Exactly, they may not put out great quality but they also don't whine and complain sm

CONSTANTLY.  The next generation US MTs want everything handed out to them on a silver platter AND want the higher pay, too!  Here is what I have run into of late:

1. Hired, but only want maybe 10 or 15 minutes 3 days a week. Yeah, that's production baby!
2. Say they'll be online but then aren't and don't communicate with you.
3. Whine because a dictator isn't speaking perfect English and enunciating each word slowly and clearly.

The list goes on so, feel free to jump in and add your experiences...

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I maintain 99% accuracy above on my reports.  However, the original question was regarding personal preference, and I have stated mine, and I respect your opinion as well.  :-)    I do think if I was working in an office or hospital setting, the setup you mentioned might be more profitable in the long run.  There are too many interruptions and such when you have other people running in and out, phones ringing, etc. 

I doubt that anyone but me really cares about the lines per hour it takes for me to do a report.  They just want an accurate report in a timely manner.  I take pride in my work, and would never just slop something out for the sake of the almighty buck.   And, as an added incentive, I work for 2 companies, and one of them has my name on each report.  I don't have a problem with it, but I did think it was a bit unusual at first.

Oh well ... I must confess that what I'd TRULY like is to be paid lots of money to just sit and play Battle Phlinx on Pogo all day long, but as of yet, no such luck.  

I have 17 years experience.  I'm an IC, was getting paid 10 and 11 cents a line for the last decade or so.  After that work basically dried up, I started looking for more work.  No work to be had at at 10 cents a line anymore, rarely find anything even at 9 cents. 

Decided to take an 8 cents/line job.  Hey, I was gettin' hungry.  I swear....I type, type, type, type, seems like all day and all night and still not making the money I need to pay my bills and eat! 

I know, I know, people justify 8 cents a line by saying hey if you can do 200 lph, that's $16 an hour.  Yeah, that's great for those who aren't used to making up to $30+ an hour for the past 8 to 10 years!  Man, I'm soooooooo tired of typing, so burned out, just very unhappy. 

I can see now how some people are happy with MT and some people aren't, just depends on what you've been used to compared to what you get now.  Sad. 

I really don't have any other skills to do anything else, and I'm dying here as far as finances, killing my hands and other body parts trying to make money at this 8 cents a line...maybe could've done it 15 years ago when I was younger but just not able to type like a demon day and night anymore.

Let it be known that this is the end of my vent. I have no idea what I'm going to do

I applaud you for being truthful and NOT GREEDY..

"OR" we can do something about it.  I voiced my opinion to the editor of Advance.  Web Address below.  They really need a wake-up call, and I think together, we have the power to do it.

http://health-information.advanceweb.com//common/survey/surveyform.aspx?sid=561

You need to voice your concerns and complaints to both the clinic and the Insurance company.  The clinic where I transcribed into EMR found that it was still easier to dictate than fill out all the information and some insurance companies did not like the "standardization" of reports.  But voice your opinion, it might not help but will make you feel better.  I basically told the doctor once, please look at me as you are not treating the computer screen nor is that paying the bill.   Once patients do this and they have to do the charts after seeing the patient, it could change things around.  Also write to your state boards or anyone that listens.   

Let me explain why I and some others have complained in the past:

1.  I've been doing this for 25+ years and I am making much less now than I did before AAMT and I am still producing the same amount of lines!

2.  I've spent more time (learning in an ever changing field) and more money  purchasing new hardware, software, books and the "ever changing" BOS from our friends at the AAMT for which I will never be recompensed adequately.

3.  The industry has been stolen from IC's by large corporations who pay their CEO's etc. and squeeze the Transcriptionist for pennies (in order to pay those large salaries).

4.  I could go on and on, however, the last reason people complain here is not because we're "half-empty" types but because we do work at home and have no where else to speak with our peers and just "let our hair down".  This website is not only to be cheerleaders, it is to serve the needs of all transcriptionists, even when we need to complain.

