I've been happy for the past 2 years
Posted By: Happy with OSi...so shoot me on 2005-10-31
In Reply to: Is anyone happier with OSI now? - Are things changing for the better?
No problems at all for me, and only getting better now with our annual raise (I know it's small, but it is something), holiday pay, more PTO, etc.
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Very happy at Medware the past year
I enjoy my accounts and have work. The best things I like about Medware are my team leader who is very professional and understanding, and the regular paydays which are direct deposit. Those were two things I did not have with my last service. Medware has been a good company to work for. Good luck to you.
You've got to make it past the
.
I've done that several times in the past. - sm
The alternative (insanity? suicide? homicide?) just isn't worth putting up with all that c_ _ p.
I've done this a couple of times in the past
I had specific questions regarding the platform and Expander program compatiblities, as well as how lines are counted among other issues. As the recruiter did not know the answer to these questions, I was given the name and number of the MT manager to speak with. At least one job I declined based on the manager's responses, not because I thought she did not handle the questions well, but found out enough to know the company was not what I was looking for.
On those occasions where I spoke directly to the MT manager, the companies were very impressed with my knowledge of both MT and word processing/computer issues and ended up wanting me to come to work to a greater degree than I feel they would have if I had not talked to the manager.
I don't think it would be inappropriate to ask. The worst that can happen is the recruiter says no and can't answer your detailed questions. In that case, that company is not a right fit for you.
I've made 50K+ in the past, but the variable is
What type of work or accounts you are doing. If you are working as a sub and get put on continually changing unfamiliar work, then you'll be lucky to struggle through 20K. The same person put on work they are good at and familiar with can easily make 30-50K+. Many of MT companies do not match familiarity of work and why many skilled MTs are making less and less.
do they hire clinic MTs? Seems I've only seen ads in the past
nm
What I have done for the past 6 years - sm
For the first 4 years as an IC I paid quarterly to state and had hubby take out additional federal from his check. I now have him take out additional for both, which is far easier for me. The IRS does not care where it comes from, just that it gets paid. Not sure if this is an option for you, but it works for me.
What is your favorite company you've worked for in the past??
I'm just curious if anyone has a favorite company that they've worked for and why are they your favorite?
I've had steady work the past 2 days on
my primary account, but I'm pretty sure it only has to do with people being off. I don't think there has been any kind of major change for the greater good or anything. So I'm not getting excited. I'll be back at the soup kitchen probably next week - so someone save my seat!
Agree, but over the past five or so years, new MTs sm
have been relying on Google and the Internet as their only references. We know how reliable the Internet is(n't)!! The US MTs need to step up to the plate, too!!
I work there now, have for the past 2-1/2 years.
What feedback are you looking for?
I've been on OT all but 2 days the past 4 months. If work is slow
that just means we get a chance to get caught up with TAT. Get paid for downtime too if no work.
just today - you're a little behind - that was for the past 3 years-
and ID thiefs are also overseas - did ya see Dateline this week? Another point you are missing - we can prosecute those here - try finding somebody in Pakistan right now.
In the past 4 years I have always been paid on time
x
I have been a recruiter for 4 different companies over the past 15 years. sm
This is more common than most realize. For every 20 resumes I receive, only 8 are qualified. Of those 8, only 6 will answer their phone or call back when a voice mail is left. That always amazes me, as why apply if you have no desire to talk to the company? Of those 6, only 4 actually are qualified. You would be surprised how many only want 1st shift, M-F, no weekends, no holidays, no ESL doctors, only internet accounts, only word-based, only op notes, no op notes, only long reports, only short reports, etc. The list goes on and on. We hear about every health ailment, how some are working althought they do not need the money, wish I could say that, about how their husbands do not like them to work when they are home. We hear about how they have to leave for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon because they have to drive their kids to school. Did I mention that they need off every other Wednesday for 3 hours for Cub Scouts and every Thursday for two hours at lunchtime to be lunch mom at the school. Oh, don't forget that they get their hair done every Friday morning from 8 until 10 and they may have to drive their mom to the doctor every Tuesday. I am not exaggerating. They all assure me that they want a lot of volume, but of the 4 that I actually hire, it is even scarier. One may be perfect in terms of volume, quality and actually showing up for work. One will work for an hour and disappear forever. One will beg for work but only take 10 minutes off the system at most. One will have an emergency the first day and never call back, never actually starting.
