The job hoppers are 2 kinds-SM

The first is the person who really does this for extra money and isn't too serious about it.  They have a 2nd income from spouse, don't need insurance, etc.

The second group is a minority in the MT community, but is responsible for the perception that most of us are job hoppers.  These people are kind of off--and by that I mean personality-wise, don't like being told what to do, very demanding, prima donna kinds of MTs with very dramatic lives.  They need the money, but they also have a personality disorder that makes them upset at any kind of direction given and they also believe they have superior skills to most MTs and deserve to be catered to.

THAT group is the group who posts that they stayed at XX Company for 1 or 2 weeks, got fed up with something and left, stayed at XX Enterprises for a month, got fed up..cycle continues.  I am not talking about not getting paid-that's a real problem.  I am talking about people who live in such chaos that they cannot really settle down enough to work for ANY company for long and they also don't recognize that the common denominator in the job changes is THEM.

• Does the Medical Transcription industry encourage job-hoppers? - curiosity killed the cat
  • answers - Carly Sighman
  • I would respectfully use the words "force" or cause to describe....sm - CindiRI
    • I can relate. Out of everything you said, what always irritated me most..sm - lil
      • forgot to add..sm - lil
  • why not??? - Webmedx'r
  • Personally speaking here ... my opinion only ... - SM
  • The only reassurance is self confidence - will hop if and when I must
  • All I know is that my first manager - Z
  • wow, what a long list - marilyn
  • The job hoppers are 2 kinds-SM - answer for you
    • Mts have "personality disorders" ? Like, wanting to be paid what their worth and not lied to? - lbl
      • Like Suze Orman says... - Stop putting yourself on sale
        • When was the last time Orman had to get a real job? - Bonnie Blue
          • Her job is advising and consulting. LOL - She used to be a WAITRESS!! :)
            • Point is, she lives in an ivory tower - Bonnie Blue
      • "ONLY a profession of predominantly women would call the other women crazy for wanting the basics - Could not agree more. sm
        • You said it! Women defined careers just don't pay - Carly Sighman
  • How is this going to help you find a job? What is your point? - Lonnie
    • She wants reassurance. I wish I could give - it.
    • what makes you think she is trying to find a job? - n/m
      • Maybe this part (see inside) - not Lonnie...
        • She also asked for name of company - Carly Sighman
  • Most companies fall short on their promises - IC MT
    • An IC can only be treated as an employee if she - allows it. nm
      • Yes, I agree, and I also think this contributes to - IC MT
  • I'll bite - Anon
  • Yes - they do.

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I've seen them all.  BTW for the person below, I call a person a job hopper when they have had a number of jobs where they only stayed weeks or perhaps a couple of months and then moved on for whatever reason.  These people can be identified from the interview.  They have a laundry list of demands as far as what they will and won't do in terms of worktypes, they need blocks of time out during the day to do errands, make dinner, they have many appointments with various doctors.

If you do end up hiring them for one reason or another, they are undependable.  Float on and off the system all day, have family members call to report the employee is in the hospital REGULARLY, they won't work the shift they committed to, the electricity was cut off, the cable line has been cut..you get the idea.  On the days they do manage to make it to work they are calling the office with stupid problems because they have no technical ability (computer) or they have absolutely no problem-solving skills.  When they aren't having problems, they are calling the office to complain about the work they're getting, they can't type ESL doctors (well who took the test to be hired, I wonder?), they've never typed anything but clinic notes, they don't own a BOS.  I feel your pain.  I hope some of these MTs read this and see themselves, but somehow I don't think they will.  Flame away, people, the folks over in India are grateful when they get more work.

First off I want to make it clear that I am not “bashing” any MTs by asking the questions below.  Also sorry this is so long.  Please bear with me.   -- Spelling and grammar police please take a break !!! 

I have been following some posts and just got curious.  So if we all could just take a deep breath, give it some serious thought, stay on point and not get carried away with other opinions, I think we can get some good honest opinions about why the MTSOs are treating their employees like “equipment.”  

What I have noticed is that when there are MTs looking for information about certain companies they often get replies such as:  I worked for them but “left after 1 month – 2 months – 6 months,”  Then there are MTSO owners who complain that after offering an MT a position the MT either says “no thanks” the day they are suppose to start working or are never heard from again.   This gives me the impression that there are MTs out there who treat working as an MT like they treat buying a new pair of shoes --- try them out for awhile and then return them if they don’t fit.  No emotional attachment involved. 

I am fast approaching 60 years of age and have been an MT for over 35 years.  I was one of the first to take the CMT test when AAMT first organized way back when.  My first MT job was transcribing from cassette tapes, using a typewriter and sticky paper for clinic notes and sheets of paper for hospital reports.  So obviously I have seen a lot of changes in the MT business.  Personally over the past 35+ years I have had 6 employers (4 inhouse before MTSOs offered working from home and 2 national MTSOs for the past 15 years).   Personally I am TERRIFIED of having to find a new job --- interviews, equipment setup, new platform to learn, loss in earnings during training, and so forth and so forth.  That being said I have a feeling I will need to be looking for a new position within the next six months and I am curious as to what type of employment search atmosphere I will be encountering. 

