keystrokes vs. lines doesn't really matter
Posted By: me, too on 2007-04-07
In Reply to: DRC.... - Daphne
If they stick to a standard 65 character line and include each keystroke as part of a line it won't make a difference. I made a mere 7.5 per line at a previous job (counted headers and footers) and made much better money because I was put on good accounts and kept on them. I've read some companies do not pay for spaces. My thoughts on that is fine, Iwouldn'ttypethem.
If it's not a trick line then counting by lines is okay.
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Doesn't matter
They won't have the work anyway! They just want to keep EVERYBODY on standby constantly.
It doesn't matter anyway
We don't have any work now, so no work later will be no surprise. Have been working for 3 hours and have been able to "snag" only two reports. 
No, it really doesn't matter sm
I get health benefits through my husband, so I really don't need those. I do like my taxes taken out, though.
No doesn't matter. nm
nm
It doesn't matter what you think...
It's so entertaining, and it keeps the people who advertise on this site happy... lots of hits!
Doesn't matter how you want to
transcribe something, you have to follow the guidelines set by your employer and/or client. Many go by BOS now, and using numbers instead of spelling out words is standard with everyone.
It doesn't matter
because there's not enough work even if there was a production bonus. I guess they feel the honor of working there is bonus enough lol
It doesn't really matter
In theory they have clinic and acute care, but speaking from my own recent experience, you're liable to come up short on work. I had taken a position in the very recent past for clinic, and within two weeks that new account, along with its M-F 9-5 hours, had disappeared. I was given a secondary account, at the lesser clinic line rate, which I did for a while, or, if I wanted the acute care line rate, I could give up the M-F 9-5 and take later hours with, of course, a weekend day. I acquiesced but the secondary account had been running out of work, so I decided to say hasta LA vista, more out of disgust for the tactic of luring me in with the sweet smell of easy work only to have it abracadabra disappear.
The work, when it was there, was not that hard. A blend of good and bad dictators, simple and complex cases. QA can be beeyatches at first but once you're off that, it's pretty good. They leave you alone to do your work and, unlike some places, no daily format changes, etc. All things considered, if they had the account they hired me for and if my secondary account actually had work, I probably would have stayed.
Education doesn't matter in MT because it's become
It's better to get a bachelor's degree. It goes much further than an MT certificate or an associate's. You get what you pay for.
Yes, I remember making 11-12 cents a line back in the early 1990s when this industry started going into the home, but those days are long gone. Time to regroup and think of something better to do for a living before we're making less than the 16-year-olds at Dairy Queen because, believe me, there will always be desperate poor people who will work for peanuts be it on American soil or elsewhere.
This industry is fast on its way to hell in a handbasket.
It doesn't matter to me if they are outsourcing...
Did you ever think maybe they are doing it to keep it in turn around. Why would be privy to such information, is it really any of our business? As long as we all continue to have work what is the difference? Maybe it was to help keep the company rather than lose accounts so that we do get to keep our jobs. I have no idea if they are outsourcing or not, but as long as everything seems the same I don't think we need to worry.
If they don't allow satellite, doesn't matter who
it is through it is stlll satellite.
It doesn't matter whether it is authorized SM
or not. If you work it, they must pay. What is worse here is that they are aware the MT is working it and specifically telling the MT not to report that time.
As a person who received a check for back OT owed by DR (thanks to the person who reported them) I can vouch for the fact that it DOES NOT have to be *authorized* at all. I would suggest the MT print and keep the email saying not to report the time and call the Dept of Labor to file a complaint.
Employee or IC...doesn't really matter. sm
I've done both and have run out of work doing both. The job I'm currently at is an IC position.
It doesn't matter Sheri....let it go already!
xx
It doesn't matter. IF the company wants
people on site to train, that is their right to insist. There is a MTSO that has been mentioend on here, don't remember the name, that requires new employees to come to them for training.
Just a reminder - it doesn't matter
It doesn't matter AT ALL what the contract states. An IC sets their own hours, and if the 'boss' tries to control said IC, this person is no longer an IC.
Contracts have nothing to do with the law. The LAW trumps a piece of signed paper EVERY TIME.
In talking to the lawyer I've been dealing with, not a single one of us who work regularly for a company and depend on a company for a portion (or ALL) of our paychecks are really ICs.
By law, we are ALL employees.
Soon, I will get together a thread of people who wish to take this all the way and change the face of transcription for the better for TRANSCRIPTIONISTS.
I hope companies/MTSOs who are knowingly and willingly breaking the law by calling EMPLOYEES 'ICs' read this and take it to heart. There's only a small amount of time to fix things before it's going to get REALLY hard.
Whatever. Doesn't matter, we're all going to be
It really doesn't matter how long ago this happened.
Most people reading that article will only notice what she did, not the time frame. And quite frankly, a leopard doesn't change its spots, and most criminals just find other means of committing their crimes. The article is relevent and will affect other MT businesses in that area.
Sometimes years of experience doesn't matter as much as what
I've seen MTs with 5-10 years of good exposure transcribe circles and beat the QA pants off MTs with 20 years experience simply because of the type of work and exposure they've experienced.
