Depends on 2 factors.
Posted By: more on 2006-04-04
In Reply to: After being an MT for 2 years, how much should I be making? sm - JG
1. Your line rate. As a recruiter, if you are on a clinic account, you'd be paid between 0.06 and 0.07 cpl. Acute care, 0.07 and 0.075....maybe.
2. Your production.
After that, it's entirely in your hands.
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As you said, it depends on a lot of factors.
I can get 200-250 lph with two of my dictators. There are others that I only get 125 lph due to the platform. I'd say anywhere from 8-16 hours for me.
this depends on many factors.....sm
Privately if one is typing in a DOS program with very familiar MDs/work, you can do 300-400 LPH. If, however, one works for a national transcription company, you can slash that about in half if you have to type through the internet and use all the F keys and the alt-cont-shift keys and all that stuff which slows one down tremendously.
Just my nickel's worth. *S* And I know this because I do 400 LPH privately and about 175 LPH for a national.
Depends on so many factors
This can vary a lot. If you do acute care with many different dictators and lots of difficulty factors and all work types, it will slow you down no matter what. On the other hand, you could get a lot of normals and easy dictators for the most part who you are familiar with and rack up the lines. So many variables to consider. It's a toss of the dice really.
so many factors to consider
I had to do this when my last child was born and it was very difficult. I think so much depends though on what kind of a baby you have. Unfortunately, my last one was very needy, cried a lot, and wanted to be held a great deal which meant that I basically was unable to work at all when he was awake. He didn't take good naps either, so I ended up doing all of my work late at night and early morning hours and needless to say, there was little time for sleep. I did it almost the first year of his life and I was one tired puppy.
I'm told from friends who have done it though that it can be done and particularly if you have a good baby who sleeps for long periods of time. Good luck to you!
There are several factors involved
I believe the average line rate is anywhere from 100 to 200 lines an hour. The software platform you are using, what type of report you are typing, whether you have templates you can use, whether you have an expander, all factor into this. If you type letters only and have no expanders, for example, expect the lower range. Those with many standard templates and heavy use of Expanders can expect to type much more than that.
The other poster is correct in that a lot of the national companies expect 150 lines an hour.
A lot of factors come in per page.
I've been paid $3.00 per page and made out very well, but I didn't have to search for addresses or correct their language due to poor grammar. These were very smart docs. The reports were very short. The docs just told me to use my own discretion and expertise in regards to format, so I made them as simple as possible = less keystrokes. Hope this helps. Margins play a factor. She is probably better off charging per line.
Pay will depend on many factors
My first year as an MT, I made $20k and that was at 6.5 cents per line. There are tons of jobs out there were you can likely quickly move up and earn more money.
The job will take dedication and the money will not just fall into your lap the first year or two but you can make a good living as an MT. The choice is yours!!!!
It is according to various factors, report
types, dictators, etc. If I am on op notes all day, yes I could do that.
There are lots of factors involved. Do you
use an expander/macros, are you able to be disciplined and work and not up and down or on-line frequently, do you have good quality sound files, do you have good dictators, how does the company count lines, etc. Most companies require 1200 lpd for FT, so use that figure as a minimum and do the math.
There are lots of factors involved.
How easy is the platform, how are lines counted, do you have reference books or do you use Google to do all your research? Do you have lots of normals/macros, do you use an expander, do you spend too much time on-line or are you up and down frequently?
I make $40,000/year working 5 to 6 hour days/5 days a week. I have an easy platform, lots of macros, an expander, multiple reference books. I do work for a national, but I am also an employee and get paid by gross line, so my $40,000+/year is better than an IC making $40,000/year.
I guess I was blessed. In my entire 20+ year carrier I've only worked for 3 companies and each one has been better than the previous one.
Is $40,000 what you think you s/b be making based on the TV commercials say you can make or is that what you need to be making? If you don't need that much money to live on then don't worry about it. You have to look at pros and cons of what you are doing versus working in an office and you might come out even by the time you factor in clothing, food, gas, etc. (I'm assuming you work at home.)
