A big waste of effort and money. You won't make 1 penny more.
Posted By: nm on 2009-02-23
In Reply to: Certified MT, Is it worth getting?? - WS
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The CMT exam is overrated. Don't waste your time & money. Use that money on
paid anymore just because you have it. There are a few CMT cheerleaders that post to people like you but they are pretty well sucked up into that association.
If you aren't willing to make any effort
to get the information you need ("no patience", indeed), then why should anyone take time from their own lives to do your research for you? You're the one who wants the answer. Do your own work.
If everyone wanted to make a little effort...
And take an area to call, I bet the information could be obtained from the hospitals, etc. There is no reason you couldn't call and say you are considering a procedure/doc there and want to ensure your private information is secure and you would like to know if their billing/transcription is done in-house, outsourced or both, and if outsourced, to whom. I have received answers, but sometimes I have had to make a few more calls.
Don't waste your money just yet.......sm
There is no way of knowing what equipment you'll need until you get hired. Unless you can afford to buy everything and anything, don't concern yourself with it until you know what your new company requires. There is no rush. You can buy whatever you need on line and get it within a day to two.
Don't waste your money!
There's nothing in that guy's books that you probably don't already know about, or can easily find out about...free!
I do "secret shopping" sometimes, but the shops pay very little.
There are a several MLM companies, (I'm in one), which are not scams, but it's not that easy to make money with them, & takes time.
IMO it is a waste of money. Not too many
companies pay more for CMT certification.
A waste of money
I have seen some companies who advertise more cpl if you are a CMT, not recently, but more like a "fad" a while back. I gawf at that because even if I was certified, I have over 20 years of experience and no certification is going to make me more experienced than actually working that long.
Don't waste your money on it.
nm
TALK ABOUT A WASTE OF MONEY!
Why not pay us more, or pay the people with no work to do this???
Don't waste your money.... A very reputable...
physician was speaking at a conference, a doc who specializes in weight loss and has a practice for same and I was able to ask about these products. She said they are just a waste of money.
Why waste money on Lanier
Just seems like a big-time waste of money
to buy a keyboard just because a letter is worn off.
Don't waste your money or your time. sm
I was a CMT for 15 years. It never did a bit of good money wise. Like another poster said, there use to be bonuses for production with some companies (large bonuses) and they never had anything to do with CMT.
You will be spending more money than you want to as well as having to get CECs all the time. AHDI doesn't care about American MTs. This test (in my opinion) is just like the "almighty" BOS, just something else to get the MTs money that will never do the MT any good but keep funding AHDI.
AAMT/AHDI or whoever they are has been saying for years it will be mandatory to be a CMT some day. That is baloney. Any decent employer will go by your experience and what you can show them you can do and not by any stupid CMT certificate.
I wouldn't think a second thought about it if I were you. Its not worth the paper its printed on.
A cent more per line... we are talking a penny here people - a PENNY. SM
How does that make it worth it in your mind? You pay $298 for a certification test that is slanted in their favor - you have to memorize their rules! And then you a whole penny more per line?
I would hope that you have enough self-respect to believe that you are worth more than a penny more per line!
CMT is a waste of money & time. Times are different in the MT
industry anymore and having a CMT doesn't make a hill of beans difference. Companies are going to pay what they want to pay. Having a CMT isn't going to get you anymore money. That's a fallacy. There was a time when having a CMT would have gotten you a little better pay but those days are LONG gone. Save your money because that's all AAMT wants. AAMT are big corporation suckups, offshore suckups, and will suckup to anyone or any company that has BIG BUCKS! AAMT care NOT about the American MT, which became crystal clear with the announcement of their upcoming name change.
Waste of time and hard-earned money
when you can only make may be 1 cpl more if you are a CMT. They should not charge you, they should just let you take the test and send you the certificate.
Nope. Huge waste of time and money.
x
Personally, I think the books are a waste of money, with a few exceptions. sm
These days, I would get the CD instead of the book, if that option were available.
That said, I don't see the need for, nor can I justify the expense of, the standard reference series, like Stedman's. For the most part, anatomy doesn't change from year to year, and neither does the vast majority of the terminology. Of course, there are new procedures, new terms, etc., but chances are your book won't be up to date on those. So, a ratty old (cheap) used copy might be handy, but the Internet is much faster (provided you know how to use it properly and don't just accept any ol' c--p you find :-).
At most, I'd recommend (A) Stedman's Medical and Surgical Equipment Words (or whatever they're calling it in its latest incarnation), and perhaps the Stedman's word book pertaining to your speciality, if you have just one or two.
Otherwise, save your money.
Putting a real penny in those penny loafers! nm
nm
Penny candy that really cost a penny a piece!