So to have 100 employees, you need to go through 3000 resumes, hire 500 of them and hope to get 100 good ones.
I was going to work for a large company that gets a few bad and many good posts here but decided that the pressure would be too great. It is hard to find 5 good MTs for a new account. I cannot even begin to think how impossible it would be to find 25 or 30, as they have advertised in the past.
This industry sees a lot of job hoppers. Yes, there are a lot of bad companies out there, but they job hop for no reason it seems, other than someone actually expected them to show up and produce.
I am personally against offshore transcription and will not work for a company that send work out of the U.S. but I know why they turn to other countries to do the work. They have a better work ethic. When they find a good job, they stay with it forever. They appreciate that have a job and food on the table. It is a way of life for them and there are no second chances. They cannot burn their bridges or no one will hire them.
Maybe MTSOs need to have higher standards and hold their employees to them. There are thousands of excellent MTs out there, we just have to weed through so many to get to them that they sometimes get overlooked.
Sorry for ranting, but I really enjoyed the OP's post and it struck a few nerves!!!
I have used it for the past 2 years through another company and love it!! nm
nm
You guys are lucky! The NPs I've had in the past were all extremely wordy and had endless dic-
s
They've used ExText in the past. Ad from 2006 said you need Word 2003. Offered 8 cpl for
s
Keystrokes for the past 2 years!! I plan on retiring with them !! nm
nm
I have mde over 60K doing MT for the past 5 years. Why are you so hesitant to post who you work sm
for? Yes, I think you are a fraud am I am no jealous in the least. At least I don't have to lie as a part of my daily business. You still, an no other recruiter responding, has had the integrity to post their company name. No surprise.
I have been there awhile. The good posts are because over the past few years sm
they have really worked hard to improve employee relationships and it has worked. There are no problems there anymore. They used to say they were growing pains and we all wondered how long they could say that. Now I am glad I stuck it out because all the old problems (and I mean old being over 2 years or more) are gone. Great company to work for.
I have had a credit report run for the 2 out of 2 MT jobs I have had over the past 10 years - nm
nm
Actually, it is not a MQ account. They have gotten dozens of MQ accounts over the past 5 years thou
The account that everyone is referring to is high ESL, very Hispanic, in Texas. It is not bad once you get used to the doctors. It is huge and difficult but not impossible and not bad.
They also have 4 other new accounts in acute care they are hiring for and 2 other excisting accounts that are growing.
With all I see on other companies not having enough work, I am grateful for Keystrokes. They keep growing and improving and were the best move I ever made!
I worked on site for many years. I've been doing this for 10 years... sm
I've worked on site, at home, for small MTSOs, for nationals, for hospitals. I've been paid per line, per minute, and per hour. I've been an MT and a QA. I have ALWAYS worked weekends and ALWAYS worked nights for the shift differential because MTs can't survive on 6 or 7 cents a line. At least I can't and I type 105 wpm.
I've BEEN dedicated from day 1, sister, so you are barking up the wrong tree.
I've been a QA 15 years and I've never heard
of any company only paying for the actual Keystrokes of the blank. You would literally make less than minimum wage that way. Waaay less.
I've been there about a week now... I'm very happy. sm
I got a decent line rate, trainers are helpful and kind, QA is quick and helpful but not overbearing or rude. My account has great dictator, a few difficult ones but for the most part even those are better than some I've done elsewhere. I like the platform I'm working on also DocQscribe. So far I'm happy and hope to make them my permanent home as an MT.
I've been very happy with ShortCut - simple to use.nm
xx
I've been with Keystrokes for about 7 months, and I am very happy. sm
Pay is accurate and on time, plenty of work most of the time, and the people in management seem to genuinely care about the employees. My primary account is in Meditech and at first I hated it, but now I do not mind it at all. Hope this helps. Good luck. 
Very happy with SL MQ for years now...
x
Happy for 3 years
The company has been good for me. All archives are from 2004. All companies have some disgruntle posting. Check it out and make your own decision.
For MQ many years, now with WMX, very happy.
Course, after the misery of MQ, this feels like heaven! No complaints so far -- been there since April. IMHO, this company fits me to a T.
I am very happy there for about 2 years
nm
I have been there for nearly 3 years, very happy.
They are nothing but honest with their employees, if that is really what you are looking for. I don't know anything about the offshoring mentioned in another post...they experimented with it early last year (notified employees up front that they were, it was no secret) but I never heard how it went. They recently had a layoff due to low work levels, could not keep everyone busy. Work is picking back up now. I will warn you that the quality standards are very high. Good luck in your job search! 