Not necessarily. There are lots of other factors
involved that could contribute to a large return, such as losses in the stock market, medical expenses, etc. Generally speaking though it is because you have claimed too many dependents or claimed single when you are married, but there are lots of people who are not able to save money so a little extra each month contributes to a large refund later and then they have the funds to pay off debt or do home repairs, pay college tuition, etc. Now if they put a little away in savings they'd have more to show at the end of the year, but with interest rates so low it wouldn't be a significant amount.
This situation might not be ideal for you, but it may be for someone else. It is their money, it doesn't affect my paycheck or my tax return so I figure it is none of my business.
Factors impacting income
When you have your own accounts and do the same things daily you can make more. There is no "middleman" to take away from your earnings if you do this, so obviously you make more. When you work for a service you make less. You can make almost as much if you have the same dictators every day and concentrate on production, don't allow interruptions and are willing to type more for less.
Speed results from multiple factors....
1. Experience: As you yourself suggest, time "in the driver's seat" will play a big role as you find yourself doing fewer and fewer "look-ups" - whether for terminology, physician names, etc.
2. Self-monitoring. Just keeping close tabs on your production will help. Try playing a little game with yourself to do just a bit better this hour than you did the last hour.
3. Make full use of your expander. WARNING: Many people actually overuse their Expanders and wind up with a jillion shortcuts that they rarely use or can't even remember. Create shortcuts when they make a difference, and use a good naming system.
4. Set up the proper auto backspace for your footpedal that will allow you to establish a rhythm in which what you are transcribing is "bracketed" by the next little bit and the previous little bit of dictation. In other words, you are always slightly listening ahead, transcribing and (when you lift your foot up and back down) reviewing the last bit. This "cycle" keeps what you are transcribing in context with what has gone before and what is coming next.
5. Pay CLOSE attention to the "story" being told - in other words, the context of what you are transcribing. Context is the transcriptionist's best friend as far as resolving ambiguous or difficult words and phrases, alerting you to omitted dictation, and alerting you to possible errors in what thought you had just heard.
6. Proofread as you go to minimize proofreading after the report is completed.
7. Spend only a reasonable amount of time on lookups, especially early in the report. You will often hear the confusing word or phrase more clearly later...provided you remember the blank you had earlier!
8. Discover "the zone". The zone is a mental state in which you are utterly focused on the dictation, almost like a trance state. Human beings are NOT MULTI-TASKERS! You cannot think about a million other things while you're transcribing and hope to achieve either quality or quantity. When you transcribe, transcribe and forget your personal problems. When you're dealing with your personal life, forget transcription.
9. Relative to #8, try to crate a physical space for transcription in which you are dealing with minimal outside distractions.
10. Use a GOOD PROFESSIONAL HEADSET. Most transcription companies distribute garbage earphones. Try a good noise cancelling headset such as the Kensingtons sold on Amazon.com for about $30...and don't let the price fool you. They're great.
BONUS TIP - POWER SESSIONS: If your scheduling permits, you will be more productive in four 2-hour sessions separated by a significant break period than in fewer longer ones.
I discovered power sessions when I was transcribing and attending college. It happened one semester that I had a class in the AM, one in the afternoon and one in the evening - that's the only times they were offered. So, I transcribed early AM, mid-AM, early afternoon and early evening, 2 hours each. I was never so productive in my life. Why? Less fatigue factor and a fresher mind. I really whomped the daylights out of the work for 2 hours at a crack, and then I got up and went to class, completely concentrating on something else. Then, on returning for another power session, it's almost like starting a new day.
The point is, 15- and even 30-minute breaks do not give you this fresh-start advantage.
A number of the people I supervise have improved their productivity dramatically simply by implementing the secret of power sessions.
Good luck!
Lots of other factors too. They might need MTs with specific specialties or high-speed only or FT o
It seems to go in waves. Lots of radiology jobs, then none. Lots of operative note jobs, then none. Lots of oncology jobs, then none. Then lots of openings again.