LOL
Heads up folks! I use Express Scribe wav player, but don't waste your money on their other
paid for products because they're buggy and have horrible customer support! I bought Express Dictate for my doctors and Express Delegate and I have had nothing but one problem after another. Forget calling, that's not an option. I have emailed until I'm blue in the face and the "support" I get are canned responses and they do not address the problems I'm having. They have a forum you can post on, but no one ever posts responses. My client has been extremely patient, actually too patient, and now I'm looking for another alternative. I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I've had over the past almost 4 weeks. Thanks for letting me vent...sigh....
Penny Candy really cost just a penny! nm
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Without too much effort?! A good yard sale takes a good deal of effort, IMO.
:+
Make money? I'm not making any money because of my decision. You read my reasoning
You can agree with me or not, but don't make false assumptions please.
You're working to make money, not to spend money.
These people should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of people this way!
I also blew some money signing up with Quixtar... The only way to make any money is to bug everyone
you know into signing up. I felt like a snake oil huckster. I hated it. I was flushing money down the toilet from the moment I handed over my money.
RUN, do not walk away! I do an entirely different side business now that I really love (in addition to my MTing, which I also love!) Find something you're good at and that you truly love doing. Then make a business out of it. That's the best way to have a side business. Selling discount toilet paper through Amway/Quixtar? Not so much.
How really do you make money?
I know I'm new but at least I have a job Right???
Anyway editing VR at 3 cents a line and not being quick is frustrating... I have been working for a week and I think I made maybe if I'm lucky 200.00, now I left a job making 500.00 a week after taxes... Boy I am stupid... So much for this great career working at home blah blah... I guess I'm totally frustrated considering no one will hire you new and when you get a job they say here is some chicken feed... I can't live off of this, does anyone have any suggestions... I will there is something to be said for getting paid by the hour
I don't make any money and I am
I am paid an hourly rate based on the number of lines I edit. I'm trying to go back to being an MT. I took a job for this company that pays $12/hr. I am supposed to average 300 lines per hour. I can only get a raise if my average is more than this for 6 months.
I don't know about anybody else, but I don't see that I will ever be able to edit more than 300 lines an hour because it takes time to provide feedback.
You cannot do it well and make money sm
by constantly stopping to work to attend to children, errands, family business. If you want to make money, you have to treat it like what it is, a real job.
i make my money on them.
they are easy and i rarely have to look up words.
you won't make any money
if you cann't understand what they are saying. You will sit twiddling your thumbs, going ARHGGH! 7 cpl is not good either, but at least you could be making something compared to nothing with ESL. Making < $5 an hour typing ESL versus maybe $10 an hour at 7 cpl... Hard choice..
When did you make the most money?
Was your line rate higher when you started, halfway through, or now?
One year and you make decent money? What is decent money to you?
k
Needing to make some money.....
I just started a new job and really like it when I have work but the problem is that I do 2 or 3 reports and then it's gone for 20 or 30 minutes. I can't make any money doing a report here and there....I've asked for a backup account but they are saying everything is low right now. What do I do? I don't want to switch companies again when I just started this one, but my bills aren't waiting simply because I don't have any work. I didn't get to work Friday or Monday at all. Yesterday, I finally did my minimum (I want to do a lot more than that) but it took me until 11:00 last night to do it because I had to work here and there all day long..........Just wondering if this is the case for a lot of people. Guess I just needed to vent.
How to make money MTing
I'm an occasional lurker and infrequent poster. I see so many posts regarding inability to make money that I thought I would post some ideas in the hope it might help someone. However, I don't expect my post to ever see the light of day as every time I do post, my post disappears faster than a snowball in the desert.
I believe anyone can still make money doing MT provided:
1. You take the time to thoroughly learn your terminology, not just words, but a thorough understanding. You will never make money if your fingers are flipping through books instead of being on the keyboard. Learning takes time and effort. IMHO learning can't be done with small children underfoot any more than you would take your children to a classroom and expect to learn. Once you are a seasoned MT and know your job the way you know the back of your hand, then, yes, you can work with the children (or a tornado) around you.
If you aren't willing to commit to #1 then there is no use reading on.
2. You MUST work for a company that isn't constantly running out of work. No work, no money, doesn't matter how much knowledge you have or how fast you type. If your company consistently runs out of work, do yourself a favor and move on. I would suggest keeping the old job until you try out the new company lest you find you have jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
3. Nevermind "how I've always done it." Right or wrong, your obligation is to the place that signs your paycheck. If you "can't remember" changes, make a macro that will remind you. Same with verbatim. Forget what you "have always done" and condition yourself, right or wrong, to type exactly what is dictated, no more, no less.
Now to increase your pay:
1. Really work at increasing your typing speed. There is something to be said for learning to type on an old standard Underwood typewriter and doing the exercises "the quick brown fox jumped over the hollow log" and "now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country." It really works.
