The important thing is not how many MTs are looking for work. sm
Posted By: searching on 2007-07-19
In Reply to: I'm just beginning to job hunt and I'm askeered. - Gotta couple of paranoid questions. SM
What will matter in the end is your skills. There are thousands of MTs in the country, but unfortunately only a small percentage of them are well trained. Not bragging, just a fact; I know a lot of MTs. If you know the second-edition BOS well (which many companies require), are meticulous in your work, great at researching terms, and are dependable, you can get a job. It helps if you have an extensive background in various areas of transcription.
Put your strongest assets forward in your resume, and keep plugging. There is ALWAYS a shortage of good MTs, even right now. An MTSO may overhire, but if he/she is wise, they will keep the good ones in the end.
It's a little more difficult to get a job right now, but still possible. One of the biggest points is your resume. Make sure it sells your strong points, but is brief enough to be read.
Good luck to you all, especially at the big company.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Another very important thing
Leave the pet name calling i.e. sweetie, honey, sugarplum, whatever, to my hubby. I have a name.
While the work is important,
please keep in mind that you're doing it to earn a living. While it is often said that it takes about 3 months to get up to speed on an account, it seems that you have some sense of the situation already.
If the finances aren't working out, I would start looking. If it's not a win-situation for the employer and the employee, it's not the right job. Good luck.
To some people the line count is VERY important. Used to work with (sm)
a girl who would scan the system for normals and special assign them to herself. The boss had us print out a daily log of what we had typed, she would only do this every 2 days, making it look like she had a productive day, when in fact she had been outside smoking or in the bathroom taking 40 winks most of the day.
If getting paid regularly for your hard work is important to you, find another company. nm
t
No work here for 1 and 1/2 hours now. Bad thing is my PT gig also has no work.(sm)
I don't mind flexing to get my lines/hours in but when you are balancing more than 1 job it isn't easy. Tonight I am scheduled to work on my PT job so can't make up TT lines unless it is really late this evening and that just ain't gonna happen.
OK, another thing is, if the work is low, it will go SM
to the people who have been there longer. That's reality of this field. Goes on everywhere.
Work there also and the only thing I can say
is I am running out of work and I really do not like that. I think they leave you alone to do your work which I really love after being IMd to death at my previous place. I am very happy here- have also seen the many posts against them but I have worked there several years and never had a problem.
Same thing where I work and I love it
especially when it is a difficult dictator or a really fast talker. If I can't understand him/her I will pull up past reports by him/her and look for the same type of report. Helps out big time!!
the thing is, SOMEONE will work for that much, which is an insult to us all!
nm
Transcription work is not a sure thing.
Physicians take vacations. Physicians leave the practice. Clients switch companies. You cannot expect an MTSO to always have work when this is not the sort of business that you can promise anything.
This profession is sort of like take it when you get it and not when it's convenient. Whether you have your own accounts or work for a company, this still holds true.
There are times when I see no end, and then there are times when I can take a deep breath and a break. It's just the nature of the business.
Same thing here with the co. I work for..free time is
ok sometimes but I really want to work!
I work for them too and was wondering the same thing?? What gives all of a sudden?? nm
nm
It isn't important...
which account I work for. I have worked for the VA account in the past. I worked to help out with the backlog. In 2 days I typed 3000 lines. They were my first 2 days on that account. Hope that answers your question.
and this is important because.....??
x
if it is important -
They outsource. Apparently have set up shop in at least two cities in India, looking at Phillipines, have 2600 transcriptionists in India.
important
I have a message already from the recruiter. since your e/m isn't working for me, can i call you in about 30 min? (got to go do something).
and ... this is IMPORTANT
You do get paid by the line, NOT by the hour, and the only way you get credit for all the lines in the report is if you do a full listen from start to finish. If you are filling in blanks, no matter how many blanks, you get credit for only 15 lines. I am going broke and I can't understand my manager because he is in Bangalore, India. Also, there is NO paid training and I had to start working as an MT although I was hired as a QA. It took me over a month for my so-called promotion to QA. So I made a LOT more money as an MT than I am making as a QA because I make no money on reports with blanks.
That's why it's important...
to wait until you're released from QA at MDI and are free to type as many reports as you like before quitting another job.
