they're the ones griping about making min wage
Posted By: lol on 2005-11-07
In Reply to: Well, how in the WORLD do these subpar MTs keep jobs then?? sm - newbie
and barely making line counts
so they have the qa. so what? they don't have the production.
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Does anyone work for NEMT making their hourly wage?
Doing editing? Anymore information?
Exactly. That's why I'm getting out now before we're down to minimage wage and unable to su
It's just worth it anymore. In this biz, our wages go down and raises are rarely given. No thanks. I'm moving on. Luckily, I have other talents (medical billing) etc..that I can utilize. In fact, tomorrow I have an interview with our local Blue Cross for a job. Obviously, the benefits are awful and the pay is pretty good too. Plus, they give raises, imagine that...Wish me luck..I'm outta here 
If you're in the 37% tax bracket, you're making over
100K per year. Quit complaining.
They're making themselves look bad.
I clicked on jen has a big nose and there's an ad there for OSI.
CMT with only 8 mo exp? I think you're making
If you're referring to your CMT as a certificate in medical transcription for completing your course, you're misrepresenting yourself.
CMT is a certification that can ONLY be obtained through the CMT challenge exam with the AAMT (AHDI).
Please, stop with the CMT for just finishing your course.
No wonder you're not making $25+
an hour. Give yourself a chance. You've only been at it 2 years. It took me almost 10 years to really start making a good hourly wage. Prior to those 10 years, I worked as a medical secretary doing a little transcription. I went to college for my Associate's in medical secretarial. During the 10 years I transcribed, I also worked part-time in an office a couple of days a week, as I am not one who can sit 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and type.
It has taken me this long to make an *hourly wage* that I am happy with. However, I must say I am far happier at the fact that I work from home, don't have to pay a babysitter or buy office clothes or put gas in a car to go work. Give yourself a break. Two years is not that long in this biz. 7 cpl isn't bad for 2 years either. When I left my last MT job, I had been there about 9 years and was only making 0.775 (even less for voice recognition). So, please cut yourself some slack. You'll get there eventually.
Try not to focus so much on the money and look at the many other rewards. The money will come, just try not to focus on it. 
If you're making it to the
testing stage but not getting any offers, you might look into how you're doing on the tests. Maybe you could have an experienced fellow MT look over some of your work & see if they can offer you any tips or corrections that might be causing the problem.
I had this happen to me & had 10 yrs experience at the time. I had no trouble with any actual medical content, but I was so used to doing things the way my previous employer wanted that I wasn't as up to date on my BOS as I should've been. Just a thought...
LOL is right...If you're only making 4 cpl at TT
You're grossly inadequate. Anyone who just makes base pay at TT with all of their incentives and bonuses must be in over their heads.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL is right!!!
taking a low wage does not lower the pay for a field. The fact that they are offering stated wage
means that is the market. You don't see ads for McDonald's for $36/hour and you don't see ads for A.G. Edwards for $20,000/yr. If they didn't think they could fill a job for $14, they wouldn't post it. Notice MT jobs are now posting at 5, 6 and 6.5. So guess what editors are going to make?
They actually think they're making themselves look GOOD to us!
LOL
Nope...they're making more
when they offshore the work. American MTs all want 10-12 cents/line. When they offshore they pay 6 cents/line for transcription, 3-4 cents/line for QA, so they're making more money offshoring than giving it to American MTs at 10-12 cents/line and then having to still do QA at 3-4. See the picture?? Do the math...
They're not making a profit.
I work at Futurenet. I don't mind paying the 25.00. It's guaranteed by 10:30 a.m. It has only been late once and I was reimbursed the cost. It's worth it to me for the peace of mind.
Keep in mind you're not making any
money while answering those phone calls and handling tech issues. Before you know it, you're ordinary 14 hour day turns into a 24 hour day. It's not as if you take on the client and clear your .14 cpl - it's FAR from that.
You're making me have flashbacks...
I'm going to have to go take a Zantac - LOL :)
Changing jobs is such a nightmare now. It used to be so much easier when we all worked on Word, used our own expanders, etc. They'd basically just send the account rules & turn you loose... We could be up and working full speed in no time. All these weird platforms have really complicated it!
Unless you're secretly making FAR MORE than
I just find it very hard to believe that anyone could feel their paycheck is 'just fine'. If your company is 'in keeping with every other MTSO out there', then I would take that to mean that the pay there sucks, just like it does at every other MTSO out there.
Think about your level of expertise, your knowledge, the skills you have that probably 98% of the U.S. workforce does not have. Believe me, even looking information up on the internet takes a certain level of savvy. I know people who never seem to be able to find what they're looking for on Google, for instance, because they don't know how to search. And how to read between the lines once they find information they think might be accurate.
You make thousands of judgement calls every day as you work. Do you really hear this word, or this drug dosage? Or not? Do I flag this for QA to check, or do I send it through? Your judgement calls can impact patient other people's lives.
