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How about your local community college and save a heap of money & get just as good of an education?

Posted By: Marsha on 2005-11-22
In Reply to: Andrews or M-TEC - mtstudent

  


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Your local community college. Just as good and a heckofalot cheaper!
 
Your local community college...

It will cost a **** of a lot less, and your education will be just as good.  Many will tell you that you only get help in job placement, externship, be ready to work, etc. via Andrews, etc., but that's just not true because they just don't know any better.  Besides, that's a great sales pitch/gimmick, isn't it? 


In learning this field, you need a classroom setting and hands' on experience/instruction. You'll see exactly what I mean when you get in the thick of it, or even starting out in learning it, for that matter.


I went to a local community college
I started working for a small local MTSO.
Local community college nm
x
Check out your local community college -SM
I can't speak for all of them, but the one I went to offered externship programs and job placements for their best and brightest students.  An acquaintenance of mine also got her MT training at a local college, and they did the same thing.  Be careful, however, of the online courses.  They cost a lot of money - much, much more than your local college, and you won't get the hands-on training or be able to get your questions answered in a flash with them as you would in an actual college setting.  Also, an associate's degree at a college is much more impressive than admitting you received your training via an online course.  That, to me, just sounds so "fly by night."   
I vote for local community college.
If you attend a community college, it helps to network.  If you do on-line training, you won't have the social part of your training.  Also, it helps to try and find an on-site position at first to gain the knowledge although since you are already in a clerical position, you probably know more about anatomy and the hospital/medical setting than you even think.  I wish you all the best.  Another good thing about a local community college is that sometimes they know of great jobs because the teachers are also employed or know of jobs.  You will have a certificate of training in an MT program, but a certified MT is done through the AAMT or whatever it is now, and is not worth the money in my opinion.  You wind up after paying a few hundred dollars getting to put CMT after your name, but not when you transcribe a report.  For example, even CMTs cannot put XXX/xxx, CMT if you catch my drift.  
I graduated from a local community college. sm
Had my first job before graduation but it was in-house with hourly pay and great benefits. Those are very hard to find anymore. I worked in-house for my first 2 years and then went on maternity leave picking up side work through a company for more income. Realized I was tripling my money going from hourly to production by that time, turned in my notice, and never looked back. Been at home ever since. If at all possible, in the beginning I would recommend to anyone to work inhouse even if it is for a transcription company. The value of having other "ears" is definitely not something to take for granted. I also learned as much as I could while getting that hourly pay as time is money when on production. I have to say I probably would not be near as proficient of an MT today had it not been all those hours learning and having another ear around to help out when stuck.

You bring up a point too though that I haven't really thought about before....With all the transcription being outsourced out of the office, it is only going to get much more difficult for anyone to get those breaks and get the required "experience" as a beginner.
I'm going to a local community college for culinary arts, I'm 52. nm
xxx
If you want to work at a local hospital or doctor's office, go to community college. Otherwise
if you want to work from home, for a national company, you need to take the course from either Andrews School or M-TEC. It does you no good to save money by taking the Penn Foster course, because most companies will NOT hire grads from that school, it is a poor course and does NOT prepare you sufficiently for MT work.
Either one are 9 month courses at the local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
Pharmacy tech 15 weeks, polysomnography 7 month course at local community college..worth a shot!
!!!
community college. those online courses/schools are not very good and
very expensive.

but don't do it just to work at home.
I also went to a community college
and never had any problems finding a job. In fact, I got my first job at home before I was even finished with school. I took all my classes online and have worked from home for the past 3 years here with my kids. I say go for it!
Given by a community college? What school is
z
I was fortunate with community college
I took courses through my local community college's continuing education program. The instructors were people who worked in the medical field during the day and taught at night. By doing exceptionally well in the classes and being a model student, I was recommended by a couple of the instructors and got a start at the office where one instructor worked before I even finished my transcription class.

Once I got my foot in that first door, I've been working steadily and successfully ever since. I had only a couple of classes under my belt!

The approved schools are probably the best chance for work after graduation, but opportunities can arise wherever you train.


