPL in 1990.
It's kinda fascinating playing with this thing (the way watching a train wreck is fascinating, I mean). Here's a link you can paste into your browser, or you can follow the link at the bottom of the post.
http://www.aier.org/research/worksheets-and-tools/cost-of-living-calculator
The percentage of offshoring is higher than 15%, much higher - sm
Two more points - the Indian transcriptionists seemed to get the easy American dictators while the US transcriptionists get the Indian doctors and other ESLs. Never made sense to me. Also, a poster said the work is QA'd before being sent to the client - not all the time and if was then QA needs better training.
Isn't that what we do for a living?
That's why keyboards were invented.
OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE A HIGHER UP
OR A SUCK UP THAT CHERRYPICKS ALL THE GOOD WORK AND GETS PAID FOR YOUR SPACES. Get a life and leave us poor people alone.
Higher?
They won't if you don't know how to spell hire.
higher
SS pays higher than that for QA.
higher than DQS
but I get paid for everything whether I type it or not, headers, footers, ADT, etc.
they can higher new MTs
nm
My pay is much higher
I do VR and straight and what you quoted lots lower.
higher pay does not mean better. Try them both.
nm
They will not hire MTs living in CA or CT.
nm
How can she pay living expenses on that? nm
X
making a living
Is there anyone out there supporting themselves and able to make living with a transcription company? i I have been wanting to make a switch but need a push. thanks so much 
making a living
I have been an independent contractor for over 20 years (MT for 30) and have 5 kids which I have raised alone with no support from their dad. I have bought my own house, have a decent car, pay all my bills and my kids have many excurricular activities (which runs into moocha dollars). Hope this answers your question.
making a living
I would definitely recommend Transtech for you, and if you are full-time, they offer you benefits, and can provide you with a computer if needed.
Decent living..
In short....the answer about Is it possible to make a decent living with them, without having to work 40 or 50 hours per week?.... NO 
This is where living in a certain state...
makes a HUGE difference in such things. I currently pay for the insurance for my husband and I (no kids but still need family plan) through DeVenture and it costs me a brutal $136 per WEEK, and the copays for office visits and drugs are still hefty. This is one of the main reasons so many people in this state (Maine) are uninsured...it's just too frickin' expensive 
MQ looking to earn a living
With ASR making money is getting tougher and tougher. Years of transcription experience counts for nothing here.
Try living in Delaware where the just
1,100 workers worked their last day on Friday. What do they tell their kids. You are worrying about a measly Christmas bonus and jealous of CEOs? What about these auto workers?
Have some dignity and stop with the 2-year-old me, me, me. Be lucky you have an income and are not being told sorry this is your last day a week before the holiday season.
No one is ever just happy they wake up in the morning these days. It's always want, want, want...
Not sure what us living in the same state has to do with anything. sm
Everyone's experience with a company is different. I think it just all depends on what your specific needs are. It's disheartening when I hear that other people have had a bad experience with a company that I think highly of.
It's because they are living in a falsehood.
If the person just does a one liner to sound like they are bragging, they are just trying to ruffle feathers. Don't believe everything you read on this board. Its anon and it is open to the public.
Living Wage
I don't know exactly what I would call a living wage for a weekly amount. I can tell you that for my family of 5, the GOVERNMENT says that if I make less than approximately $40,000, that I qualify for various forms of government aid due to low-income status.
$40K divided by 52 weeks per year works out to about 1700 lines per day at 9 cpl.
If you're only making 5 cpl (case in point: That recent ad on the Jobs Bank!), then you would need to type 3076 lines per day in order to keep a family of five above the cut-off for food stamps and free lunches!
I think a living wage is
1 thousand dollars a week.
No cost here either
x
cost...
For medical and dental it is around $85 biweekly. SGS is also the only company I know of that allows contractors to have medical and dental, around $110 biweekly, as long as you meet 9600 lines minimum biweekly, which is pretty low these days.
how much did YOU cost THEM?
If the FOB belongs to the hospital, why in this world would you not want to do the right thing and send it back even if it means going out of your way (although it is crystal clear here that this would be against your nature) to do right by the hospital?
I could never, ever do something that could cause an MTSO to lose a client and if you chose to follow the road you are on that is what could happen. It doesn't belong to you. It has security codes on it. The hospital is upset. The MTSO is upset. You are upset. Crimy!! God save the MT profession from crabby, nothing-better-to-do-with-their time old timers like you!!!!!!
Do you think that you are so special that you were the only one who lost money on trying to get you started up? People in the hospital were helping. People at the MTSO were helping. You were sitting around waiting, not helping and you continue not to help.
Send it back all ready and be done with it!!!!!!
That is for pay; what they charge is much higher. sm
They are not cheap. Our department went with them a few months ago, and they were higher than all but one other company. My manager and her higher-ups really liked them. We have met the owners and two of their managers and I have to say that I was impressed too. They were definitely the nicest company that came in. They are doing a great job too. I am going to work there part time evenings, so I would recommend them.
Not really. I think the average is higher than that. That's on the low end.
I would not take less than 1.25. Just my opinion though.
so if it is not 8, is it higher or lower..(nm)
''
Are you the KS Lead that goes to the higher ups?
If the higher ups are telling you they are getting 20 accounts, they are probably counting each dictator on one account! Would that make sense! I'm being sarcastic. Is it working? LOL Think, people, think!!! LOL - laughing at this whole thread. It is hysterical! I LOVE THIS BOARD!!! 
If Keystrokes was so fantabulous, they wouldn't need to post on here to hire!!!!!!!
They pay higher than most and their communication
I though they were very professional and the Beyond TXT platform was not half-bad. They treat you like a person and not someone from far, far away. LOL - They have my vote as well! 
nor that smart especially the higher you go LOL
.
Of course it is too low. Will you get higher rate?
x
They start out higher than that :)
nm
That is the average or even a little higher...
especially nowadays...
Why not ask your supervisor or higher
up people in the company itself for a straight answer??
Take the higher paying job! sm
These companies don't care about us anymore, so why should we care about them? At the end of the day, we all need money to pay our bills.
I think they have their sites set higher. See msg.
Our goal is to steadily increase offshore volume although to the extent that our
revenue grows rapidly it could certainly be a challenge to increase the
percentage of our total volume that we’re processing offshore
I found the above from the lengthy meeting notes from July 29 of this year. It is at the top paragraph of page 6. Transcend wants to offshore. There's no stopping them.
I guess I'm living proof
that past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. Did you ever have your days in the beginning when you could have been one of their cheerleaders? I know I did. Yet, I still saw those unhappy posts and, rather than automatically think they were lying, instead I wondered how they got so unhappy. I think I found the answer.
How do they make a living if they don't get paid for their
services. I don't know that they get a percentage of the line rate, doesn't make sense that it would be like that, but I'm sure they get a flat fee. The MT doesn't pay, the company does. I didn't ask them about getting paid because that was none of my business. Maybe they don't get paid unless the MT accepts a position. A lot of companies offer referral bonuses, could be the same thing with TM.
We have to make a freakin' living
..
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