IC Status...is it worth it money wise?sm
Posted By: MT Looking on 2009-04-22
In Reply to:
If the company does not take out the taxes and you have to handle it yourself, do you find yourself making less than if you were employee status? I am trying to figure out if it would be worth my while to take an IC position or just look for a flexible part-time employee position. I need the flexibility of schedule but don't want a big portion of my pay going to taxes either. Any thoughts?
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It can be a toss up money-wise...
I made great money as an MT, and then went to QA. When I left QAing I was at 20/hour. I used to make a lot more $$ MTing. The benefits of hourly are that you know what you are going to make, and $20 an hour was OK for me. However, I hated QAing. As the other poster stated, it was so not worth the horror of the entire job. No $$ can make up for the psychological damage of QAing when MTs are geared to hate you. I also could not stand fixing up other's work, etc., and listening to nothing but the bottom of the already slimy barrel. Maybe it was just the company I was with, but the MTs just didn't give a darn anymore, and QA got stuck with just a mess and mgmt didn't care. Very stressful job. Returned to MTing and $$ is about equal now, but I have the joy of MTing back again, which is priceless. I looked for other QA jobs for a while, but heard that most pay by the line now, which is totally not worth it in my experience. MTs most times are underpaid, and I think QA all the time are underpaid! LOL. Good luck in your search.
What speech/editing platform do you find the most profitable (money-wise for the MT, of course)?
What company uses it, please. Detest Dictaphone Exspeech. DQS was very user friendly. Any others?
Money not worth dreading doing the work, feeling
Personally, I won't settle for just anything in MT. I decided instead of letting offshore companies abuse my services, I would turn the table and use them to MY advantage. The offshore co I still work for, I have a few accts that I make good money, too bad there isnt 8 hours a day of work to these acct. I asked to be taken off accts that were not money makers. I looked long and hard to find another company with a platform I love, work with assigned accts, no pools, great support (which is a rare thing in my experience) and a polite, helpful qa. This company wants to help MTs do great because that means the company will do great, something offshore co. don't get. Oh yeah, this new company is US owned.
WWWaah. I used to make good money til the health problems hit, now it seems hardly worth my time!
x
Agree..with IC status, equip. is your responsibility; employee status - you should SM
not have to pay out-of-pocket for use of their equipment. I would never work employee status for a company who required me to purchase or lease their equipment. The only thing I would find acceptable is to have a small security deposit taken out of paycheck when starting with a company. This will protect the company from those few who might abuse the equipment.
Anyone know of Escription companies that offer IC status. I do not want employee status but would
like to stick with the Escription platform at all possible.
Employee status w/benefits vs IC status??? Dilemna enclosed
I am caught between a rock and a hard place and figure this is the place to get the best advice from those in the know. I have been an IC for the past 5 years and love the flexibility but was interested in a job with benefits. I started a new job about a month ago with good pay (2 lph more than I was making) and benefits......very happy with company but as an employee, obviously have a schedule. I am working both jobs currently and starting to burn out. On the new job, I am struggling to get the 1200 lines per day required but on my old.... I can easily get 150-400 lph depending on the dictator but again, it is IC and less lph than the new job. Obviously, the platform is different and not paid for template headers/footers wheras the old one, I am paid for those. Now to my question. Is it just me? Is it because I really enjoyed the freedom of ic status and therfore seem to be struggling? Anyone else experienced this before? Tempted to go back told job and lose benefits/more pay because in the end, maybe it works out be the same pay because of amount of time I spend getting the job done? Not sure if this makes sense but hoping you can all offer some advice!! TIA
wise
Thank goodness I am not the only one. I do not mind being on top of things, but it just seems anymore like you said that work is trickling in for UC versus where it used to be a good amount even with being up to date. I know we had President's Day last week, but even so we should be back up full steam already. I have a very hard time believing that they only have so much work considering what a huge facility they are.
you are wise to ask.
also, i think companies that have direct deposit are more generally more trustworthy.
You are VERY WISE, old owl.
nm
Wise of you.....
Was a joke when I was there. Got smart and got out!!!!!
you are wise! nm
x
Old and Wise
Thank you for understanding. Things were really crazy last week--lots of family trauma and drama, etc. Guess I was more tired than I thought. Anyway, I am praying that MTDays can find a good solution or catch a break. It makes me sad to see other MTs going through such difficulty. If she were in California, I could help.
Probably not too much different terminology wise, sm
but, as you know, differ from dictator to dictator. There wouldn't be any pediatrics in internal medicine.
I think that is a wise decision pls r/o
Like I said above, they are nice people, but nice doesn't pay the bills. I had glitch after glitch with Dictaphone TransNet. It was always MY FAULT somehow. LOL It was pretty archaic. One day I couldn't work for almost a whole day because the TransNet would not load up any jobs, but they kept saying it was MY computer and not theirs. Then they wanted to know how late I would be staying up to make it up! (BTW- lo and behold, it was THEIR SERVER at fault! LOL)
I think it is also wise to keep in mind.....