2. Use your word expander to the max. I first use all the accepted medical abbreviations. I then go to what I can easily remember as my abbreviations. For instance I use ASHD2 to spell out when dicitated. I use the first 2 letters of each word in a 2 word phrase i.e. stco (stable condition). Pay attention to anything a given physician dictates consistently and put it in your word expander. Most people can edit faster than they type.
3. Learn to proof as you go. It can be done. My kids used to laugh at me because they said my mouth was constantly moving when I was typing. Still does. That's because I'm also reading as I'm typing. Train yourself to do this and you won't have to waste time going back and proofing.
4. Learn to be an accurate typist. You will be surprised how much time you spend backing up to correct typing errors. That is what spellcheck is for but that also wastes time. Don't waste time backing up to correct typos, wait for spellcheck and remember that the seconds you spend correcting typos, even with spellcheck, makes a big difference at the end of the day.
5. Take your job seriously. If your fingers aren't on the keyboard, you aren't making money. My routine is that I work as hard as I can until I reach 1/2 of my daily goal, which is twice the minimum that is required. Once I have reached that point I allow myself to do other things. Like I will type 2 or 3 reports, do a load of laundry or whatever. I also DO NOT answer the phone until I have reached the 1/2 mark. That includes visiting this or any other board. I've already reached my 1/2 point today and I'm feeling a little bored, it being Friday and all. Even then, I am mindful that time is money and I limit the time I spend on doing other things.
6. Get over the excuse that you are constantly changing accounts. You're paid to do whatever comes across your screen. Teach yourself to "file" account specifics in your brain so they automatically come up with the account...it can be done. Don't be afraid of new accounts or new dictators. Remember it's all the same WORDS just spoken by different voices.
It doesn't matter how much I make because that doesn't help any of you. Let's just say it's up there with the highest producers who post here and I am also an "old dog". I've been MTing probably about as long as most of you have been on this earth and believe it or not, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. :)
Hope this little bit of info will help someone and I hope it stays up long enough to do so.
Can one make money at etransplus?
Hi,
I am pleased with the benefit package and the line rate for insurance, but I was astounded by style they prefer. It is just so much. Can one make money there?
and, i didn't make THAT much money nm
nm
Most of the men I know in this field make more money than
I think they do less bonding with coworkers and seem to focus better.
I do PT and make tons of money...sm
very easy work. Few ESL in that field and they are very agreeable to working with you. Lots of word Expander phrases, hardly any drugs, no labs. Love it. Make more money in PT with less cpl than any of my other accounts just because I can crank it out.
You make more money doing MT than in journalism?
I have been an MTSO/had my own accounts and made LOTS of money in MT. BUT, my friend who has a degree in journalism is doing so much better than I am. She has a home in Marietta, Georgia that I only WISH were mine. And then she has a second home and the SECOND home was $300,000. That home is just for them to stay in when they go to another state and visit relatives. It is nowhwere near as nice as their home in Atlanta.
Does anybody make money VR editing?
I am considering taking a position doing this and I wonder if you can make a living at it. A poster below said that if you are a fast typist you will lose money, but if you are a 150-200 lph typist can you break even? I would like to hear from anyone who actually does VR editing either full-time or part-time. What's the scoop?
And what do you consider "a ton of money" ? What do you make weekly? nm
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That's definitely good money. I wish I could make that much.
I'm making about $1,400 a MONTH working 25-30 hours per week. ESLs, run out of work often, lousy platform. What's the point any more? I definitely need to pick up some local accounts and never work for another national.
Oh man....that is NOT good...how do you make any money?
What else could you do and make this kind of money? sm
If you still make great money in it, at least 50K per year, as I do, then it is still hot. if not, it is not hot.
keep daycare. you can't do everything and make money.
i know...tried it.
Four. And they make very good money.
But I get your point. But you asked!
No, if you cannot produce enough to make the money you need,
It's not the industry's fault some do not have the aptitude to make what they want.
I am, but not because of pay. I make decent money, more than I would
make in most fields today that don't require a degree or experience. I'm just burned out with the monotony of it. Type, type, type and then type some more because the account is behind and others aren't pulling their weight, so type, type, type, go to bed without spending time with family, exhausted, kitchen not cleaned up, and get up the next day and do the same thing all over again. You have no control over your paycheck because you are paid by production. If you have one of those days where you get the worst dictators or the sound quality is really bad you don't make your lines. If you don't feel well you don't make your lines.
I've done this nearly 20 years, about 19 more than I ever thought I would, but I'm tired, I don't enjoy my job, and I want to do something different. My problem is that I need to be home 5 more years and I don't know what I can do and make the money I need to make.
Do Radiology MTs make more money?
New to profession, and wondering if radiology MTs make most of the money ? I heard that they usually do because it is so repetitive.
It is NOT an easy way to make money
and most companies advertising at-home training and promising the moon are out for your money. Medical transcription is a CAREER and not a JOB. Stick with engineering and do some crafting on the side to make "extra money."
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