But that's just common sense, no matter what the circumstances. *shrug*
Something VERY important to consider!!
If you really to to try to fix what has gone terribly wrong in the MT industry, you have to be willing to be educated about how our system of government works, and how it might mean that a UNION is not the only answer, if an answer at all.
Seriously, stop and think. Supposedly the Democratic party (and this is not all political so chill) stands for the average joe right? Then why did Clinton with support of the Republicans sign NAFTA into law - which was the vehicle that drove our MT jobs to India?
In other words, this was done to provide the cheap labor Americans WON'T (and can't) provide.
The reason? Obviously to bump PROFITS for the corporations who provide the service.
Now I don't suggest the above is the whole story, but it's a critical point and if we in this discussion don't understand that part of the problem is that we are where we are because it was INTENDED, then starting a UNION in and of itself is not going to be a fix-all.
Our country is in an economic free fall - no one knows if or when we will stabilize. Keep this in mind, too, if you are hoping for a magic solution. There may not be one.
Being in this field for 22+ years, I have read the writing on the wall.
GO FORWARD with plans for a Union but understand there are many many factors at work here.
In the meantime, how many of you here have contacted YOUR representatives in Congress to ask about regulation for this industry? Don't wait for a union, or for someone else to do this simple act: Look up the numbers and call them. Follow up with a letter. There is power in numbers and if they hear from us throughout the nation they will take note.
Just my 2 cents.
Best wishes for a better 2009.
Exactly. Seriously important.
.
I was a little troubled by that e-mail, too. The funny thing is, I work
an IC job that supplements my pay, and I got a call just Monday because I had not met my producton goal there. Apparently another vice president decided to earn a check this week...LOL.
No matter how much they jump up and down, you cannot transcribe what is not there. I was more than happy to remind that individual I do not get paid unless I work, so not meeting goal is probably MORE critical to me.
I thought by busting my tush on 2 jobs I would be guaranteed never to run out of work, but both failed me this past holiday. For all the gymnastics, I will be working all weekend this weekend just to have a decent paycheck. Sigh.
Depends on what's important to you.
Low pay, no raises, deceitful but polite about it (hard to get your vacation time, say they will not bounce you around but do, say they will customize to what you want but don't, etc.), expect you do to a lot of free work, very top-heavy, volunteered AAMT Employer of the Year (don't know by whom, I was not given a vote). It probably also depends on what accounts you are on, whether you do acute care or multispecialty clinic, and who your team lead is. Communication: Very one-sided; lots of e-mails, etc. from them for you to read/take action/respond to (unpaid), but not so interested in you communicating with them and giving you timely answers; I've been blown off A LOT. They are VERY into AAMT and CMT certification, but don't pay well for it. Oh, and they offshore. When their system goes down, you don't get paid and can't take sick or vacation time to make up for it (was down for 2 days last week).
On the plus side: Good insurance benefits, easy platform, my accounts were good for the most part, pay on time.
My opinion: If you're experienced, you could probably do better. If not, good place to get more experience. Hope this helps.
I think the most important question is
whether it is good money for YOU.
:)
Doesn't seem too important to get especially
if you have to get CEU's and renew. I already do that as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I don't need the additional expense and there doesn't seem to be a financial benefit.
Thanks for all your responses.
the most important question is how
important is it for you to work from home versus out of the home - with today's escalating gas prices, figuring in everything related to traveling to and from work, dress clothes for work, meals, day care, etc. etc. etc, you must weigh the pros and cons - for some it is not enough whereas others find it very worthwhile.
Yes, you are so right. The account will be important. nm
xx
It's important to ask if you will have 20,000 a pay period
xx
and I never claimed to be more important than others
LOL LOL LOL. How do you know what is FAIR to you and others? You don't know me. LOL. Stop analyzing so much and stop twisting people's words around. I bet you're one of them gossip-busy bodies that have nothing to do interrupt other people's lives. Take care of your own business.