Your typing skill, hearing and memory have to be far above average in order to succeed. You have to know prefixes, suffixes, a certain amount of Greek and Latin, anatomy, and your way around a PDR like the back of your hand. And so on and so on.
Imagine if your level of skill were being applied at just about any other line of work out there. Or if you were a legal secretory or a court reporter (2 jobs with similar skill-sets and intelligence requirements). Most of us have probably looked at those careers in the past, and we have a pretty good idea what they pay. And it's far and above what any MT can ever dream of making, even if they work 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week.
I'm 'managing' on my income, too. Just barely. I know how to budget, how to do without most things, and where every penny I own is located. But just 'managing' is a far, far cry from 'thriving' or 'succeeding'.
'Just getting by' is what you do if you sneak into the country and pick lettuce for a living. It shouldn't be what medical transcribers have to settle for.
BRAVO!! I'm sure you're making lots of $$$s..sm
But if you were like the rest of us peons who had to run back every few seconds of footage because you can't understand most of what the dictating clown is saying, whether ESL or native train-catcher or sleepwalker or can't-make-up-my-mind-what-I-want-to-say, Ah...Hmmmm...Scratch that!...Let's see, ..uh...where were we.. uh... zzzz (yawn) zzzz. And then they race through the labs & medications 78 RPM. But they're God's chosen people while we can't miss a comma...QA gets p..... off if we send too many blanks, well, I hope you see my point. My hat goes off to you!
You're making $400 a day on voice recognition?
How in the heck are you doing that? What kind of rate are you getting? How many lines are you doing a day? I'm just blown away at people making $50,000 a year in this business, much less $104,000. WOW! Congrats! Talk about depress me even more LOL.
QA compensation - anyone happy with what you're making?
I'm sorely tempted to look into a QA position and I was wondering how the compensation compared to transcribing. I would love to be paid hourly, but it seems most offer by-the-line pay. I know there are variables (platform, ESL, etc.) but I'm trying to come up with some type of comparable compensation formula just as a jumping-off point for negotiation. Anyone care to elaborate on what they're earning, how they're paid, and how this compares to their transcribing earnings?
If you're making yourself sick over no work
why not get another job instead of complaining about no work all the time? No job is worth getting stressed and sick over it.
Don't forget, TT is not the only company that has low/no work. Haven't you read the other posts on the other companies or do you just concentrate on putting TT down all the time?
Find another job, leave TT if it makes you so sick.
If you aren't management & you're making good
money on VR, then why are you so desperate to attack those who don't want to do VR & try to shove it down their throats? A fellow MT wouldn't do that. They'd simply say they like it & how much they make rather than having a meltdown over other MTs not being thrilled about the switch....
You're making mountains out of mole hills. A vindictive
.
FUNNIEST THING..they all think you're making all this big money (LMAO) -nm
of which you are one as well, always griping
lol
We should all be ashamed for griping sm
about not receiving anything from them. I talked to EDITED on Friday when I got my card and she said she felt bad that the cards weren't out on time and that she had been busy with working and both of her children had been very sick. I think it is very thoughful of them to send something. Most of the companies out there don't think of us at all and EDITED makes sure we get something for holidays and throughout the year. Plus she signs all the cards herself and writes the checks herself.
yup, that's me and griping with good cause LOL
x
With all the griping about having to work holidays, little or no
PTO, etc., anyone ever thought about just taking a day or two off without pay? You are allowed to take days off you know! IMHO, if you can't afford to take a week or so off without pay, you either need to find a better paying job or save up some cash in anticipation of your vacation. Face it, the healthcare business runs 24/7 and we are an integral part of it. So many MTs want the perfect job, the perfect hours, paid holidays, paid vacations, give me only English speaking docs, etc. How about just be thankful you have a job?
Ok - here ya go. I went from making $1800 per pay period to making just under $900.
Is that significant enough for you? Believe us, we are not just being negative with a grudge or anything like that. This is real! A month later, I was gone from there fast!
Min. wage
That isn't even minimum wage in San Francisco, where it's something like $9.25+ per hr.
Min wage in NY
In NY minimum wage is now $7.15, so that is not min wage here either.
Min wage
I thought I had read something recently that stated Nuance/Focus was developing some software that would completely do away with transcriptionists in the next few years. I worked for Focus 5 years ago and they were a terrible company then to work for, I see they have just kept getting worse. You are entitled to minimum wage if you are an employee. If your line count does not come to that contact your local DOL and apply for unemployment benefits. if you don't you are hurting yourselves and other MTs who come after you.
I believe that would come to a little over minimum wage...
Not good at all! 
Minimum wage at best, probably not that!
I would not take any QA/editing position unless it is a set hourly rate. Again, I have said it before, do not sell your fellow QA/editors down the drain like AAMT has sold us. Hourly is the only way!
don't accept the wage, but I would!!!!
nm
Medware Wage
The most you can expect to make at Medware is 0.08 a line. Medware has some extremely difficult accounts with a lot of ESL doctors. It is very hard to make a good line count. Additionally, Medware watches how many minutes you work during the day. You must work a full 8-hour shift. If you have problems and need to call your supervisor, need to email your supervisor, create samples or go over files from the editors, have a problem with pay or vacation time or anything similiar, you will do it on your time. You have to put in your 8 hours TYPING, nothing else counts.
