How can I manage 2 jobs. I am currently
Posted By: mt on 2005-09-15
In Reply to:
working as an employee with good benefits, but I hate the company.... treated like a doormat. I work as IC part time for another company that I love and am very productive and love the sofware platform. I am considering trying to do the 1000 line requirement for the full-time in order to keep benefits, and then do 1000 lines for the company as IC. How does one juggle this type of situation?
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where does your mom manage? sm
My dad managed stores in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
I guess you are probably as surprised as I am that anyone would think that managers in big retail giants don't make good money.
use someone else to manage
Have someone else contact her as a manager besides yourself and explain to her the rules are for everybody and have to be uniform.
How do you manage that?
Gosh it must take quite a balancing act to get them all done? What do you tell one when you have to do the other? How do you decide which one you will do? Do you have other people that will cover for you when need be? Telephone must be ringing off the chain all the time....
How do you MQ employees manage
to get in your 1200 lines in only 8 hours? I am having a dickens of a time, lots of ESLs, new account, etc. Just how do you do it? I figure it will take me 12 hours! Do you ask them to approve OT or what? I'm new at this, need to know. Have to have that insurance.
Yes, I do manage to get enough work on my
account through Amherst, at least so far, but I guess I should just be considered extremely lucky.
Thanks to all... I did manage a chuckle or two
from your stories. But why does it have to be like this? Just because we work at home? I think I will go on strike. Just keep my office clean since that is the only place I get to be these days. I have a reprieve from my second job tonight so I think I will just close my eyes, close my ears and shut off all other senses to the slobs I live with and leave for night for my women's group party I did not plan to go to. Thank to all.
I do know how to manage a team, obviously,
since I have my own service. I know that you can't put someone with much less experience in a position over a bunch of people with a lot of experience. It just does not work. I not only have a lot of MT experience, but I have been a service owner for quite a few years. Before that, I worked in a hospital transcription department with a lot of seasoned MTs. Through the years you see a lot of supervisory changes and what it boils down to is the experienced MTs need/want someone who knows more than they do, someone they can go to for help, when they need it. With someone less experienced, they can't.
One of the big problems people had with Medquist when it started was that the "suits" were running things - not people who actually knew what they were doing when it came to transcription. You have to know both sides of it. And I can tell you from years and years of experience, it doesn't work when you try to put someone with less experience over those with lots of experience. The seasoned MTs have NO respect for someone who knows less than they do.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.
Were you exhausted? How do you manage?
I'm finding it hard to do the things I wanted. I also work the spli shift thing, but im so tired. I dont know if im trying to work too much and i just need to go to PT or what. Also, I would like to be more instructional, work with maps, field trips to the museums and such. How did you do that?
I manage just fine...
Wow... um, yes. I get plenty of work done. I'm not in the country and I use headphones and the noise of being outside doesn't bother me or interfere just like indoor noises (the heater, the ice maker, creaking floorboards) don't bother me inside. I also have no trouble seeing on my laptop screen and I don't have anything special for it. And, uh, it would have to be a serious insect swarm for the sound of bugs to be loud enough to keep me from hearing my work.
I don't work from bed because I'm lazy, I work in bed (occasionally, rather than calling in sick) because I have joint issues that make me more fatigued when sitting up typing all day. I would not put myself in a position where I was falling asleep on the job (I'm not lying down, I'm sitting up straight, just my back is supported and my legs are extended rather than hanging down).
I am a professional and I've been in this business a long time, I just don't see any reason to be trapped behind a desk if I don't have to be. We are fortunate enough to work in a career that gives us some perks like flexibility and a home environment, so I try to make the most of it. Being happy and comfortable enhances my production and I don't get burnt out as easily when I can change the scenery a little every now and then. Everyone should obviously work in whatever fashion helps them succeed but I don't think there's anything wrong with sitting on the porch on a nice day or working from a comfy spot on not so nice ones.
To each his own, I guess... I'd bet there are plenty of pajama-wearing MTs around here that are grateful to be able to have that option. I don't work in jammies but I do kick back once in awhile and work with my situation to the best of my ability.
Anyway... it works for me. I was just making the suggestion for others that struggle with pain issues or would like an occasional alternative to the same old desk.
I manage my former boss's websites (he has 2), --
other than that, sell some stuff I don't need anymore on ebay now and then...did about $200 a month for about a year.....got rid of most everything though I really wanted to dump...have a few things now I need to list so maybe I will get lucky this month!