I have been there over 4 years and I am still happy. nm
x
Where are the VERY experienced MTs (20+ years) happy?
I have 25 years of acute care experience. I have worked in house for a hospital, I have been an MTSO, I have had my own accounts with and without subcontractors, mostly acute care but some clinic.
I am thinking it may be best to switch to clinic rather than acute care. But where is it possible to make at least somewhere approaching what I could with my own accounts? Any ideas?
Maybe I just need to go out and find my own accounts again. I thought working for someone else would work out okay, but I'm not making enough money and when there's no work I sure can't make any. 
What we know most is that Wilma has been there 2 years and is happy.
Her insurance is also $17 a week too.. LOL I'm sorry but it is kind of funny. I guess you have to love the enthusiasm or wonder if this is mgt pumping up the company. I'm sure two years from now Wilma will still be happy at Medware; it must be the greatest job on earth. Maybe I should apply
Three + years at Transtech and still happy
:)
Very happy at TransHealth. Been there a couple of years. nm
I have been a MT for four years and I make $1800.00 per month. I am happy with my pay at this
stage
You can't eat out, yet you are happy with a job that takes 5 years to learn, and couldn't pay
Sounds like a great job to me. Downsizing our minds too. I will be these companies are hooting and hollerging in their second homes, vacations, which we rarely get and still sleep soundly at night. Something is very wrong with this picture.
I've been doing it for 4 years now. There are many
options available. Lots of campgrounds have some type of connection. Sometimes they just have a central jack for dial-up, sometimes they have connections at each site, though there may only be xx number of lines for the entire campground so that you are still limited with on-line time. I found that even in this day of technology some dial-up speeds are really, really slow and it may take 4 hours to download a day of work. A lot of campgrounds now are going to WiFi, especially in the bigger cities. If you have a wireless card and the campground is a hot spot you can access their network (usually for a fee) and get high-speed access from your RV. You can use your cell phone, which I have done in a pinch, but we often traveled where there was absolutely no signal of any kind like in the Black Mountains of SD. There are wireless cards called air cards and this will allow you to access an open hot spot while doing down the road, though most hot spots are not open networks so you can't rely on that 100%. Places like B&N and Starbucks are hot spots for a few. You could access them from the parking lot so if you are traveling from point A to point B, you could just stop to rest or have a coffee and download at the same time. You can also use satellite. With satellite as long as you have a clear view of the southern sky you can get access, even in the middle of a field with no electricity (as long as you have a generator/inverter). You can get a system similar to what you would have in a residential situation and set it up every time you move or you can have a system installed on your roof that makes it much easier for about ($5000 and $99/mo). Downloads are not always high-speed and if weather conditions are severe you might not be able to get a signal or keep it, and uploads are much slower than downloads. We have utilized all of the above at some time or other. I had Earthlink as my ISP and they have lots of local access numbers and an 800#. Only twice in the 9 months we lived on the road full-time was I not able to get a signal of some type (before we got out satellite).
I recommend getting a campground directly from Trailer Life. You can find it at probably any parts/service center or dealership for campers and may find it at B&N. The don't list all campgrounds, because you have to pay for a listing, but there are campgrounds all over the U.S. listed and they list amenities, such as if pets are allowed, if they have internet access and what type of access, etc. This will help you make decisions about where to stay. You can also go on-line before leaving and print out a list of B&N and Starbucks and the like that have hot spots to use in a pinch. KOA campgrounds should all have some type of access, but they are more expensive and I don't think they are as nice a campground as some others.
If you don't already, you will want direct deposit setup and have all your bills setup to be viewed on-line, so that if you don't have to worry about having your mail forwarded so often or about paying bills on-time. I had all regular payments automatically drafted and bills like credit cards I paid on-line.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.
I've been an MT for over 20 years now.
Others who have seen me type say they've never seen anybody type so fast in their life. My typing speed has been described as truly amazing by others. There's no question that I have true natural ability when it comes to being an MT, so my knowledge or abilities are definitely NOT the issue here.
For years now, I have purposely worked for many of the companies out there in order to evaluate differences between line counts. I've done every kind of work there is too (Basic 4, ER, radiology, etc...). I'm a very well rounded MT.