I just got high-speed in my subdivision; I think this will open a lot of doors for me that were not open previously. Dial-up only hurt me pretty bad in terms of who would hire me. Could not get flat fee long distance either, so I was a recruiter's nightmare. I was ready to move. Now I can get both through Comcast. Doing the happy dance in MN!!!
depends
I have one female who sounds as if she has cotton stuffed up her nose and she has just returned from the local pub. Instead of correcting, she just rambles and you have to figure it out. For example: "Social history is significant for review of systems noncontributory and mother with diabetes. Pt has never had this before."
I do find the female ESLs easier than the male ESLs however.
depends on where oh where you are now. nm
nm
It depends - please SM
I'm not sure what you were hired to do but I've always had the worktypes I was hired to do specifically outlined to me. As well, different accounts have different workpools containing specific worktypes. I know when I work on a specific workpool that I will only get certain worktypes; when they ask me to change workpools, the worktypes will change.
It SHOULD work so that you know the variety of worktypes you will get and you should be masked to get them. However, a great part of the time there are cherrypickers who will reject worktypes they do not want to do, dictators they do not want to do until they find a report that they want. Lots of cherrypickers don't like ESLs, so they throw them back.
Depends...
Is that with or without spaces? Is that full audio, read-throughs, or blanks only? Are the MTs experienced or newbies? Are the MTs Indian or domestic? Will you be required to provide feedback for each document or each MT?
If your offer is 5 cents without spaces and you are editing inexperienced or offshore MTs and providing feedback for each document, then 5 cents is too low. If, on the other hand, you were offered 5 cents WITH spaces, are editing experienced MTs, filling in blanks and providing little to no feedback, then 5 cents is fair.
ALWAYS ask these questions ahead of time. Editing on a production basis is no different than transcribing on a production basis--every little detail will affect your paycheck.
It all depends on what they say
constitutes a line. If it is 65 characters includes, spaces, headers, footers then that is decent. Being a newbie you are probably looking at the 8 cpl. Keep in mind if this is an IC position you will be responsible for paying all taxes, no benefits. If it is an employee position it is a good rate of pay these days.
it all depends upon
which of my cats is looking for attention. 
Otherwise ... around 90 minutes, I suppose. It's up to my fingers.
Well, that depends on you
My golly, you gals make it difficult for a man to sit still here. All these questions and you gals want answers.
It truly depends upon you as an individual what you make. I usually have a very personal interview with you and usually can let you know at that time. Would you like to schedule something?
We always look to hire, even if you are new to this profession.
If you would like to schedule an interview, call me at 1-800-BIG-DING
Depends on which it is. nm
x
depends on where you are
We have a store called Freds in the midwest and I found the exact same bedspread and curtains Penney's wanted (at a price of 300.00) for 70! I also use www.brylanehome.com
At times Big Lots will have good stuff as well.
Depends.
Better buy a box or learn to hold it.
Depends
I taught myself html and have my site through avahost. They are incredibly cheap. I have thousands of pages on mine due to it being a geneaology site. You could contact them about your files and such. It can be expensive to build a website, generally 1000 and up, so that is why I taught myself.
It depends on the age it happens...
I was divorced at 30 and remarried at 31. No, I wasn't looking, but along he came and he was only 26 and had never been married, fresh out of college and ready to settle down. I'm glad it happened then because at 31 you can still get a good guy quite easily. I had a 3yo and it has worked out magnificently. She's almost 18 now and he has been Dad for a very long time, as her father moved across country and she only visits a couple times a year. But blended families more often than not are rocky. I was very lucky. If my kids were older than 3, say school age, I would be more inclined to wait until they are raised. It's too hard for them to adjust at that point. As for remarrying now in my 40s? Probably not. There's not much out there except all the leftover and discarded "toads" I'm afraid. A few lucky ones find a great guy in middle age, but I'm afraid your chances of getting struck by lightening are probably higher.
Depends on the doc (sm)
I actually prefer doing consult letters over all other kinds of dictation. Some doctors are concise and to the point, and some are long-winded (just like anything else). I have found that there they mostly say the same things over and over, so it is a good way to use a lot of Instant Text and boost your LPH. You still have the basics (CC, HPI, PH, SH, FH, Meds, etc.) but you are working in paragraph format instead of using all the headings. Remember to ask for a sample of how they want them done in particular.