I swear, the people who manage
this site should put a button right under 'main board' that says 'MQ Gripe Board' so that the seemingly hundreds of disgruntled MQ'ers can gripe and argue all day long and the rest of us would be spared. Every page of this board is filled with arguments between the MQ gripers and the few MQ folks who claim they are happy. At some point you'd think the (MQ people) would realize that non MQ'ers don't want to hear this stuff every single day, all day long.
It is very difficult to manage this program.
It has a lot of flaws, locks up frequently, some issues with voice quality, etc. I would put it at the bottom of the list of considerations.
You don't manage your own savings account?
5 grand instead of the government. 
not true, I make good $$$ and manage to come
nm
email back and mention how you don't know how they manage on so little.
Yeah, you have to be a doctor now to manage your own care!
I still have daily fevers of 100-102 18 months postop, so I know what you mean. Does the 4 abscesses draining for weeks on end tell them anything? I had severe hypertension that despite 17 doctors along with PAs and nurses could not diagnose despite "the worst headaches of my life," blood pressure of 216/106, slurred speech, collapsing in the shower, mental confusion, extremely loud tinnitus, chest pain, shortness of breath, lower extremity edema, etc. I type OPs and pain management, so I was clueless. One day I was typing "The patient started Norvasc, and his headaches improved." I ran to the doctor and stomped on the floor until I got a hypertensive. Then, what do they give me? Hydrochlorothiazide, when I have severe hypertension. Nitwits. I could go on and on. Best advise, make sure you are in charge of your care. Good luck!
Because the people who manage things in health
My thoughts are, when their bad kharma finally comes back to them, I hope it really hurts. Then they'll know how it feels to be an MT.
I am going to order Shorthand for myself today. I love it. You can also manage your words in
:+
You work full time, manage a house and cut 11 acres? No way man! Not me :)
NM
supposed to be, after people lose their jobs, they are forced to take part-time, lower-paying jobs..
with little to no benefits. service jobs. where are you going to work in a few years, when Medical Transcription is replaced by technology? McDonald's, Walmart? you really going to like that?
Several jobs on Monster & CareerBuilder for inhouse office jobs down there through an
s
I did 3 jobs for a while about 3 years ago, you burn out quick, I was doing 3 MT jobs though...after
10 months I cut down to 2 as I don't like to have all my eggs in one basket. But I am considering going down to 1 in September for my sanity, its a good steady job so financally it should not be an issue. I have 2 right but have not worked the 1 in about 3 weeks due to some problems at their end, supposed to learn a VA account but not sure if I want to pursue it right now or not, they are waiting to hear from me at this point. I still have a lot going on with chemo, etc. so am mulling things over. But if you have a full-time day job, then I would just go with 1 part-time MT job at night, unless 1 is during the week, and the other weekends only, then of course you will be working 7 days a week, very tiring I know. I have been working 7 days a week for 3 years now but I do slack off now and then of course to recharge and get sleep etc. But burnout happens fast and I doubt you want to lose your day job so be careful. Good luck. 
Two jobs very common, 3 jobs not unheard of.
x
Yup! Not only short jobs, but also jobs from
extremely difficult dictators, bad sound files, jobs that need lots of ADT info added, and anything else that is not "easy" to do. I also questioned them about this and was told the same - they do not allow cherrypicking. Definitely not true!
MQ R jobs
the R stands for Reserved. My office will call me to tell me they are reserving a job for me, for instance, if a doc calls them asking where a report is that he needs asap (don't they always) or if a doc forgot to make it STAT. The coordinator can then reserve the job for you, used to be just simply assign in the good ol days
other jobs
I think that if you were unhappy at your job and you weren't making money then it was a wise decision to get another job. I wish you well.
Where are the $20-$30/hr jobs?
Just wondering if they are out there. So far I make $10/hour or LESS and it's not going to pay bills. thanks.
no. of jobs
take some 20 files in the begining for working for 8 hours.
that is sufficient.
regards
aroun2000@gmail.com
Jobs
Like you, I've worked over 30 years in the medical field. Seems a shame to waste that knowledge sliding groceries across a scanner but what the hey, why not? At least you are working, getting paid and have some benefits. It "ain't" all that bad, is it? Our so-called "profession" is becoming a joke! I'm still working here and there but got dumped by my own group of doctors after 26 years--I think the bottom line is they didn't want to pay me big bucks any longer--even though I knew the ropes, obviously, knew more than the girls they hired, etc. Bottom line. . . money! They want to keep it all for themselves. I didn't even have sick leave for years until I screamed loud and clear! I did get a huge pension and profit sharing, though, for my grief so I guess it was worth it. I just didn't like being "dumped" so unceremoniously when I came to their rescue years ago because their Transcriptionist quit. Oh well, such is life, I guess.