You get what you pay for. Wouldn't you agree? Bottom line, if you want the best, you will have to pay for the best. I can't get a Porsche for the price of a Saturn, unless there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with it. I think if I were in charge I would definitely have to think, what are MY goals as a business owner.
I don't think its wise to be naming sm
your account on this board.
Amherst so we make less money and they get more money for MQ and bigger bonuses. Our guidelines came
from Amherst.
The company takes the money out of your salary, before they cut the check. It is your earned money,
:+
It's about "money, money, money, mmmoonnney. Singing The Apprentice song.
:{
Okie dokie. You got it, old wise one!
Might want to come back down to the real world and have some fun. Enjoy life!!!
yes they do, everything you need computer wise they supply. sm
very friendly user platform, pay always on time and correct, great bosses, great benefits, great sound quality, great QA people, all around a great place to work. Come on over to Webmedx. You will be glad you did.
Well, it sounds good pay wise, but (sm)
if you are not used to working the night shift, you may have difficulty. It always sounds good, like, I'll go to bed when I get home, but in reality, do you go to bed now when you're done working? Probably not. It may take you several hours to unwind, if you are like me, and by that time, you would have to be up with your daughter. I have seen several people over the course of my MT career try to do nights when they are not night people and it always ended up badly. Not to say it won't work for you, but just keep this in mind.
I think that is great. Very wise choice.
xx
for your wise and sagely advice NM
NM
You are wise not to trust Transcend
Look where trusting MDI got all of us......
What are top 5 companies size-wise? MQ still largest? nm
,,
yep, gotta spend money to make money. NM
.
So does yours. Perhaps you need a basic money class to learn to keep money. sm
I am off today and appalled at reading the posts on here.
Are you always this bitter? Do you have a family and friends who are safe and healthy? Count your blessings instead of being so angry and you might see that this is not a bad field to be in. It has kept food on my table for 27 years and will continue to do so. Is it harder now? You bet, but it is not impossible to make a good living of $50,000. You just have to work hard, give it your all and appreciate the good companies that are out there.
If I were an MTSO, I would find out who all these people posting such bitter posts are and find replacements for them a.s.a.p. Negativity spreads like poison, and with the world in the state it is, we should bond together not make it worse.
Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money is. nm
x
thank you. I already knew but this validates that I made a wise decision last year.
I was being paid 3.5 cpl, and I always did 100% proof to voice because if MY name is on the report, then it WILL be without errors, and quite honestly we did not have even one MT that I trusted enough to not do a complete proof to voice, which is actually very sad. I provided feedback on errors, for which I was not compensated since I was on straight production. We had tons of new MTs constantly, many of them abysmally bad.
My supervisor loved my work. She said I was the best QA Editor they had, and boy howdy I was because I also worked QC for a bit and got to witness the handiwork of my fellow editors. Nice that they paid their best 3.5 cpl, huh? I stuck it out for as long as I could because I genuinely loved my job, but there comes a time when you just have enough of being taken advantage of. They had wanted to promote me to something that was akin to a QA lead that would also involve training new MTs as well as continuing QA and QC. I would be paid salary, so that's good, but they arrived at the number by basing it on what I had made the previous year (at the lowly 3.5 cpl, mind you), so basically I would have been doing MORE work for the same money. Right. They obviously think we can't do math...lol.
I have gone back to MT. It's harder on my body, but at least I'm not being screwed.
Until OUR government quits making it so lucratime tax wise to outsource...
these companies get great tax breaks to outsource. Google it, it will amaze you.
It still goes back to our government making it lucrative tax wise to outsource
NM
Would ya'll say that Medware's family ins coverage is relatively reasonable cost-wise? nm
xx
Amphion hires part-time - they're very strict schedule-wise though
Since part time is so hard to find these days your options are limited, so if you don't mind working for a company that is a stickler for strict schedule adherence, I say try Amphion.
WHY isn't it worth it?
j
For what it's worth ...
I don't know about smaller nationals, but Spheris doesn't pay for those things either. If you run out of work, you can flex your time and make it up. If you don't want to do that and had rather have the time off you are allowed to do so. If you cannot get it made up AND you don't have PTO to pay yourself, then you still file for PTO and it covers you as far as failing to make minimum production -- that way you're not in trouble.
When I first started with TEM (now Spheris), they paid downtime by the hour but cut that out with their new pay plan about a year or more ago.
I don't know of any remote company that pays only on a production basis that would really afford such an offer -- paying downtime for no work. The hospital I used to work for has remote employees but they are all paid by the hour, period (yes, even at home) with incentive that pays out an extra hourly for production. If you are going to be down for 2 hours in a day, you are expected to drive to the hospital and work your day or flex it to a later time or PTO the missing time.
I'm not saying I agree with it or am thrilled about that situation but MQ is not the only company and, in fact, I would think right in line with everyone else.