Doesn't matter what their country of origin is, - sm
if they are now Americans and working in the U.S. If that is the case, they ARE American transcribers! But even though our compnies that hire them are paying U.S. taxes (though probably less than they should, becuse of loopholes), are offshore employees paying U.S. Social Security and other taxes out of their wages? NO. So it undermines our economy in that way, as well.
Doesn't matter how fast you type.. SM
That has nothing to do with the ratio. I agree though that it does depend on the dictator and how fast they type, but it's true that the standard is 10:1. I have some that I get more like 30:1 and some 5:1 so it averages out.
Doesn't matter. Large or small, they know
They know what it takes to live on in this country. They know because they're making sure THEY'RE making that. And too bad for everybody under them - that's their problem. They didn't have the guts to stand their ground when hospitals started wanting cut-rate transcription. Instead of running to India and Pakistan for cheap labor, and trying to turn American MT's into poorly paid proofreaders, they COULD have lobbied to keep the work in the US by pointing out the liabilities of sending sensitive documents offshore to be processed. If that hole in the dam had been plugged early, while it was small, the hospitals would have had no choice but to pay what medical transcription was WORTH. But nooooooo ---- it was easier to just 'go with the flow', and cheat the MTs who actually produce what it is they're getting paid for, instead.
The one thing that NOBODY ever discusses, while all this uncertainty is bouncing around in our country, is:
WHY NOT CUT BACK ON MANAGEMENT?!
Most companies have far too much highly-paid management, and whenever they want to 'trim the fat', they end up trimming the lean, instead, by cutting out the workforce that produces their product. Of COURSE the auto industry doesn't want to pay it's workers more money. They'd rather give it to all the CEOs who've been so busy, not running a competitive and improving company, but who were getting paid under the table by the oil companies to continue producing cars that burn their petroleum products, even though they knew that someday, that ride would be over.
The union worker didn't drive those companies into the ground, CORPORATE GREED did it. And so now they've been 'bailed out'. How very nice for them. If fewer and fewer people in the country have the money to buy cars at ALL, we may have already reached a point where it doesn't matter WHAT they build - they still may not be able to sell them. So don't be surprized if they end up going under regardless. And who pays the bill? WE do.
'Merry Christmas'? On an MT's wages? Not here. I didn't buy a single one this year. And to spare me the guilt about that, I asked my family leave me out of the gift-exchange. Thank god the price of gas went down a bit recently. Even if temporarily. Then maybe I can use my car for transportation for just a little bit longer, and not have to turn it into an expensive planter, or veggie garden, or something.
There's something very wrong with a business that wants experienced, educated, WHITE-COLLAR workers (we are NOT day-laborers, remember?), and thinks they can get that for 6 cpl. Or even 10 cpl. Those are 1970s wages. It's almost 2009, and after 10-30+ years of hard work, what do most of us have to show for it? Why should this profession pay any less than a paralegal, or a court reporter? Or an architect or a video game designer? (And some of those can work at home too.) I don't believe for 1 minute that just because my computer is in my home, I should be getting paid less than someone who is inhouse. The work is the same.
Actually, it's harder. Instead of an account with 8 doctors with no accents, I now have roughly 250-300 different doctors, 50% of which have thick accents. It doesnt bother me. I can do the work. But please, someone PAY ME what that knowledge is worth, don't insult me and MTs everywhere with what you're currently paying.
Doesn't matter. It'll set precedence. nm
nm
Doesn't matter how nice they are, I wouldn't work
xx
Doesn't matter how many companies you work for. I'd like to know how you manage to do this???
What kind of work do you transcribe?
How many hours a day do you work?
What kind of line rate do you get from the companies you work for?
How many lines you do an hour?
Do you work as an IC or employee?
I'm very interested in hearing how you manage 100,000/year.
Doesn't matter. That's no excuse for their lack of responsibility
for something so important. One or more states will get them sooner or later and it will bite THEM right where they need for it to bite. They know the law and it is their choice not to do the proper thing and because it is, they will have to pay at some point.
But in my experience, offshore men do it more and lie about stuff that doesn't matter.
:+
Jeannal, here is some advice - it doesn't matter which company
you go with if they have good insurance. If you are basically looking for great insurance, then go with the company that has the best insurance for you. Bottom line. It doesn't matter what kind of work you get, what kind of jobs you get, as long as you make the minimum line count and you are only concerned about insurance, then go with that company that offers the best. It might not be Diskriter, it might not be Spheris, it might not be Medquist - or on the other hand, it might be all three. It's up to you - if insurance is a big issue and work is not, then go with the company that offers good insurance only. The rest will fall into place
No, I'm not on his side. He ought to pay every penny he owes. It doesn't matter what
This is a capitalist society. He is free to charge as much as the market will bear.
If you're tolerating that, then the market holds.
For the trouble, I'd make a surcharge onto the shipping charge as well.
If he did not pay my 1st check within 24 hours of the pay date (absolute proof), I would stop working that very day for him.
