No doormat here

Hi Janine  -

Thank you for your kind words.  It's too hard being the only parent, the only one making the decisions, with no one to bounce off ideas with.  I hate it.  It's not what nature intended, but nevertheless it's what happened and I am dealing with it to the best of my abilities.  I've screwed up royally in some cases, but for the most part, I hope my role in my son's life will be perceived by him as a positive one.  He tells me what I consider are horror stories of his roommates and the relationship they have with their parents: they are 'best friends' who party with their kids and look the other way.  I am a pit bull who lives by the rules and there is no bending.  More times my son has said in anger you are SUCH a mom!  and that gives me the warm fuzzies! 

Now, for the gratitude trick you talked about.  I don't look at this or any profession with gratitude at all.  What I have gratitude for is the fact that such a profession exists that I can do from my home that I just stumbled upon.  I am not one to be taken advantage of.  I had no training in this field.  I started off in another aspect of the medical field in a higher paying career that I have a degree in and I just happen to be able to type really fast!  When the sole responsibility became mine to raise my son, I knew something had to change.  I fell into this quite by chance, and fortunately for me, it enabled me to make a living AND raise my son at the same time.  It was MY choice to make the sacrifice because it fulfilled my needs.

I have had to fight for raises, and each time I did, I got one.  I keep statistcs of my work daily - how many lines I type, what type of reports I'm typing, how many hours a day I put in, how many days I work OT when requested, etc.  When it starts to look like I'm doing too much for what I'm being paid, phones calls start going out to the powers that be.  I give them all the facts and then request an increase in my rate.  I have not been refused yet, but I've only asked for an increase a few times.  I do not whine, yell, or treat my superviors with rudeness.  It's more a matter of fact, professional tone pointing out all I've done over a period of time, yet still at the same rate I started with, and that I feel I deserve an increase.

Aside from that hideous national company I worked for, the two other smaller ones I've worked for treated me with nothing but respect, as I treated them.  I think smaller companies are by far the better way to go in this profession. You end up building a relationship with management.  I have issues with my current supervisor's decisions, and believe me, I write every single detail with dates and times down, save every e-mail I get from her, and when the time is appropriate, I will have a conversation with her expressing my unhappiness if this continues. Currently I do use my own PC, but my company has provided me with everything else I have needed, they pay my long distance phone bill, and I have the best benefits I've ever had, and that includes my original career from back in my other life.  I cannot put a price on benefits, as for me, that is a very important part of working.  My current rate of pay is lower than my previous MT job, but the benefits are above and beyond what my last employer offered, so in essence, it's a wash.  I was paying double for health/dental insurance compared to what I pay now, and what I have now is better.  I looked at other jobs with companies that made you pay for everything, health insurance was expensive, etc., and I never even applied. 

Of course the companies are making money off of us, that's why they exist.  Of course the owners make more money than us, that's why they are the owners and we are the empolyees.  If  you work for a company that makes you feel that we should be ashamed for wanting to be paid more, then shame on you for staying there.  No one should be used or taken advantage of. If you are a great MT, exceed your company's standards, the perfect employee who doesn't call out sick every other week or start work late, then back up your performance with facts and statistics and go to your supervisor.  If they don't tell you what you want to hear, maybe it's time to look elsewhere.  Most companies will not give you what you are worth until you stand up for yourself and you fight for what you deserve. It's not easy finding a good company, but it's not easy finding great MTs and a smaller company recognizes that.  This is a dying profession and many of us would be better off doing something else.  Everyone is different, has different needs and expectations, therefore we all have to weigh the pros and cons of working as an MT.  If your cons list far outweighs your pros list, why are you still an MT?  When I say 'you', I don't mean YOU, Janine, I mean all of us!  If 'you' feel worthless, you have allowed yourself to feel that way.   

• Theory about MT Pay - Anonymous
  • I though unions not legal in some states (right-to-work states) nm - early riser
  • Just the opposite. The rates we charge have gone down too because of offshore sm - MTSO
    • In response to "just the opposite....." - meMT
    • ridiculous is right - Janine
  • I disagree. Unionization will fail and cost - more harm.
  • The reason MTs get paid nothing and treated like doormats is they're - impossible to unite & won't even stick up for t
  • It is too late for unions. It never would have worked. - Barely any unions left in US of any sort.
  • Agree with Union - Anonymous
  • I hear people talk union all the time, but no one ever - me
  • Single parent MT - Trish
    • It can be done - dolfan
    • Question - Anonymous
      • No outside income - Trish
      • Another single mom MT here - AnnieM!AnnieM!
        • Hang on a minute... - Janine
          • MT is not any different from the rest of the working world - Grammyof1
            • I disagree - Janine
              • You have obviously never worked as a pharmacy tech - Grammyof1
                • Why positions cannot be filled. Not due to lack of workers, - sm
                  • Not so necessarily - Grammyof1
                • I stand corrected - Janine
          • No doormat here - AnnieM!AnnieM!
            • You've got what I'm talking about - Janine
        • I absolutely loved your post! sm - luv2type
      • A lot of the time the insurance premium comes out - before taxes. So that can help. sm

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