The only downside is that you will have to edit them for grammar and tense issues rather than just do verbatim transcription, but it's not a hassle by any means.
I've known other transcriptionists who hate letters, but I really enjoy them! Good luck!
It depends
I had an account that paid gross lines and thought that I got a great deal, until I realized that the page margins were really wide and I would have made more $$ with a 65-character count....watch those side margins!
That depends.....
Were they paying you 12 cpl for a 65 char line count or less than 65? If so, 65 characters is the same, regardless of margins.
It depends on who the cc is..
Are you working on a hospital account or your own accout? Please provide more info.
It is usually justifiable if the cc is involved in the patient's care is some form or fashion and this cc's involvement is documented in the patient's record.
Depends what you consider to be a hot job
I love these people who say they're making 50 grand like it's really good money. Where I live 50 grand is enough to live on - period - and no one would brag about making that, so a job that "tops out" at 50 is nothing to brag about. Only someone who has never had the ability to make really good money would make a statement like that because to them that's something to be proud of.
To answer your question, this is not a hot job. I have been doing this for over a quarter of a century and people look at you like you're an idiot if you tell them this is your job. Some have laughed and said, "Oh, a typist!" or "Oh, you're a secretary!" Neither of which are HOT jobs.
If you want respect for what you do, go to an accredited college and get a real degree - a bachelor's or beyond. Then you're qualified for a HOT job.
Best of luck. Just being honest.
Depends
Well it all depends on the method of line counting; whether it is gross lines or character lines. Gross lines at that rate is excellent hourly for someone with experience. I.E., You can type 1000 gross lines in roughly two hours on average. Here is the math: 1,000 lines x .05 = 50.00 (two hours). Anyone get it?
it could be, it really depends on the dog
xx
It all depends of course, but I can usually
average 1600 lpd on average for an 8-hour day. When I am part time (4 hours a day), I can get about 850.
depends
As a QA person, to me it depends on the skill level. If someone his hired on and say they have 15 years experience yet leave blanks for general terms, yes I would track them. If I have a person who has been working doing clinic work and wants to crossover, no I don't. I give them adequate time to actually learn. If I can't get a blank either, it most certainly is not counted. Mostly what I watch for are the major errors, medication guessing, gross lab errors, etc. I don't see a need to go crazy on people. They are better served to be taught....if there is a new word they do not know, I send them the meaning. I teach them what the labs mean. I give endless references from books, websites, etc.
Just depends...
I think it depends on what company you work for. I work at home for a large clinic and it is wonderful. I get full benefits, overtime pay, quarterly bonuses and also have great ladies to work with and we go out together once a month. We have department meetings and parties, so I don't feel isolated at all. But I can understand how it would be awful without these things and how isolated I would feel. Good luck to you!
It depends. I use both. See below.
I use the net a lot, but couldn't live without my Quick Look Drug Book. I have found it to be the best.
The two sites I've found the most helpful on the net are Medline Plus and Drugs@FDA.
depends on how much (sm)
Mine wanted an iPod. Laptop is a good idea, but very expensive. Is she in a dorm or apartment? Something for her place like a microwave or another appliance or a small TV. Portable DVD player. A nice bookbag or sachel of some sort for her books. Or maybe a family picture enlarged and framed.
My daughter's best friend's mom made her a scrapbook of her high school years. It was so beautiful and my daughter cherishes it. Wish I could have been crafty enough to make her something sentimental. She cherishes the iPod, but in a different way ;-)
Good luck to you!! My daughter's senior year was very, very special to both of us. Enjoy her while she's still at home!
It depends.
If the only thing you will be doing is logging into the hospital system and transcribing, your line rate will probably be more than with a national, but less than what a company would charge the hospital.
Depends on if you are doing it as a
service for your church or has the community itself asked you to take it on?
If the community has engaged your church to help with this, I wouldn't do too much promotion of my own church in it.
Otherwise, I'd have a city map with any brochures about parks and recreational areas; maybe a few coupons to local restaurants; a restaurant guide; information on the school system(s); an area guide on all churches; any information on fine arts and clubs, etc.