My curiosity stems from my impression that many MTs are comfortable “job-hopping.”  When they state they only stayed at a company for 1-2-6 months it is presented as matter-of-fact – no-big-deal.  I can see why they feel that way.  With several hundred MTSOs out there and most constantly looking for new employees, even the worst MT in the world could start working at age 20, work for a different company every 6 months and still not work for them all by the time they retire.  In my opinion that is what is causing the MTSOs to treat their MTs so badly, offer them less and less as starting wages, and not be responsive to questions or problems.  The MTSO invests quite a bit of money into hiring a new employee.  They either have to pay someone in their HR Department or a Recruiting Agency to do the initial resume search, testing, and interviewing.  There is a ton of paperwork.   If the MTSO supplies the computer, their IT Department has to set up the computer and ship it out which means shipping charges for the computer or paperwork.  And someone has to train the new MT.  All those expenses are incurred by the MTSO before the MT even starts to produce.  I can see why some of the MTSOs are resorting to questionable “bait and switch” tactics.  They probably also send out the oldest computers to the new MTs to cover themselves in case the MT quits and doesn’t ship it back in a timely manner.  It seems to me that the majority of complainers about type of work, amount of work, or computer problems that they are experiencing are the newly hired MTs. 

Because of all the “short-term” complainers, someone looking for information about a particular company is often given incomplete or misleading opinions based on limited information.   Can anyone honestly with 100% accuracy adamantly state a company is “#1” or “the worst on earth” when they only worked there for 2 months?  I would love to see any MT who posts a positive or negative comment about a company to also admit to how long they actually worked for the company and if they are currently employed there or not.  I think that would give their opinions a lot more weight. 

Obviously, not every MTSO is the “dream job” for every MT and for any MT to state they work for the “best company” is hubris and can even be fighting words to employees of other good or even great companies.  It can also lead to disappointment when an MT applies to the “best company” only to find out it does not fit their needs.  I feel that if the MTs on this board would try to leave personal opinions aside and give relevant information about a company it would be easier for an MT to find a good fit with ONE company and not have to “job-hop,”   If more MTs would work for a company for at least a year before quitting and moving on maybe the MTSOs would actually be willing to offer newly hired MTs the same respect they offer the MTs that have been working for them for 5-10-15 or more years.  

Finally to my questions.  I am curious to see if my opinion is based in fact.  Are there a significant number of MTs who “job hop?” 

These questions are primarily directed at employees of MTSOs, large or small, but  inhouse hospital or clinic MTs are also welcome to respond.  I realize IC MTs have a whole different set of guidelines they go by and often have multiple clients at the same time.  But if you are an IC and wish to give your opinion, please feel free to do so – just state that you are an IC so there is no confusion.  

Please answer as many questions as you feel comfortable giving information about (I hope you will answer most because of the anonymity of this board):

1.  How long have you been working as an MT?

2.  How many DIFFERENT companies have you worked for (even if it was only for a few hours) in the last 10 years?  (If you left but came back later that is only 1.) 

3.  How many companies have you accepted an offer of employment from but then never actually started working for them?

4.  How many companies have you quit working for within the first pay period?

5.  How many companies have you quit from? 

6.  Have many companies have you been terminated from (I guess the word “fired” from is no longer politically correct)  i.e. you were not meeting line requirements, QA requirements, time commitment requirements (signing on late, leaving early), or being told you don’t have the necessary experience/expertise for the accounts assigned to you, etc? 

7.  How many companies have you left because they were bought out by another MTSO and you did not like how the new MTSO was treating you? 

8.  How many companies that you were working for completely went out of business (was not bought by another company) and told you that you had to find a new job yourself? 

9.  What is the shortest period of time that you have worked for one company? (Even if it was only for a few hours)   What is the longest period of time that you have worked for one company? 

10.  Have you ever continued working for your former company while training with a new company? 

11.  Have you ever worked for two different companies (2 part-time or 1 full-time and 1 part-time) during the same time period?  For how many months/years did you work for two different companies?

12.  What is your primary reason for applying to a certain company (pay, insurance, flexible schedule, equipment provided, sign-on bonus, referral from another MT, etc)?

13.  What is your primary reason for leaving a company (cannot maintain minimum required number of lines, not assigned accounts or job types as originally discussed, running out of work too frequently, difficult platform,  computer slowness/crashes, management conflicts, QA conflicts, other “bait and switch” type of issues where the MTSO said one thing but you ended up doing something entirely different, personal, family, etc)?

14.  Are you really happy at your present company or are you just working there because you are afraid if you try another company it will be worse and not better?   How long have you worked at this company?  Do you plan to continue working at this company for at least 1 year (of course barring unforeseen personal or professional events).  Would you be willing to give the name of your present company?    

15.  Do you think you will retired as a Medical Transcriptionist (or in the Medical Transcription field, such as an Editor, Supervisor, etc) or do you think you will switch careers at some point before retirement?  

Thank you for your time. 

If you would like to e-mail me with any questions or responses, I would be happy to hear from all of you. 

Thank you for satisfying my curiosity and giving me some insight as to where the Medical Transcription field is heading in the future. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS. 

I've been with MDI for years now and have worked on the same hospital account for years also.  The best I can get is an AVERAGE of about 200 lph.  Sure, I get the occasional 250 lph here and there, but I can't say I average that on a daily basis by any means.  The only time I've ever actually averaged 250-350+ an hour was with ER or radiology work, and it wasn't at MDI either.

At 11 cpl and averaging 250-350 per hour, that would put you around $30+ an hour.  I find it hard to believe anyone would really quit a job making this kind of money, and I wonder if you were really able to manage this working on hospital accounts or was it some other type of work?

by them (i.e., sexual; suicide, etc) before any sort of investigation, autopsy, or in short, before they know the facts. 

Hats off to his brother, Keith, for demanding an FBI investigation.