I've found that MDI gives the absolute lowest line counts. I was able to average anywhere from 250-400 lph with all the other companies I worked for and this was after only 1-2 weeks of working with them as compared to working for MDI for years and knowing the account up, down and sideways!! So when I see people like you posting they average 300-350 at MDI, I really question this??? Also, I never had to pay long distance for anybody else either. Most other companies offer an 800 number or went internet files a long time ago.
I'm sorry you can't stomach the many negativities your company has, but in my experience, there's way better out there and I'm entitled to my opinion.
Merry Christmas :)
I've been doing this 20 years and still need
reference books and need to research. If you are putting out a poor quality product and you know you are there is no excuse. You should be proofing your reports or going back and relistening. I'm sorry life is rough, but that is no excuse for poor quality work. I don't work for KS, but I think you are wrong in putting the blame on them.
I've been an IC for 13-1/2 years and it's
bites me in the ass, it's the social security tax.
I've been an IC for years, While it has its sm
drawbacks, it also has its advantages.
A drawback is having to buy my own health insurance and having no other company benefits such as paid time off. Any time I'm not pounding the keys when I'm supposed to, I'm not making any money.
The main advantage is that I can draw up a contract with a company for hours/production that realistically fit ME! The easiest thing to do after this is stick to my commitment and schedule and things usually balance out.
Another advantage is being able to deduct expenses, reference books, computer, at-home office, some utilities, phone, gas/car if you pick up and deliver, etc. This means extra tax forms which cost$, but that's part of having your own business.
Don't forget, though, to stash away the taxes that the company would have matched for social security, etc. This is the self-employment tax.
And don't forget to save receipts for any business-related items, income coming in, etc.
As another poster said, gauge your taxes on what you made the year before if that is typical of what you usually do.
Don't be late with your quarterly estimated taxes as that will bite you in the buttocks as a late fee come tax prep time. By this, I mean that by January 15/16 (the date of the fourth quarterly payment for the year before), you should have sent in all you think you owe for that year.
Talk to a tax specialist and get the best advice. It's a bit complicated, but that's THEIR job. You just need to transcribe, pay your estimated taxes on time, keep track of expenses, and save receipts for tax day.
I find it helpful to keep a folder for the year and just plop IC-related receipts, etc., in it as they occur.
not the OP, but I've been there 4.5 years
nm
I've been with them for 4 years..
and I'm very happy there. They've gone through some management changes recently, but I think it's for the better. They've changed their pay structure also which has meant an increase for some people - in all honesty, though, not for everyone. I did take a pay cut because of the way my particular account was set up but I'm making it up pretty easily. The benefits are great. Next year on my 5th anniversary I'll be getting 3 weeks vacation. That's separate from personal and sick time by the way. I love my account and make good money with it. I posted below (or by now on the previous page!) with more detail, and so did a Transolutions supervisor. If you have any specific questions, I'll be glad to see if I can answer them. Otherwise our recruiter will be glad to speak with you. Good luck!
I've been doing it for 7 years. No
different that using a desktop. I do use an external keyboard the majority of the time.
I've been there almost 2 years now and
(guess I shouldn't call myself newer TT'r any more?) I haven't run out of work very often, or for very long. Oh, sure, over the holiday it was a little low, so I just took some much needed time off.
Other than that, the work has been as plentiful as when I started. I have a primary and 4 secondary accounts, but I'm rarely on my 1st seconday very much, and forget the other 3. I haven't seen a report from them for months! My primary keeps me very busy.
If you've been at this 20 years you (sm)
should know by now that in order to get the real skinny you're not going to get it from the recruiter, but rather the wounded. Yes, some may simply be disgruntled, but those are usually easy to weed out. When there is a pattern, you have to take some of that information into account when making your informed decision.
A recruiter is nothing more than the car salesman. His/her livelihood depends on bringing that MT in and unfortunately in some cases, he/she will do anything to accomplish that. To a recruiter, the MT is just a piece of their paycheck. Where is the incentive to tell the truth and answer honestly? Heck, they probably feel like many MTs do, disrespected and underpaid. I'd think after 20 years you'd summize that?
I've been doing this for 15+ years
that the same thing is said over and over and over again about this business. I do it in my spare time now and if I had to do it over I would NEVER have become an MT. There are MTs on this board who have been in the profession alot longer than me and they cannot believe the amount of pay ( OR LACK OF MONEY) to be made and how things are going downhill. MTSOs want more of our time for less money. Of course, I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.
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