I went through Bellevue Community College
Also the CareerStep program online with once a month meetings if we lived close. Got a Sallie Mae grant. Got hired by MQ right out of school (after testing). Careerstep is one of the best schools and one of the only ones you can get hired straight out of school. I would not really recommend transcription anymore, though. It is not the job it used to be, paywise. Coding is still good pay I hear.
Everett Community College
online has a transcription course and since it is a community college, should be able to get financial aid. Try that. Google it.
I actually borrowed a set from the library at the community college here.
I used them as long as I needed to, then returned them.
You don't owe your children a college education at all.
My personal advice to my own children was/is this: As long as you want to invest your effort and energy, I will help you past high school in getting an education.

If you stay home while you attend and keep good grades, I will provide your transportation, you can live here rent-free, eat here, and we will work together to make sure you have all your college expenses paid for and have some pocket money.

If you choose to live out, as long as I see you are keeping your grades, I will give you a limited set amount of financial aid.

However, if you feel I owe it to you or you fail to respect my effort to assist you, then you are on your own.

I also tied their inheritance to their achievements. The more they do for themselves and the higher the education, the greater the percentage of their inheritance. If they felt it wasn't necessary to prepare themselves now, don't count on my estate assisting them later.

It is hard to let them make these mistakes sometimes but the more painful it is for them, the quicker they learn. Doesn't take but touching the hot stove once for a kid to realize I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!!
College education and outsourcing
Radiologists' jobs are moving to India as well. Engineers also. Any type of medical degree that does not involve direct patient care can and is being exported.
When I said vo-tech, I meant community college just in case you were wondering (nm)
nm
Went to community college too..had a job in-house within 2 months, the first and only place I applie
//
My SIL finished a course at a local college

She got a job on-site and could be sent home, but she has decided to cross-train for a management position.  If she takes it, the salary is $65,000.00 per year.  So tell me there isn't money in this business.  She just finished her course!!! 


I went to a local business college which sucked.

My first job was a p.r.n. position with a local hospital filling in for vacations and people off sick.  That's where the real education came from.


See if your local college has an MT program that you can just take certain units of, like terminol
s
I probably read about it on MSN or someone mentioned it to me. Maybe call local college or JUCO
?
Well, not really. In college I did a gruelng intership at a local express emergency clinic and got p
gas, lunch, uniform, etc., AND the head doctor ended up sexually harrassing me! I kid you not! So, I don't think anyone without any experience getting paid 3 cents to learn MT in their own home setting is half bad.....It could be worse. They could ask you to do it for free.

PS: My college major was nursing.
save your money...
I've used it before. The software they include on the cd is Express Scribe which can be downloaded for free on the internet.

http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/

I was thinking about buying the All 'n One kit too, but I found that it was cheaper to buy the foot pedal and headphones separately and download the software for free.






It is so they can save money....
If they outsource, they will have 24/7 coverage, no need to pay out benefits, no need to pay vacation time, etc.  This has happened to many, but all that you can really do is either work for that outsourced company or find another job.  It's tough out there!  Sorry to hear that you're being outsourced.  You are not obsolete though, as I'm making more money anyway now than I ever have at my hourly job that I lost after 15 years to outsourcing... 
Everyone is trying to save money
the short way of saying between the head and stomach?  LOL  Thanks for the cheering up today!
Save your money, this is free ...
http://style.mtreference.com/tiki-index.php
engagement party? save your money. nm
nm
Maybe this will finally force DH and I to NOT eat out so much, save money there. nm
x
Try buying it from Half.com to save a little money.
How familiar are you with word expanders? The book has some great tips for newbies.
Parents - do you have your kids save money? sm
Our children have savings accounts and know that 33% of any money they earn from doing extra chores, babysitting, given as gifts, has to go into their savings account.  Do you have your children save money and if so, what are the rules at your house for this?  
Save your money on the 2006 version - why -
I have used the CD version ever since it has been available and loved it, UNTIL the 2006 version. It is very different from the prior versions. It is far more cumbersome to use, is not designed for speed, and was such a waste of time I went back to using the 2005 version and just adding in the new drugs. My comments and questions to Stedman's about their latest version went unanswered. Like I said, I was very pleased with the prior versions and updated every year, but I will never buy this product again unless it is MT friendly, which the 2006 version is NOT.
Sounds like facility is trying to save money by
I have a job where MTs were to put in billing and coding number.  Use # X for emergency admits, except if it is Tuesday and sunny, then use # XX.  That sort of thing. I had no idea what I was doing but figured if Dr was going to sign off on this mess, it was all on him. 
I forgot to mention how I save money on clothes...sm