Definitely worth it!
go for it
I think DRC - they'd be worth a try. nm
xx
Keep trying. It is worth it. nm
zz
Not worth it
The 12-hour window was nice and the account I was on was great. The people were nice but the payscale was just too low. Like many others have stated nice doesn't pay the bills.
The whole training in Trinidad and other countries really irked me too. The way it was presented and handled just stunk.
You are worth more than that
I have about half your experience and make more than that. You deserve better. But, I do agree with you since I make less than I did 5 years ago that the industry is drowning.
worth a try
All of the companies that I have left told me before doing so that I was welcome back at any time. You never know if that rings true or not until you ask for your job back.
I asked for my job back at 3 places....
The first one accepted me back no problems but had to jump through all of the hoops again.  I decided after receiving ALL OF THE paperwork late that that is basically the reason I left in the first place (lack of any kind of decent communication) - also noticing that the send back by date on my paperwork was due 3 days before the overnight package even got to me (if that tells you anything). Plus I wasn't able to get an old account back (that I knew had the work) so I would be going back into a situation where I might or might not have work again. From the looks of it would be running out frequently.
So, I decided to stick with the place I was with - hoping the workflow got better and that I would actually start making a paycheck again - It didn't.
I asked for my job back with the other place - they got back to my inquiry within minutes telling me I could come back! Boy was I thrilled. I left to test the waters with VR because I thought it would be easier for me -- boy was I wrong and stupid. I've been back there for a month now and couldn't be happier!!!!!! I've been through H*LL the past few months with companies and it makes you appreciate what you did have.
The third one, well, I didn't burn any bridges (minus leaving the in the first place which I think made her angry) - it was one place that I was sure would accept me back - or at least send me an I'm sorry we dont have any positions at this time. that is the kind of work relationship I thought we had -- because I bent over backwards for them as an IC basically 7 days a week. I do know the e-mail was sent and received (basically as soon as it was sent) and I never received a response back. Then again, thinking back on it, when I said that I was leaving (twice) first time never got a response, second time I got the coldest response out of any company that I have ever been with and I was with this one for almost 2 years making 7 cpl IC. So, I guess I saw the true colors then and regret now even asking for a position back with them.  I can't believe I was willing to take a 2 cent pay loss to go back.
SOOO-- moral of my story is -- follow your heart on this one. You left, match up the reasons why you left to is it WORTH going back. If it is worth it, don't waste your tiem in asking for your position back!!
Good Luck to you!!!
Not worth it
TTS - This lady is actually contracting MTs to work for the company she works for. Very poor communication, much chaos. Pay not dependable and on time, although I did get all money owed but was such a hassle, not worth it!
No, not worth it
Editing by the line can be profitable, but not with this company. Reason being just about all the work is typed offshore and needs to be listened to, even though some are just said to be read throughs. There is also a constant lack of work. The changes are what drove me out the door. Person after person just GONE. I had an account manager who had been there more than 10 years and just all of a sudden her job was gone. The HR lady is GONE, the other HR person is now helping manage accounts. No new accounts in ages. No information is the worst thing, people leaving, pay dropping, and no explanation why. They used to be an awesome company, but not now.
Why is it that men know what they are worth...
...and most women have that 'awesome' attitude in your opinion that we do not count, do not matter, and should be happy just to have a jobs, no matter how we are treated, how low we have to go, how much heavier the work load gets year after year...
sorry, but that attitude is not going to get your anywhere but the unemployment line in the long run...good luck with that.
When your companies start weeding you out, because they WILL eventually, get back to us on how great they are and how happy you are about it.
Seems like you not only agree with that, but you like it.
We always think we are worth more, don't we? (sm)
LOL - seriously though, this profession is not what it was 10 or so years ago. I am very happy at TT. They are very easy to work with, I love their platform, and I especially like the tech support which was practically nonexistent where I was before. I plan on retiring from this company.
Job not worth it
I know how you feel. Now they are going to be cutting our holiday incentive in half too. We only get 2 holidays now as it is.
Not worth it at all
I have done seminars, meetings and all of the above. With everyone talking very hard to do. In 60 minutes of taping, I easly got over $100 for line counts so $50 is WAY UNDERPAYMENT. Again it is not easy to do. I did a three day seminar once and make close to $1000 but it was an orthopedic one and with all the questions, etc. very hard to understand and lots of blanks. No way you can get 98% accuracy and if you have to look over all the presentation material to see what they are talking about, you are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down there for pay. My two cents worth.
Definitely not worth it.
I made $52,000 one year. No social life, bad health, bad attitude, and that aged me about 10 years in one year. I worked in a transcription office all day, went home, ate dinner, and worked until I could no longer see, finally crashing on the bed (if I made if that far) around 2 a.m. Why did I do it? Looking back 10 years later, I have no freaking idea. It definitely wasn't worth it and I would never, ever do it again. I've learned to live with less, changed my spending habits, and now, as an IC, I take off when I feel like it. My life is way more important than my annual income.
please say it was worth it lol
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