I consider myself a "half-full" person.  I am grateful that I could work at home when my son was young.  I am grateful that I don't spend a lot on commuting, work clothes, etc.  However, I have had to pay for my own health insurance for years and I've taken quite a hit in the pocketbook.  If you were to work twenty-five years in a profession, have a great reputation, yet see your salary go down instead of up, you'd complain too! 

Lastly, not only rah-rah boosters are allowed to comment here.  Us "old-timers" KNOW how much we've lost due to our friends at AAMT and the corporate "Johns" that have taken over the industry.  So, yeah, we're allowed to b----!  If not here, where?

I think it's an apples and oranges thing.  Liking your job for whatever reason and being paid a fair wage for said job are two different things.  Ideally, you want both. 

I complain because I feel we as MTs are being taken advantage of and are being toyed with by some companies who emphasize the perks of being able to work from home so we won't see the dirt under the rug of not being compensated equitably for said work. 

I complain because in all the other professions I can think of, those who invest time and/or money for higher education to do the job (be it in school or on the job) are rewarded for that effort monetarily and we are not, at least to a degree where we can make a living commensurate with the effort put forth to do the job well and on a par with others in similar circumstances--starting at the bottom and growing in the profession.  If it "takes years to learn to become proficient" then let's see that reflected in our paychecks.  Some of you have that but it doesn't seem to be the norm nor are there hopes for it to be for the rest of us as we move up the ranks.

I complain because the companies emphasize how very important the medical record is and then treat us as mere typists, comodities who aren't worth the effort of trying to retain in their employ and by such an attitude pretty much giving the impression they don't need us anymore.  Then they get into a fit when they get out of TAT and push us to work extra for mere pittance and either through intimidation or meaningless flattery try to get more blood from us.     

I complain because I see all the hoop-la (sp?) about the newest technology that will supposedly enhance patient care (such as the EMR which some physicians don't review for a month or more and faster TAT with offshoring to those for whom American English is not their primary language) at the expense of job loss of experienced MTs within their own field of medicine and at the cost of actual endangerment to patient care when it all comes down to money and TAT and meeting line requirements and quality comes last.  It's a weird feeling to be proud to be an MT and uncomfortable to be one at the same time.   

I complain because I am frustrated and angry at the current state of affairs and I don't know what I can do about it.  I would venture to say perhaps that is why there is so much "negativity" on this board and I think it is normal.  We're not idiots.

Take it from a former inhouse MT who used to get paid big bucks plus overtime, you ARE VERY FORTUNATE to have the job you do!  You could be like me now that our hospital decided to outsource, and be working for what comes out to less than minimum wage!  Don't complain and just keep cashing those paychecks! 

the "stinky people" will file discrimination suits!

"I can't help it if I smell. I have a thyroid problem."

They have the right to make this "business decision". Were you the one who asked to work from home? If so, again, you have no business complaining and should be grateful for the opportunity you were given to work from home. You complained about paying the cost for DSL, computer, etc. If you use these things for business and personal use, again, you have no business complaining that the employer didn't pay the cost of these since you're using them for more than business purposes. There are just too many employees out there who don't take the risks associated with being IC and then expect to tell their employer what they want to do. It doesn't work like that. If you don't like going to the office as your employer now wants you to, find another job and quit gripping about the one that you do have on this board. It's too full of people like you.

Would you complain to management if you received a VERY snotty reprimand from a QA person who corrected your report with an absolutely incorrect "correction" or would you just ignore it?  I don't want to cause trouble, but I'm very irritated - I'm wondering if management would even care that they have snotty-ass QA people?

Heres a hug for you, there are no icons for that so here's a handshake .  I'm having a bad day also, cannot seem to focus, bad dictators, hot, and someone in my life is being a turd, to add to the bunk...and yes it might just be PMS, so I know it won't be like this forever thank God. 

which is FIND ANOTHER CAREER, PEOPLE! This one is going down the toilet! It's not just outsourcing - it's voice recognition too! This profession is going bubbye and all you can do is worry that Punjab knows you have a sore throat! 

That's not the problem at hand here! Learn to do something else before you're standing in the unemployment line hoping Seven Eleven is hiring!