Depends
I guess it depends on what their ASAP means and how much additional it is to the regular work you receive. If I usually receive 30 minutes from a client daily and they tend to do only 20 minutes on three days and add it onto the last day, I would chargre usual rate for the first 30 and then you could add on a surcharge after that. But I would first run it by them as if you do it without their knowledge they could get nasty with you. Also do you specify TAT of 24 hours, my accounts know that I have 24 hr TAT but it is for a days worth of dictation and if they do back dictation it is usually an additional 24 hours. Also depends on how much you want this account. You can do what you usually do in a day and then quit and fimish up on the other day that the workload is lighter. There are several alternatives and choices and I would certainly outline them all out for the client and let them chose which one they prefer doing. ASAP to some does not mean immediate rush but as soon as you can within normal guidelines. Again, your call but run whatever you chose to do by the client.
Depends.
But I think very experienced QA people should not be making 34000 a year! I have a friend who does payroll and makes almost 50000, doing just payroll, no degree, no special title, just lots of experience and good at her skill. And please. Some customer service jobs pay 14.00 an hour nowadays! Don't sell yourselves short. A skilled QA professional with lots of experience should make at least 40000 per year or more.
Depends on what you are looking for
My docs seem to always leave off zip codes when dictating insurance carrier or other doctors addresses. I found the website below to be extremely helpful in locating a zip code, particularly for a PO Box:
http://www.melissadata.com/keywordsearch/zipcode.htm
Depends on where you are going
If Southwest services the city you are goint to or from, they give the best price on one-way tickets if you buy far enough out in advance. Try them. Patti
Depends.
If paid for all text including demos/letterhead/sig lines/CCs, a lot of short ones. If not getting paid for all that, the longer ones. : )
Depends...
It depends on the circumstances. Cheating itself is a sign of a severe character flaw. It is a complete disregard for your partner's feelings and safety (STDs) and extremely self-centered. If this same self-centeredness and lack of regard for you is going on in other areas of your marriage, I'd advise you to leave. If it was a one-time thing and he is extremely remorseful and unlikely to do it again, I'd give him a chance, but only under those circumstances.
We women have a huge problem with how we deal with men. We fall in love with who we want them to be and not who they really are. If you decide to forgive, make sure it is because he is the kind of person who deserves you, not because you see "potential" in him to change into something else.
Depends
If you have real estate and credit card debt you really need to seek the advice of an attorney because if you handle it yourselves and do not word something correctly, one of you can be damanged or unprotected for a long time. See if you can find a legal aide that will guide or give you some advice. If you both agree to everything you can use only one attorney. But have a consultation at least as you have a lot of "things" that need to be divided up. If it is uncontested, it really won't cost you that much as it becomes expensive when one of you disagrees. Sit down, talk and divide it up how you see is fair and then go into an attorney and seek a consultation. Or at least a paralegal. You can do it yourself, buy the forms but again if one thing is not worded correctly or included, it can come back and bite you.
It depends on how it is set up for you...sm
System set ups are different. On one system you may press next report and the next one will come up. Who ever sets up the main system can stop you from skipping over reports.
It depends...
...on where the Editor works. Some accounts (or if the editor is working with a brand new MT, new-hire, etc.) do require listening to the sound while reading the report at the same time, which can be time consuming if there are many errors.
Depends...
Will you be doing typing or transcribing? If it is transcribing, it depends on the type of work, what constitutes a line, and how much they are willing to pay. Of course, you want to bid low enough to get the work but high enough to make it worth your while.
Could you give us any more info?
Are you comfortable enough with the work type that you could turn in a perfect, or near-perfect, product?
Have you done a search on these boards? You will get an idea of what newbies are being paid.
And don't forget that if you are an independent contractor, you have to pay 20% to 35% in taxes. Again, if you search this board you will see that is what ICs have posted as paying.
Without more information from you, it is hard to give a cpl charge.
Maybe someone else will post with a different opinion.
Good luck to you. Sounds like it may be a way to get your foot in the door.
Depends....
on how tired I am and what time of day or night
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