I use mine too, but the tech helps me when I need it - doesn't matter
nm
making 9+ CPL doesn't matter if the platform is crap.
nm
It doesn't matter one whip which company she works/ed for...sm
It's all about experience and a POSITIVE ATTITUDE, which seems sorely lacking - evidenced by the ongoing bashes on this subject.
On top of that, one company is NOT a good fit for all - therefore, you may have to try and try again before you can find the right fit.
She is totally correct about years of experience. You don't start out riding a bike on the first day, and the same is totally true about MT-ing or any other career. So, buckle down, start learning and use every tool that is at hand for futuristic possibilities of better money.
But if you choose to go to work for TT, please refrain from returning here and complaining that you're not making the same kind of money. The dollar-making ability differs from MT to MT. Some of us have and some of us don't.
It doesn't matter where the server is, it is still a database and accessed via the internet
I have worked on Escription and also have IT experience.
It wasn't rude, just stating the facts, which doesn't seem to matter apparently to you.
nm
You get paid for 15 lines no matter how many blanks
/
Not only that, but I would MUCH rather work for Keystrokes than Spheris as Keystrokes doesn't
Minimum lines for FT used to be 60,000 keystrokes a day, about 925 lines. Pay was good. Just not a
s
Keystrokes is the only one there offering employee status. Does that matter? nm
s
DQS doesn't cheat on lines (sm)
which you can easily verify by cut/pasting your report into Word or that MedPen word counting program (freeware) or something. DQS just doesn't pay for demographics, dates of admission/discharge, referring physician names, courtesy copies, and all the other stuff you're used to, even if you have to enter the data by hand, but who does anymore?
I know of 2 other companies that use DQS, both somewhere in the south. Accuscribe originally tested the program for the software company that came up with it, but many people have told me they don't pay for spaces and are otherwise "difficult." Dunno, never worked for them. Dictation Services Group is a very nice company, now part of VoiceWorks. www.dsg-inc.net. I did 1500 lines my second day with that company, only left because I had too many private accounts to do to give them enough time.
Instant Text's newest revision automatically imports DQS AutoCorrect glossaries!
60 min doesn't equal 600 lines imnsho..sm
I've done a whooollleee lot of research on this on my own transcription and I have never had 60 minutes equal less than at least 750 lines. Every time. So whoever first said that their 130 minutes is around 1800 to 1900 lines is a lot closer than the 60 minutes equals 600 lines, in my not so humble opinion.
And I don't even do MT, which I know has faster dictators than what I do. Think about how fast those docs go through their dictation trying to hurry and get it done. They are not speaking in a normal speaking voice, so heck it's possible 140 minutes could equal 2000 lines easy given that consideration.
But the one who said it is going to differ day to day is correct too unless you're typing the same dictator every day, then it's pretty standard. If you're using a platform where you can't count your own lines, is there a way to copy and paste into Word to get an idea for your normal daily dictation? Even DoquScribe has a way to copy into Word, so maybe you could do that.
Someone on this thread talked about 10 second dictations. If you could get your line count from something like that, then just multiply it times 360, then you have your line count for an hour's worth.
Anyway, just my two cents' worth. You're going to get different answers from everyone because everyone has different dictators. But I would still say at least 1700 lines for 140 minutes.
Doesn't FirstChoice pay gross lines? If so, then
6 or 7 cpl gross would be equivalent to about 8-9. Not very good, but could be worse.
Enterprise doesn't show lines
Which is a different issue entirely, IMO. Ever since they put the counter on Enterprise, there has been the 0 from midnight to 1 am glitch. My lines during that time ARE counted on the timeclock summary page, but they will never show on the on-screen counter. Why? Who knows. Never once can they uprgrade Enterprise without a bunch of glitches, and will usually only fix them if there is a huge outcry from the MTs. The programmers are a bunch of airheads, which has always made me nervous and unconfident our IT department (along with the dubious help I may or may not get from the help desk). I often wonder if they have any criteria at all for hiring IT personnel, or just take anybody off the street...
Beyond Text doesn't work long enough to allow you to get any lines. nm
nm
ETrans doesn't hit 9 cpl until you're at 1400 lines a day. nm
s
But it doesn't address the problem of shorting of lines?
x
That doesn't explain black and white lines.
If not employed there we can't as a supervisor, but if the recruiter says black and white lines wouldn't that be just the black characters on a white page? No spaces.
Furthermore, why doesn't Keystrokes get an 800
many people are having trouble with getting long distance carriers without paying more for a business account, when in fact you all are employees. You all ought to come together on this one and approach the higher ups at Keystrokes. JMO.
Keystrokes doesn't.
Keystrokes definitely doesn't outsource at all
They are very much against it. Love it there!
A line is a line is a line. Doesn't matter if we are talking about radiology or acute care.
1600 is not a fair minimum requirement. Sure you can achieve 1600, it shouldn't be the required minimum.
Doesn't Keystrokes have strictly OP accounts?
I thought they posted not too very long ago for a position that was strictly ops. I don't work there so I don't know first-hand, just sorta recall seeing it on the job seeker's board.
Good luck with that search :-)
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