Wait it out, is my philosophy. They usually hang themselves. (nm)

• Help me celebrate!!!!!!! - HAPPYNOW
  • Good luck and God bless! nm - MT52
  • Congratulations! Did you also go to school for billing? (sm) - Old MT
    • When I finished with school, I couldn't find a job as an MT.. - MtMommyof2
  • Congratulations - blackswan
  • Congrats to you!!! - So glad for you.
  • Congratulations to you!!! - Amanda
  • Congrats! sm - CrispyCritterMT
    • To CrispyCritterMT - HAPPYNOW
  • You GO girl! Have unforgetable holidays. - this ole-timer is right behind you.
  • Good for you...best of luck - MtMommyof2
  • Yes, congratulations - Donna
  • Congratulations!!! Best of luck to you!!! - pay no attention to the sour grapes on board
  • TO DONNA AND LONG TIME MT - HAPPYNOW
    • You sold yourself short then. There ARE good compoanies out there with consistent work. sm - Long-Time MT
      • when you say "for those that work hard," what precisely do you mean? sm - SEEk up
      • NO SHE DIDN'T!!!!! sm - Getting Out
        • Sweetness. Let's form a posse. - head just above water; start of hypothermia settin
        • Bravo!!!!! Excellent post. 30 years here. - Hostage to a nutty supervisor?
        • TO GETTING OUT - HAPPYNOW
          • I agree, the MTSOs are the worst....... - abc
        • I am sorry you have had such - sm
          • companies that appreciate us SM - NEMT
          • Me too - Donna
        • you go, girl, i know exactly what you are talking about - nm
    • I didn't say anything negative. ?? - Donna
      • SORRY DONNA!!! - HAPPYNOW
        • It's fine :) - Donna
  • I think that is great. Very wise choice. - Mary Doe
  • I think that the only ones left working as MT's are those who are the fastest and strongest. sm - Long-Time MT
    • Hasn't your mother taught you any manners? - You are an embarrassment to this field.
    • FOR LONG TIME MT: generic : Brand.....s/m - abc
    • Wow. The Tao would not offer this approach. - Observing MT
      • Wow ... - Me
    • Wow, feel the love ... - Me
    • Well I am sure happy you are not MY - sm
    • 50,000.00 a year working for Spheris? ROLF!!! - !!!!!!
      • Spheris - Ceecee
        • Gee, that worries me. (sm) - Sabotage it how?
      • I think the only ones left working as MTs are those who are the fastest and strongest. - Dazed
        • Are you a SPOKESPERSON for Spheris..nm - abc
          • Are you a spokesperson for Spheris? - Dazed
            • It can be done for limited people. And they quit allowing - overtime. SM
      • I made in the low 50s at Spheris 4 years ago. - Worked there 3 years.
        • I've made $35,000 for the years I worked there. SM - Sally Forth
          • Sally, actually it is not dying out - blackswan
            • You are dreaming: Hope for the best and prepare for the WORST - abc
              • Please, please - (sm)
            • Yoo hoo! Black Swan! I'm 60 yrs old. I just want to retire. - Days of busting behind gone.
              • I am going to retire in four years - blackswan
                • That's the best you can do! It is very educational, entertaining and enjoyable,,nm - abc
                  • Yes, I have not traveled much - blackswan
    • Wow, that was harsh - Donna
      • It may be harsh, but it is true. Too many people come into transcription with false sm - Long-Time MT
        • yeah, but you don't have to be so freakin mean about it - nm
        • I can understand why you say what you do - They said what
          • Thank you for standing up for MTs - HAPPYNOW
            • If you anger the acct manager in this business, you may end up broke. - Cut throat ?
              • My STM wont train me on another account! - Miserable at Webmedx
              • She's not powerless to change it - sm - HappyFeet
                • Wait it out, is my philosophy. They usually hang themselves. (nm) - On the other hand
                  • and i bet u believe also that - Nothing is Everything.

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Tookie Williams

It is hard to adjust to new rules, but you will catch on.  Reading over material/samples provided by the part-time employer is a great way to familiarize yourself with their ways of the trade.  Also, do not argue with QA.  Let it go.  If they let you go because of your QA score, then it was not meant to be.  There are plenty of others who would appreciate your intensity to learn.  Do not beat yourself up about it.  If you have a full-time job, then you know that you are worthy.  Keep trying, you are definitely playing it smart.  Never give up what you have until you find what you want. 

I'd like to address something that's really bothering me as I see it expressed so frequently -- It's what I call THE GRATITUDE TRICK.

First, I am not trying to find fault with what you wrote.  You sound like a fabulous mom and a very dedicated MT.  I really admire you for the sacrifices you've made to accomplish what you have -- and that goes for everyone out there in the MT world who has done the same.  I mean this sincerely.  I am amazed at what some of you have managed to do and how you continue the struggle now.  Hats off to you all!!! 