Could I please ask for an important opinion?,,,,,sm
I work for a great company as an IC, and love the work, my bosses have been great (been there about a year), love the accounts, platform, etc., but something bugs me. In the beginning, I told them strictly, verbally and in writing, that I needed to really be flexible hour-wise, I have 3 kids and also take care of my 90-year-old mom part-time, etc. They said sure, jump aboard, very flexible. Okay, lots of days they are okay, but we have dedicated queues and at times I know i am working TWO JOBS instead of part-time, I signed on for approximately 25 hours a week. I have a fabulous line count to show for it, but I keep getting roped into these 12-hour work days, 1200 lines or more, and I am getting wiped out. They are great about so many things and the pay is fantastic, but should I complain, what would you do?? THANKS!!!
Thanks for sharing, very important!!!
Though I did not apply at MDIT, I can relate. United Transcription out of North Carolina used ExpressScribe and MPWord (not MTWord) plus a FTP. The lady VP was not a transcriber so had not ideaaaaaa.
With this setup most of the demographics are entered by the MT (remember her/him making production, not paid unless something on the page).
There were plus 15 different popup screens to click, unclick, delete, type in name, plus flipping back and forth between window screens. Really ridiculous. These things should be put in the system by programmers not the MT EACH REPORT. Image with very small reports, making nothing and those Keystrokes are not paid.
There was no hard copy of doctor roster, so had to scroll through entire list trying to figure out the name referenced. Equally hard to even figure out first letter sometimes. I was told, why didn't you look it up I said I could not even figure out the first letter.
It was a ridiculous way to work. She was probably a good person but she just had not IDEA what MTs need, are about, about platforms. Just got the impression she had not idea how to process pertinence of something as she had bad-mouthed previous MT or MTs during the interview, has general bad thoughts, I told her she was wrong, MTs work their guts out, they are not lazy and on and on, I said they make nothing and go to great efforts to get the answer (I volunteer on 2 Word Help Boards.) Pissed me off her idea what an MT is about.Like sneering (sp?
Wow! Thank you for writing this. This is very important
Yes, I do depend on a paycheck being timely and so do my bill collectors. My rent cannot be late either. And I have a small child to feed. Thanks for letting me know the history of this! Now back to the drawing-board for my job search :).
It's so important to her that she mentioned it not once
Maybe it's just my perception, but that post came off as really pretty arrogant. I know things can be conveyed wrong in writing but she does not sound like she would be a pleasant person to work for, that's for sure. The whole tone of the post made me go EEK...
As if your opinion is so important...
Get over yourself already...
The accuracy is also important when they end up -
in court. This year I was a juror for an assault/'attempted murder' trial. I tried my best to get out of it, seeing as how my company doesn't pay for jury duty. But, when the attorneys were screening the potential jurors in the courtroom, asking among other things what they did for a living, you should've seen the judges face literally LIGHT UP when I told her I was an MT. I knew immediately she wasn't letting me off. The defendant's attorneys weren't going to let me go, either.
And later I could see why. While in deliberations, we were presented with a pile of medical reports that were at least telephone-books thick.
I was the only one that knew their way around those reports, so that was my job to read through them. I was grateful that the transcriber of these reports had been very accurate, with few blank spaces. The doctors in the key part of the reports, which had to do with the forensics of the stab wounds themselves, were accurate and to-the-point, and there was no confusing double-speak. That would've been even more important had a non-medical-language-understanding lay-person been assigned to read through the medical evidence.
As it turned out, these well-done medical records had evidence with regard to the placement of the stab wounds that proved without a doubt that these wounds were made in accidental self-defense, and not as the aggressor. This prevented an innocent woman who was being beaten by an abusive husband from going to jail.
So, the records we type every day, day in and day out, can have far-reaching consequences that we'll most likely never even know about, but which we should always be thinking of.
IMPORTANT DATE
Another poster just indicated the date of the official merge is September 1st.
I just wanted to point this out so anyone intending to take a stand could make August 31st, 2009, their last date of employment for MDI-MD.
I must have missed something important
I thought there was the question was aked about retaining PT status and that was going to be okay. Who said the PTers are being let go? Aren't a lot of us PT? Anyone know? Been looking when I have time but, dang! I'm not prepared yet with another job...Thanks!
I used to work for a defunct GA MTSO that did the same thing. I always went straight to the bank and
The other thing to watch out for these companies who constantly bounce checks is that there may be other illegal stuff going on behind the scenes, such as not paying appropriate employee withholding taxes or health insurance premiums. My old MTSO never did send my Social Security contributions to the Feds for over a year. It's part of why I stay with the big nationals. They have their problems but I know my paycheck is always okay.