The clearance racks are my best friends - often times I can find things there cheaper than on consignment or at Good Will.


Another thing I do is that I have a friend whose daughter is 1 size smaller than my daughter is, so in return for me giving her the hand-me-downs she will occasionally buy my daughter something new or give me the amount of money that I'd get if it went to consignment, and I don't have to deal with waiting for a consignment check. 


If your kids/you like named brand items for clothing eBay can be great.  My sister buys my nephew's Abercrombie clothes on eBay for usually around $10 a shirt - these are shirts that normally sell for $35-45 in the stores.  


Another thing I do is that I have a friend who wears the same sizes that I do and we have similar clothing tastes, so we often do "clothes swap" where we'll swap out some jeans, shirts, etc.  That way it sorta seems like you're getting something new. 


 


that is what gets me, how do companies figure they save money overseas...
they pay you 4 cpl to edit a report, and probably the other person 4 or 5 cpl, that is already as much as they pay one American MT. I realize our MTs also use QA and editing, but on average, they must be losing money this way.

maybe the key is to refuse to edit them. what would they do with that? they could not possibly send reports out without us 'doctoring' them up.

we should just not edit them.

I do think editing the VR should be something we will all end up doing.

shouldn't we have some organization to help us make sure we make at least as much as we do now, though. you are only making 4 cpl, who comes up with that figure, and when did that become the standard? who decided that, what is their reasoning, and why do we have to accept it?

we need help here, especially with all the changes coming. what a disappointment the only organization that probably could have helped us (AAMT) has decided instead to become like any other corporation, just make money, period.

we need a VOICE, a single united VOICE...

we should be putting our heads together to try and do something to save our jobs.
I get my dogs heartworm pills there, save a ton of money - sm
I also get my Frontline there too. They save me hundreds of $$$ every year. Same exact stuff the vet sells, just cheaper, I imagine they can sell it for less because they buy it in bulk. Go for the savings, you and your dog will be very happy.
Save your money....there are websites and chat rooms

that are full of messages about scams......research, research and never, ever pay.  These places want you to feel 'rushed' so that you don't have time to really think or check them out.


Good luck and please beware.


I asked an obesity MD speaking at a conference, and she said save your money.
w
Walmart is trying to save the consumer MONEY. It's not all about corporate greed.
Rubbermaid products are advertised. So the costs of doing business with Rubbermaid factor in advertising costs. Now I don't care what brand name of plastic container I buy if the quality is equal. So I buy Rubbermaid's competitor (I forget the name) cheaper because they don't advertise. I also think there are a lot of big executives at Rubbermaid who take a bigger profit each year which once again factors in the price of Rubbermaid.

With the economy as it is, gas prices soaring, interest rates up, taxes up, our pay going down (MQMT), I don't care to subsidize Rubbermaid's advertising budget or their CEOs salary. And I go to Walmart and buy the plastic container that is cheaper because they don't advertise.
Go to Stedmans.com and download the free trial and save your money on overnight shipping
xx
Interpro is the worst - bottom of the trash-heap
x
Good advice...thanks! I'll save my $$ (NM)
.
Can somone recommend a good health insurance plan for my son who is in college? *sm*
He needed one more class for his bachelor's degree and because he is not considered full-time, he is no longer covered on my plan.  Thanks.
Good money? Can we ask how much is considered GOOD in your books????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Thanks. It's a local rad company, so it'd probably be a good thing.
IF I can even do it.
Good for you. I love my local at home job.

there's all kinds of *education* and education
.