The way I see it sm
Posted By: My 2 bits plus inflation costs on 2008-10-11
In Reply to: Recession proof job - Wondering
This industry is not for everyone who gets into it. When I trained years ago, they said up front that 60% of the people who train to be MTs will not be able to make a living at it. That didn't deter me because I knew I would be able to and I have for many years now.
There are so many things that go into this job that no one really tells you about. Yes, it is sitting for long hours at a computer screen with all the inherent risks that entails. It is not good for your circulation, your waistline, your back and certainly not your arms, wrists and hands. Yes, the work is hard and undervalued. Yes, it takes years to be truly proficient. Yes, you need to have a quiet place to work. Yes, you have to work weekends and yes, sometimes you have to put in over time. These things could be said about a lot of other jobs, lest we forget.
The downside to being home all day working is greater than the upside, if you ask me. I get to stare at my full sink and laundry that needs to be done while I am trying to do an OP report. I have been remodeling my house for 2 years and I get to stare at those messes too. People think that because I am home I am available. Only my own children respect my working hours!
You can't goof off just because you are home. The distractions are many, but the resolve to do your job has to be oh so much greater. No one is there to look over your shoulder and remind you to get back to work. No one tells you to pick up the work pace. These motivations have to come from within. Not everyone has the ability to self-direct, self-motivate and self-discipline.
I have been in this business long enough to tell you that you do slow down some over time, even as your experience increases. I have days like today when I am in pain. I have SLE, I got pneumonia and pleurisy recently, so of course as that got better, I moved straight into a flare. This time, it decided to settle into my hands and over the past couple of years, this is often the case where it never was before. Slow down? You bet. Working slow is so much better than not being able to work at all and I have been there too. It is repetitive stress and we will all have it eventually.
I am amazed at some of the people who come here and complain. Some of it is legitimate for sure. My first big, real and wonderful MT job about 10 years ago paid 9 cpl. One of my jobs today pays 8.5 with benefits, the other 10. On average, I am making 9.5 cpl now. Not much better than 10 years ago, but today I can translate that 9.5 cpl into $28 an hour, not the $7 I could do 10 years ago. In those terms, my income has quadrupled. Sure, I often realize my line rate has not gotten better, but I have gained skills. That was clinic work with its constant feast or famine, waxing waning workload. I am now in acute care, and with my SLE now under much better control, I am able to work full time for the first time in my MT career. Am I making enough money? You bet and then some. Is it what I should make with all this experience and skill? Perhaps not. Then again, I have an income and think of all those who do not.
I would not tell someone who wants to be an MT not to do it, but I would give them as much straight, honest information as I could. I'd have to tell them, I make it look easy, too easy and it isn't easy at all.
I have said this before, some of us who are MTs have a kind of MT magic dust that was sprinkled on us. We are the few and far between. We have sharp ears. We have photographic memories for medical terms. We are Expander users in ways most MTs never dream of. We learn very quickly. We are willing to turn a hand to anything set in front of us, and because we are eager learners, we do it well in a short amount of time. We work our shifts because we don't need anyone to tell us what to do, we want to do it because we enjoy our jobs. We have outstanding accuracy because it is just part of who we are. We get our lines, sometimes having to be a bit flexible on a schedule to get them, but we always get them. ESLs don't bother us. We accept that it takes all kinds of doctors these days, and we use all of our skills to interpret them to the very best of our abilities. We are happy, for the most part, and we don't do a lot of complaining. We are the gifted ones.
As one of the gifted, much blessed MTs, I have tried to pass my knowledge onto others. I have tried to mentor MTs over the years. I have offered expander help, terminology help, computer help, training on platforms, suggestions for staying motivated, just anything to help them do better with the bottom line. Without exception, at least to date, I have never had one of the of the 4 dozen or so I have tried help ever make anything of their careers or do better than when I started trying to help them. I hear over and over again I CAN'T and I WISH I could be like you and I WISH I could make what you do and I WISH it would happen for me too... I CAN'T never got anyone anywhere and WISHES are not houses. I am where I am for several reasons. One, I never said I can't, I said will give it my very best effort. Two, I didn't get here alone, I had help. The difference between you and me is, I took full advantage of the help offered and you didn't. Three, I apparently want more for you than you want for yourself because I want you to do well and I believe that being gifted with something is never enough. It might make working at something a bit easier, but the work is what makes all the difference.
I don't understand all the negativity about this. Happiness and contentment are things you decide on ahead of time. I decided when I started my MT training that I would always love this job and that I would always be very good at it. My happiness, my nice income, my excellent work, the contentedness of my life...I decided upon these things long ago.
I wonder about the attitudes of others sometimes and I had to vent.
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