But I have to question why do MTs have to make such sacrifices in the first place???  It sounds to me like this has been the case for many years now.  If we are the professionals we claim to be, we deserve the same standard of living that any other professional gets to have who works out of their home.  The perks go across the board for everyone who works from home, no matter what profession--gas savings, wardrobe, etc.  We are no different.  This aspect of what our job is worth income-wise is only a small part of the equation.  The difference for us is that we are not fairly compensated for our work as other professionals are for theirs.  THAT is what sets us apart, not the perks.  

I think this is a way the services have used to keep us in submission for years, and it's dirty playing.  I do not feel grateful to my employer to be able to work from home.  My gratitude goes to God for the technology that allows me to do this.  Heck, I'm saving them money in overhead from working from home, buying and maintaining my own equipment and reference materials, paying my own Internet service fee, etc.  No, THEY are making money OFF OF US.  Yes, businesses do that.  They have to earn a profit.  But it is wrong for them to tell us pretty much to go away and be quiet and count our blessings because they are so kind as to let us work from home, thus making us feel that we should be ashamed for wanting to be paid more.  This is nothing but a mind game.  They are using this way of responding to us to shut us up and we're falling for it.  Next, it will be but at least we hired you and didn't send the work to India!  Little by little we are being demeaned by them as they reduce benefits, demand more in production, etc. all the while telling us how lucky we are to be able to work from home and we're falling for it. 

If our profession (and I keep using the word profession because that is what it is) goes down the drain because of technology, etc. then we can't control that.  But let's not help it along by buying into a mindset that says we're not valuable.   Anyone who has the knowledge and skills to do this job well should see their worth reflected in their paychecks, bottom line.  All the other stuff is just icing on the the cake.  

I think we as a body of professionals and as individuals need to have a much greater sense of self-respect, self-worth to begin with.  We are not the cast-offs of the working world!  If you can do this job well, you are no idiot.  And all of us know, this is anything but an easy job.   Many of you have invested most if not all of your working lives doing transcription.  Companies should be grateful to YOU for working for them.  A qualified MT only increases the company's image. 

Now how to become fairly compensated is a whole 'nother can of worms given what we are up against today.  But I think we need to start valuing ourselves more before we expect to be valued by those for whom we work.  This gratitude to our employer trick they use on us has got to be exposed for the dirty trick that it is and it needs to go!! 

I think a lot of our frustration with this profession comes from such mind games.  If you can keep your employees confused, if you can keep them from feeling they have no right to complain, you've got it made as an employer.  They're under your control.  But in the end it weakens employee morale which results in frequent employee turnover which results in loss of production while new people learn the accounts, etc. so it really backfires on them and is a stupid (to put it nicely) way to run a business.   You can run it right into the ground this way.

Even the benefits packages are somewhat of a joke if you can't afford the insurance.  I'm sure the companies have ways to write off those expenses to their own benefit.  That's another trick they use on us.  My dental insurance won't pay the rent.  Pay me a decent enough salary and I'll get my own dental insurance!

If we have any hope of turning our situation around, we need to be able to see the tactics that are being used against us.  Just trying to point out some red flags here as I see them. 

I'm do a different platform/client, but I also hired in this summer, and went through a rough time at first.  I talked to my supe, and after changing my schedule a bit and taking on two secondaries, things have become much better, and there's actually been OT on my accounts for the last few weeks.

Check the backlogs on the community page.  Some accounts regularly have OT approved (its in the little box at the top left, who's approved for OT and for how long).  Maybe you can get trained on some of those.  Are you willing to change your schedule at all?  My accounts consistently have certain heavier days than others, and before I was off during the heavy days.  My supe asked me to shift my schedule and it has made a very positive difference.

number of months . . . very stressful job now.  Part of the stress is due to not being able to pay my bills, and the other stressful part is HORRIBLE dictators left over from all the newbies recently hired (picking good dictators for newbies at first) and the HORRIBLE dictators left over from the speech machine kicking them aside to us.

Regrets . . .

So proud for you for taking a stand for yourself.

I had work the first 2 full weeks I was there.. afterwards I was bombarded with hours and lines to make up.  i.e., 11-15 hours every single week with a paycheck that never topped $200 except for my first one because they pay $200 to train. They always wanted everyone available every hour of every day. At least my TM is.  You need to come back after you are there for a while and let me know how it is REALLY going for you. 

Only excuse I ever got was the doctors are on vacation thats why no one has work... umm I had like over 50 when I stopped counting in my work pool.. so I highly doubt it.

I really do hope everything works out for you.  

I was told we can never use our own computer.  Everyone has to use theirs.

what you type in, no matter what your Expander plays out.  For instance, if you type copdx and that comes out as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, you should get paid for all the characters/spaces in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, right?  Not just five letters for copdx.  I'm asking because of the post below.

Heck, if I worked for a company that wasn't paying me for stuff the I took the time to put in MY expander to make transcription faster and more profitable for ME, then I'd just throw my expander out and type everything the hard way.

Please tell me there is no company that cheats MTs like that!