Is this a fair wage?
I'm a new graduate and I got an offer for 0.75 cpl. Any input would be appreciated.
QA Wage question
If getting paid hourly for QA, let's say $10.00 an hour, do you get paid for every hour whether there's anything to QA or not?
if you are still working there for that particular wage...sm
you are settling. 12 hour days x 6 days per week? You are definitely selling yourself short if you accept this. I was only trying to be honest based on the information you chose to share. I don't want others to think this is the norm in this industry because it most certainly is not. Again, I am basing my comments solely on the information you provided, which in fact saddened me as an MT who has been in this profession for many years. I apologize if you see this as an insult, but I was just overwhelmed by your breakdown of pay. To me this is completely unacceptable. Good luck to you.
They have to pay minimum wage s/m
They have to pay for minimum wage if you do not reach that on your line counts.
GOOD WAGE
If you find anyone that pays 10 cpl to start, let me know!!!
I took me 4 months to find a job as an IC where I would make 10 cpl after 90 days!! and that is maintaining minimum line count of 1000 lines the whole time...
Minimum Wage
You have hit on a point that the service owners did not plan for. Pursue this with the DOL office in your state:
USMLSU Initiative
Washington, DC
ONLINE, REAL-TIME CONFERENCE CALLS/MEETINGS BEING SCHEDULED FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF 2009 !
Respect, reasonable compensation, and humane treatment for all U.S.A. Medical Transcriptionists
a wage one can live on is no more
I don't know about you, but when I see 7 and 8 cents being offered for independent contractor work, I scream a little scream inside me and then implode for a few seconds, and then I move on as that is too insulting for words. How can a person take out their own taxes with such low pay? It's really not worth it, when you do the math, figuring out 25 to 33 percent is delegated to tax.
If a person does 6000 lines for a 40-hour week and takes out 28% taxes, this leaves them with $8.65 an hour for their effort. My 18-year-old son, whose part-time job while he is in school is sweeping the floors at movie theatres in between shows, makes $7.00 an hour. I am a grown woman with 18+ years of MT experience and would make only $1.65 an hour more than my son if I had this job.
How's that for a come-down?  
VR or not, need to pay MINIMUM WAGE--sm
Not just my 2 cents' worth -- that's the LAW in all 50 US states. At 3-4 cents a line, this is hardly possible, especially at the start, to make at least a minimum wage that any 16-year-old kid makes delivering groceries. Add to that all the UNPAID work we are required to do for the privilege of being fleeced by the MTSOs, CCs, researching doctors, endless demographic work having nothing to do with transcription... 
Minimum wage
You cannot by law make less than minimum wage. If you are making less than minimum wage I would tell the company, they have to make up the difference. If they don't then you should call the labor board.
Living Wage
I don't know exactly what I would call a living wage for a weekly amount. I can tell you that for my family of 5, the GOVERNMENT says that if I make less than approximately $40,000, that I qualify for various forms of government aid due to low-income status.
$40K divided by 52 weeks per year works out to about 1700 lines per day at 9 cpl.
If you're only making 5 cpl (case in point: That recent ad on the Jobs Bank!), then you would need to type 3076 lines per day in order to keep a family of five above the cut-off for food stamps and free lunches!
I think a living wage is
1 thousand dollars a week.
somebody will do it; hence the wage stays low nm
What is their hourly wage?
I also did not know that they had editing. QA position?
They are offering this same wage to QA people
with megayears of experience. That is my point!
And industry would pay the lowest wage possible
if people are willing to take it! People have to be pretty desperate or just not too bright to even agree to do this kind of work for low pay.
$8.75/hr nice hourly wage?
Yes, that is good for someone who is new to the biz, but if it takes 8 hours to review 2000 lines, that is only $8.75/hr. I don't think that is a nice hourly wage for experienced MTs. Many times the Editor may have no control over the TAT and oops! there goes that bonus. Quarterly bonuses cannot be counted upon as they are just that...bonuses.
Thanks for clarifying.
Wage earners usually get COL raises.
Every wage-paid position I have had was set on an annual increase with the rest of the company. Even at 3%, it was still a raise.
Production, however, does not increase. It is not the same pay structure and, in my opinion, should not.
You cannot have your cake and eat it, too.
You wanted production, so you can (in effect) control your income by how savvy you are, so you got it. If you want to make more money, increase those skills you feel are so valuable that you don't want to work for a set wage.
Otherwise, go to a wage and relax a bit, know that you're going to draw a certain amount of money (might even still get incentive for production, too), and get annual raises and actual holiday pay, etc.
Mark my words down: You will never get annual raises on production pay. Never. And you shouldn't. You are wanting what will never happen and, instead of looking for ways to actually help yourself, are frittering away your time and energy and frustrating everyone else in the process for nothing.
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