Any tips on becoming an MTSO and landing first account?

How much experience does the average MTSO have when they step out on their own? 

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

• Any tips on becoming an MTSO and landing first account? - sm
  • think.....many years of MTg prior....sm - not nearly as complicated as one might
  • I don't think the experience matters as much as... - MTSO

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I have sent out hundreds of resumes, taken several online tests and have still not landed my first position yet.  Office positions that I applied for were given to experienced MTs.  Now I am running into problems with internet servers.  I live in the country so the only option I have for internet services are dial-up and satellite.  Satellite runs about $100 a month.  Most of the at-home positions that are available require DSL or high speed.  I live so far out that the phone company doesn't know when DSL will be available in our area.  I need a break!  Does anyone else feel the same?

I am looking to get back into the field after a 12 year break to raise my kids.  Any advice on how to get my foot in the door or who might hire me?  I have over 10 years experience in out-patient radiology.

Thanks.

I work on Edit Script and the average pay for most companies seems to be .04 cpl.  I get .0425.  Your production really depends on the account you have, the dicator and you learining the shortcut keys.  I still have a hard time not using the mouse!  But on the other hand, I am not a stong typist, so I prefer VR over typing.  If I had to do straight typing I probably would not make it in this business, so VR is the way for me.  I had to switch companies because my first one had difficult dictators and I was not making much money.  Things are better now, but still a work in progress.  One suggestion I will make is that you use the Escription forum for productivity tips and also there is a link that will tell you of your progress if you log into it.  The system can read your skills as you use it and give you a report on your progress.  It will tell you if you are using the mouse too much, etc.  It really is a great system with a lot of great tools for MTs.

Hang in there---Sue

I definitely would not say I'm at the top.  I get distracted like many with surfing, chatting, etc during my work time.  Honestly, if my work ethic was more strict, I could make another 20-30,000 a year. 

I use IT as my expander.  I am not an Expander queen.  I use them and add all the time but I'm not obsessed with it - but it definitely saves me time and worth every penny 10 fold.  I use my Stedman's Elec Dictionary - another total must have for this job. 

You're going to make more money if you know your specialty and your doctors.  I try to get work where I can do the same doctors regularly.  I would not take a position where there is a huge pool of doctors.  I make the money on my single doctor accounts where I can get regulars and build up speed the fastest.  Even accounts with 4 to 5 doctors you can easily build up speed on. 

Don't settle for cr*p jobs.  As I said earlier, there are better paying companies out there.  Makes me extremely irritated to see companies posting for slave wages wanting so much experience and basically offering nothing in return but the chance to make $5 an hour.  I won't even test until I know what the rate will be.  And honestly, the best companies have the shortest or no test. 

Keystrokes and MDI may look good compared to most bigger companies, but I personally wouldn't work for them.  There are better places, but you have to be willing to do some research and go beyond what everyone else does.   

I am looking for tips to make my typing faster. For example, auto corrects, quick cut and pastes, etc. Any ideas?

Okay, since so many of us are being transitioned into VR, I thought it might be helpful to start a thread discussing helpful tips on how to be more productive with VR. 

For some dictators (the ones that have the "good" VR come through), I have found that reading through the report and changing it to go more with accounts specifics gets me through it faster than trying to change while listening. 

I also like to use ctrl + lft arrow key to skip by words instead of by letters. 

Other than that . . . I really suck at VR, which is why I am hoping to see if anyone has tips or suggestions on how to help make all MTs more productive on VR. 

TIA.

I use the number 8 key for my ectomy words.

For examply.  Appendectomy is programmed as a8

Cholecystectomy c8

Hysterectomy h8

Tonsillectomy t8

You get the idea.  In the rare instance that this interferes with another word (i.e. T8 on a spine exam.  I type t8n which means (NOT) so it will expand to simply T8.

instead of using the semicolon, I do pretty much the same thing but with the slash / on the right side of the keyboard.  I use this pretty much when i can divide words such as t/a  therafter.  u/w  underwent   u/g undergone l/h lightheaded.

for family members I use the number 9. For example,

 b9 is brother s9 is sister sil9 is sister in law d9 is daughter gm9 grandmother gd9 grandaughter.

I use the letter z quite a bit to just to phonetically shorten words.  For example.

dz disease  anz aneurysm rz resolve rzd resolved rzg resolving bz because czd caused czg causing etc.  If i here a "z" sound in a word I take advantage of it.

My psych words take the prefix nut. nuts is psychosis nutc is psychotic  lol.  Cute, I know, but I never forget these.

For really common words that I type a zillion times:  AR anterior pr posterior ll lateral ml medial I try to make these as short as possible.

KEEP THE TIPS COMING.  This is great to share.

it's all how one interprets a post....I see the other poster thanked you for tips and added that iliopsoas is ONE word, not 2....

you took it negatively, unfortunately.....

I wouldn't know what to tell you as I learned HTML online in chat rooms back in 1996-1997 from, believe it or not, kids from 10-15 years of age.  You need to find a teen who is superinterested in the web and being online who can teach you these things for free. 

I did just look for free sites for you to learn what is now XML, didn't find much, but here is one link plus there is always productivitytalk dot com for a good technical website.  Here's the link I just found, don't know how informative it really is or not.  Best of luck.

http://www.stylusstudio.com/learn_xml.html

First off, kids can deal without ice cream.  Trust me; it's true.  For another thing, I've never considered myself desperate or a penny pincher.  Hard times?  Oh yeah, I've had those, but I still consider myself blessed because I have air in my lungs and a wonderful family.

My mom's been bellyaching about "being broke" but she keeps forgetting that she goes on vacation every year, has $500 taken out every check for various things, (savings, Christmas gifts, whatever) and pretty much has everything she needs.  She forgets what it was like to be a single mom on Welfare working for $4.25/hour.  How do you forget that?

Anyway...I call generic brands "fake," so don't get alarmed with my tips.  Fake cereal in the bags taste just like the expensive stuff in boxes.  Honest.  I can't tell the difference.  I hate Wal-Mart, but their True Value brand is good.  Get a grocery store ad, look for sales, try some store-brand items.

There are a few things I will NOT by the fake version of because it's gross, to me.  One is ketchup; I only do Heinz.  One is Miracle Whip or mayonnaise (Hellman's for that).  I only get Stove-Top stuffing and Hamburger Helper; no fake stuffing or hamburger meals.  Store-brand vegetables are just dandy.  Here, we buy 4 bags of boneless, skinless chicken breast for $20 when it's on sale.  Fake french fries are good, too; Ore Ida's bags are just too small for my taste.  We shop at Save A Lot sometimes and Audi, too.  You have to take your own grocery bags or use their boxes, but you save a lot of money.  Target has deals on SOME things.