definitely a deciding factor there. I am already stressed
Posted By: backandforth on 2007-08-03
In Reply to: Pay will drop significantly with Dictaphone EXSpeech 1/2 per line, or something to that tune. nm - Dictaphone EXSpeech not good for editing
with my current situation and huge cut and turned down a few other offers b/c high ESL would be MORE stressful, so good to know. thanks so much for the heads up...are you a TT?
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What you need personally to cover your bills should be the deciding factor. And what you MIGHT earn
m
Need help deciding sm
I'm considering working for 3 different companies, and I have no idea which one I'll pick. The choices are Phoenix Medcom, Futurenet or Keystrokes. Any opinions?
Deciding
Does flexibility matter? From what I understand Phoenix MedCom is great for that.
More often than not it is NOT the MTSO deciding
The CLIENT decides on using VR as they want their transcription costs to go down. I would think that rarely does an MTSO try to convince clients to switch to VR...
I'm in the same position deciding on platform....
I think I'm moving to Bayscribe but currently am at a place using ExText. Wondering if I should stay put where I am or make the move. I suppose each has its pros and cons so it is hard to know what to do.
deciding between transmed or wmedx
thanks to the input from so many I think saved myself a big head.
Deciding between Webmedx and Phoenix -- sm
If there are any current Phoenix Medcom or Webmedx MTs out there who would be willing to answer some basic questions for me via email, I would be greatly appreciative. I am trying to decide whether to consider FT employee position with Webmedx or IC position with Phoenix in conjunction with my other IC position I currently have with MDI-MD.
Please email me, and thank you in advance!
I get stressed with the 95% ESL too
and work types that I don't like to do and wasn't hired to do (course I wasn't hired for the 95% ESL either). One day I can handle, 2 days back to back is too much. If I was paid hourly it would be different. I start looking for jobs, send out resumes, post resumes .... I interview, test, ace the tests, everyone is anxious for me to work for their company, but they don't pay squat, I have to punch a clock, do xx lines, etc. I've done this 3 or 4 times the past 5 years and finally decided there just isn't better out there and on the bad days I just need to take a deep breath and keep plugging away. I make good money (not as good as you) but I have to really work to get it and I can't imagine doing this job for any less than I currently make.
the key factor would
be do they consistently have an abundance of work?
Luck is a factor
but are MT companies all so bad? If you have been at 10 companies in 10 years, and all were bad, that is very bad luck and I feel for you. I've been with only 1 company for the 2-1/2 years I've been doing MT and have had no problems with them. Good account, good supervisors, good pay, occasionally run low on work, but rarely. I get very nervous reading that so many companies out there are horrible. Actually a lot of people think my company is horrible from the posts I read here, but it hasn't been for me. I'm going to be nervous if I have to look for a new job.
frantic and stressed
I think it began with taking over another company a few years ago and acquiring their Indian facility. Then trying to change the whole company over to Cornerstone, losing some of their business, introducing VR, low work volumes, many MTs unhappy with the new compensation ... and acquiring CHS. On my last account their, manager said the facility is complaining about too many blanks...then said use the blank more often and produce more.
So sorry you are stressed! I've been with JLG (also from MQ) for a while now
and love it. Maybe you should call and talk to someone there and they can help you out. Good luck to you!
You're right, of course. I'm just cranky and stressed. nm
nm
Hey Stressed! Glad you got the reply!
I think you'll find it easier than you may think and you'll breeze through it. I write you IF you know who goes to sleep tonight 
There must be a personal talent factor to it. SM
So many say they lose money, I'm another who definitely makes more editing, i.e., significantly more than double the line count, but then I'm not a fast typist, so shifting a lot of the emphasis from fingers to reading and editing decisions works for me. Now, if only I had fast fingers, too...
Thanks. I'm a bit stressed after reading the handbook. It looks
very cumbersome and I'm afraid I won't be productive, but I have worked on the account for 5 years so I'm hoping knowing the dictators and their quirks and the account specifics will be enough to help makeup for learning a new platform.
It's that 'ol GREED factor, again! - no/msg.
x
you didn't factor in what you would have spent
working in an office - clothes, shoes, gas, vehicle wear-and-tear, driving in bad weather, lunches, travel time (what's your time worth to you), make-up (I only wear make-up when I'm going out), laundry (I wear my sweats twice before washing), office donations/kids selling stuff, manicures/pedicures, pantyhose (I count that separate from clothes cuz it's a PITA to wear).
Then there's all the stuff you miss out on cuz you're working - kids' school programs, ball games, dance recitals, on and on.