She does not work from her living room. Why would assume such a thing? Why would it matter to you
do not post things that you have no idea about. If you have a problem with KS or any company, why not ignore it and move on? Why does it concern you?
The setting your own schedule thing varies. For example, physicians who work in the ER may be
independent contractors, rather than employees, if they are moonlighting on weekends or whatever. But notice they are told what hours to work... There's no way to keep a transcription service alive with people working whatever hours they feel like whenever they feel like. That's just not reasonable.
The thing is, if we just "suck it up" and send the work offshore to lower sm
the rates, there will be no work for U.S. MT's. There are plenty of hospitals and doctors that do not want their work offshore to keep us all in shoes.
Can you say ANAL RETENTIVE? Don't you have something more important to be
a HYPHEN. Get a friggin life!
Me too, emphasized flexibility was more important
x
At least we can laugh at ourselves..That is important. Sometimes, I cannot believe I get paid ...
to type.
Working at home is very important to me
But keep in mind we HAVE BEEN working at home in this industry and making GOOD money for years now. It is only recently that this downslide has occurred. It is as much a benefit to the employer as it is to the employee to work at home. Think about all the money they save in office space and utilities and more and more of them do not supply equipment anymore. They want us to keep thinking the way your post reads and forget that we benefit them by working at home too. The working at home is a wash when it comes to which side benefits so we need not even go there
I make a list of what is important to me
line rate, benefits, incentives, flexibility,work flow, etc...and compare offers.
Ive worked for a few different places and think I have finally found my home. Im getting paid a very good line rate, with incentives, benefits are not too expensive, they are flexible and I have more than enough work to make my line count daily!
So, think about what it is you need from the job and decide which, if any of them, can meet your current needs. HTH
Planning your time is very important
You don't have to be an MTSO to be an IC. You can have your own accounts and not contract work out to others. It is possible to do that and make money. No one needs to work that many hours in a day unless you are not managing your time properly.
You missed an important point
You should walk in the shoes of any nationality that will accept to work for peanuts before you make such a statement. For many in other countries what they are paid is *not* peanuts to them.
We are slowing being pushed into poverty wages right here in the US - and we still accept that work. So its all relative. What to you may be peanuts it to them a lifeline...
I, too, think free speech is very important! - sm
Although, as the moderator said, I don't base my company application decisions on what any one person says, I DO go back and read archives, compare notes, read between-the-lines, and decide for myself whether the post I read is truthful or not. Even more important is the number of posts on a company. Almost without a doubt, the more that is written about a company, the less likely I would be to apply there, as they obviously have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Also, reading & posting on a forum on the internet is a lot more interesting when you can really say what you need to, and read what others really need to say. If this board were to become so censored and whitewashed that everyone had to walk on eggs and tiptoe around, trying not to offend anyone or alert others to a situation they truly should avoid, then pretty soon there'd be no posters left, except for a very thin-skinned few.
I agree, we all cross the line sometimes, but for the most part, I think this is a fun and interesting board. I've probably learned more about my own profession HERE, than I ever have on my many years (and still counting) on the job.
I, too, think free speech is very important! - sm
Although, as the moderator said, I don't base my company application decisions on what any one person says, I DO go back and read archives, compare notes, read between-the-lines, and decide for myself whether the post I read is truthful or not. Even more important is the number of posts on a company. Almost without a doubt, the more that is written about a company, the less likely I would be to apply there, as they obviously have rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Also, reading & posting on a forum on the internet is a lot more interesting when you can really say what you need to, and read what others really need to say. If this board were to become so censored and whitewashed that everyone had to walk on eggs and tiptoe around, trying not to offend anyone or alert others to a situation they truly should avoid, then pretty soon there'd be no posters left, except for a very thin-skinned few.
I agree, we all cross the line sometimes, but for the most part, I think this is a fun and interesting board. I've probably learned more about my own profession HERE, than I ever have on my many years (and still counting) on the job.
o.k., BUT very good hearing is very important
in this job, when everything goes through headsets.
Just be honest. Put down the shift you're looking for, what type of work, that sort of thing.
Be reasonable in the line rate, or I use "negotiable". Let them know if you're looking for a large or small company to work for.
|
