I'm not that poster. Unreal. She has explained herself half a dozen times by now.

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Easy come, easy go.  I quit OSi and had 4 jobs within 3 weeks.  Just had to choose.  Rest assured, if the company I'm with now tries any of the ridiculous crap OSi pulled, on the road again I will be!

If I had the money for an attorney, I too would be filing a law suit, rest assured!  This company gives Douglasville, Georgia a bad name and really should go to hicksville Carrollton where it belongs!

Verbal tests are to give the recruiter a feel of what that MT knows off the top of their head.  Not all people get nervous at verbal tests but a good recruiter has the insight to know if a wrong answer or lack of an answer is from not knowing or is from just being nervous.  A verbal test is done just to get a feel for the the off the top knowledge of an MT plus you know that MT is taking it.  This recruiter is also an MT and having gone through so many tests the long hard way decided this was the lesser of the evils.  She did tell me though if she felt that MT knew their stuff and just could not respond because of nervousness that she noted that and just by a general conversation based on experience would not flunk someone like that.  Lenghty tests prove very little except that an MT has been working for companies that all have different ways of style and that she felt that was not right to an MT; as well having to take tests that are hours long after an MT has been working long hours is also not fair to the MT.  And my friend told me that in many cases there are MTs that literally have other MTs take their testing for them and you would not know it until that person starts the job.  It depends on the recruiter and their knowledge of the industry.  Each recruiter or company has their own way and usually they find the way that works best for them.  I personally find that many recruiters just have no knowledge of the industry (inside knowledge) and it annoys me that someone like that is allowed to even have the opportunity to interview and test me.  I can remember one with a company up north and their idea of punctuation was way too much.  It should not have been an issue unless it changed the meaning of the report but had they gone by the Book of Style they would not have added those 20 or so commas throughout the 4 reports that they had me transcribe.  I passed but when you have been in this industry for over 15 years and are being judged by someone that has not and who has not been in your MT dancing shoes then something about that just does not seem right.  Anyway I doubt there really is a best way to do anything, but if I had my choice, I would prefer the way that is the shortest. Time is precious and for the rates they pay nowadays those tests are just too lengthy to go through that for a whopping 7 cents a line.  No thank you.  I'll chance my nerves over all that. 

go to taxes, but 30% is a good percentage to work with at this time, but that is likely to change with a Democratic president.  Not trying to make a political statement here, just state facts.  As an IC, you will have deductions you can take, home office expenses, a percentage of your utilities based upon the square footage of your home office, any expense that has to do with your business, DSL, extra phone lines, etc. 

This job is going to the dogs.  If you read the ads on the boards, most of the big nationals are nothing more than sweat shops these days, trying to get blood out of a turnip, and paying less and less and giving nothing in return.  Oh, they say they offer benefits, but you can't afford them.  Not to say that they can make it more affordable in these economic times, but the fact remains that they are in business to make a buck, and they are making their big bucks on the backs of transcriptionists.  They expect sacrifice, but it is YOUR sacrifice they want, not theirs.  That is evidenced by the fact that you, the MT, will work on the weekends, you will neglect your family, you will have no life, and they don't give a rat's patootie.  I remember when we didn't work weekends or holidays.  Don't give me this 24/7, 365.  THEY, the muckety mucks DON'T work weekends.  When they negotiate contracts, they sell your soul to provide 24-hour coverage, but their big asses are at home on the weekends. 

I am an IC because I cannot stomach working for a national that wants my blood, my children's blood, and my life sitting and waiting to hopefully grab a job and if I don't have work today to stay up 24 hours so I can make line count to keep my benefits!  Benefits????  What benefit is there for me and my family working for these companies if I never see my family, never have the time to take a leisurly day to do the things that normal families do, going to a ball game, a movie, having their friends over for a cookout, going to church together, sitting and watching a DVD together? 

I am afraid we have allowed this to happen to this profession.  We bowed to their demands of Tue. thru Sat. or Sun. thru Fri.   We accept poverty-level wages.  We say it is okay that our benefits are based on our production, but when we don't have work, we don't scream and yell when they take away our benefits. 

You know, unions were created because of just such conditions.  These companies are taking advantage of us, and if you don't think so, just look at the demands being made if you apply and are one of the chosen ones. 

Lord help us all.  When the economy really tanks (quite soon, I'm afraid), you'll see them drop like flies, all of them, to 3rd world countries.  You think they care about the American MT?  Heck no.  They only care about themselves. 

Ok, about a month ago, I posted about a service who would not answer emails, phone calls, about paying me what was owed.  She paid me less than half of what she owed, and now I have waited patiently to get the balance and once again she will not answer emails or phone calls.  She is blatantly ignoring me. I emailed her and asked her WHEN she plans to pay me.  She has in her contract that she pays twice a month when the docs pay her. Well, this is going into the 3rd month now.  I have gotten that ONE check which was less than half what she owes.  I no longer work for her, as she locked me out of her system when I kept emailing her.  (GO FIGURE!), who would want to work and not get paid anyway!

I have tried to work with her and give her the benefit of the doubt, but at this point, I think that I am going to have to take other measures. 

of my salary accompanied by the e-mail saying how I would be getting 3 times my lines with this wonderful VR system.  I'm not overly concerned because it is my part-time job.  I barely make any money with them anyway, so I will take the opportunity to learn it and just see how it goes I suppose.  It's ridiculous though.