I'd love to make more than 9 cpl, but the truth is a lot of us don't even make that. You have to weigh the good with the bad. I'd rather make a little less than have all the stuff above to deal with. I never got in this biz to become a millionaire. I got it in to be home and I wouldn't give that up for a few extra bucks!!!!
It IS very stressful. I'm so stressed out from the rollercoaster
Last week made good lines, good money. Even got an email that said the slow period was over. This week? Nothing.
I've been doing this hardcore for the past year with different companies even. I can't take it anymore but MT is all I know how to do, been doing it for almost 20 years.
Some things to consider that factor into line rates. sm
There are two sides to this. The larger companies like MQ, Spheris, Transcend, Keystrokes, et AL have a lot more accounts and more volume so they make their money on volume and can pay more. They also have more overhead than smaller MTSOs and need payroll people, recruiters, benefits people, etc.
But here is what no one considers: If I pay someone 0.09 per line, I have to pay taxes and unemployment on them. My portion is 15% between SS and unemployment. Benefits such as PTO and the portion I pay for insurance and 401K (there is a fee to the employer to have someone run it at the company that you have your 401K with), etc cost me approximately 22% more. So actually, 9cpl + 37% = 12.3cpl. Add the cost of doing payroll, bank fees, liability insurance, etc. and there is not a whole lot left over. Most hospitals will not pay more than 13cpl, some 14cpl. My break-even is 13.2 cpl. This is normal; I talk to many MTSOs at MTIA meetings and on my own. The big ones above are the only ones that make a lot of money, but their companies produce a lot of lines every month.
Do I make good money? Yes, but I put in a lot of time getting accounts and keeping them happy, doing the juggling act to keep my employees busy on good accounts. Payroll takes time, recruiting takes time, sales take time PLUS a lot of accounts take a lot of day-to-day work.
I am not complaining about being an MTSO, I just want you to know that there are two sides to everything and the industry changes prevent us from paying more than 7 to 9 cpl. Factor in offshore driving our costs down and those companies that undercut everyone, and small MTSOs may go the way of 8-Track Tapes.
I see the industry going to just 10 companies or so and hopefully they can stay in business too with speech recognition, offshore and everything else that comes along.
(cont'd) mgmt always pushy and stressed out
x
I looked at that, thought it didn't look right but was stressed from testing (lol - sorry) nm
Sure, factor it in, but no one knows what the future holds and MTSO has no control over those
:+
Not anymore. I think the nuts have moved on and the owner is less stressed now. I see a sm
a much calmer atmosphere this time around. I've been back just over a year and it is night and day from four years ago.
Ah, just less ESL's so I am not totally mentally exhausted/stressed/hurting all over by end of sh
This job has become more and more difficult/stressful during the past 4 to 5 years -- since outsourcing and voice recognition. I had rather work for less $ any day than get the sloppy dictators/ESL's that the U.S. MT's end up with. Also the doctors whose dictation is not compatible for voice recognition software is being passed on to the MT's.
This job was so fun and exciting about 5 years ago, and I put in MANY extra hours (and made good money) because I did enjoy the job and also the extra money. It seems there is just not enough money offered to pay for the type of dictators/reports that we can get now in this profession. I am probably the only one who feels this way, but I am just being honest.
Agree. It' hard to use that as a rule-out factor nowadays.
Where you live doesn't factor in when you work with nationals.
When you work on-line, companies will pay the same regardless of whether you live in NYC or in some small town. I live in a small town and I am nearing $40,000 as an IC for 2 national companies. My pay is not based on where I live or my cost of living, rather on my production. I am paid 8 cpl, but because I use an Expander and can transcribe 250 lph, I make a decent wage.
This is only my third year as an MT and I have been with one of my companies for a year and a half and the other one for 8 months, so it doesn't take years and years. I did have to change jobs a few times though until I found the right companies and the right accounts that I could make money on. Some of the accounts I worked in the beginning had so many ESLs and the platforms were so slow that I knew I could never make any money there.
Sorry. No nerve struck. Just my bad post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas stressed
out mood.
The insurance cost is double for Transcend but insurance probably doesn't factor in for her.
I have heard more good things about Axolotl than Transcend, although it seems Axolotl may be less flexible with your schedule and someone told me that QA was pretty strict, which should not matter either if you have worked for a hospital and know what your QA score is.
Not unethical, when you factor in the unethical companies
She's just another MT trying to make a living like the rest of us. The old way of taking it 1 job at a time while you dump 4 fly-by-nights in order to find one that is honest and actually PAYS its MTs, can lead to lots of between-job time with no pay at all. MT has become a cutthroat business, and in order to stay in it, one has to sometimes turn the tables on these unscrupulous MTSOs. If EVERYONE did, you better believe they'd clean up their act pronto.
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