Other jobs can be the same too...
I agree it is stressful to always be watching the line counts, but other jobs have stress too. I worked as a physical therapist assistant for 7 years before becoming an MT and it was all about numbers and paperwork at most places. Even had to keep a number chart at some places with how many patients seen and how many hours worked doing patient care, etc. The director wanted us to double up on patients, seeing 2 to 3 at a time. I feel lucky now to work for a supervisor who puts quality above quantity. We get paid by the hour, so lines per hour is not in the forefront, but we get bonuses if we go above what is expected. This job is much less stressful for me and easier on my back as I was lifting patients and injured my back in the process doing the physical therapy job. I also love working from home, so that is a wonderful benefit too.
Second jobs
I tried that for awhile myself. The first job picked up and I had to stop. The important thing is that you meet turnaround times for both jobs. I made it clear up front with the second job that it was a second job, and that I could not take on as much work for them, since I was full-time with the other company. However, whatever work I agreed to do, I was expected to get finished on time. It got to the point that I was not going to be able to do both and meet deadlines, so I had to give the second job up. I have worked a second job several times for various lengths of time. You just have to make sure you can realistically do both.
I'm going to try two jobs and see what happens...sm
I have always had my eggs in one basket. I recently picked up a second job and so far I really like it. When one job had no work, I just started my other job early. My first job has a set schedule, but my second has a 24 TAT, so this is beneficial to me. Originally, I was going to quit my first job after a couple weeks, but I'm going to keep both just to be safe. I have to make a certain amount in order to pay bills and I can't have my account running out of work (which happened three times last week). I just can't risk it.
Just an idea. I might actually pick up a very very part time third job too.
2 jobs?
Has anyone ever successfully worked 2 FT jobs?
2 jobs
Been doing this since 1976. Never had two jobs, but my first work-at-home job in the mid-1980s offered endless transcription. I, too, was a single partent. Before I knew it, I was working 12 hours daily (sometimes longer) 6-days-a-week on an IBM Selectric. I would work at times until midnight or beyond.
After my shift, every single day, I would pack up my reports and make about a 12-mild round trip to deliver them to the company which at the time was being run out of a residential home. I shopped cooked, cleaned and gardened in between. I would go months and months at-a-time with my only human contact outside of my home being with cashiers in the store. The only voices I ever heard (except for my son's) were electronic, from dictation and the TV.
Five years passed without a vacation. Can't remember too many holidays when I wasn't typing. It didn't seem to take much time at all before back pain was making it take longer to type the same amount of work, thus stretching my work day from 12 to 16 hours. By the time I was 34, I was diagnosed with DJD at multiple levels in my back. At age 42, I had a physical (and mental) collapse, and for the next 7 years I could not do transcription. I lost my home and my car. My son went back to live with his dad and I had to move in with my elderly mother. When unemployment ran out, I ended up on food stamps and at the door of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. They told me I wasn't "handicapped enough" to warrant assistance or job skills retraining.
I had to figure out my own physical therapy because of the public health care system was such an abdomination. That was a long and painful process. I learned how to take care of myself again and how to restore balance back into my life.
Ultimately I ended up back behind the computer cranking out medical reports again. I work 5 days, not six, and I type 8 hours over a 10-hour window, allowing for plenty of "stretch" breaks and time out for lunch. When my shift is over, it's OVER
2 jobs
Been doing this since 1976. Never had two jobs, but my first work-at-home job in the mid-1980s offered endless transcription. I, too, was a single parent. Before I knew it, I was working 12 hours daily (sometimes longer) 6-days-a-week on an IBM Selectric. I would work at times until midnight or beyond.
After my shift, every single day, I would pack up my reports and make about a 12-mild round trip to deliver them to the company which, at the time, was being run out of a residential home. I shopped, cooked, cleaned and gardened in between. I would go months and months at-a-time with my only human contact outside of my home being the cashiers in the grocery store. The only voices I ever heard (except for my son's) were electronic, from dictation and the TV.
Five years passed without a vacation. Can't remember too many holidays when I wasn't typing. It didn't seem to take much time at all before back pain was making it take longer to type the same amount of work, thus stretching my work day from 12 to 16 hours. By the time I was 34, I was diagnosed with DJD at multiple levels in my back. At age 42, I had a physical (and mental) collapse, and for the next 7 years I could not do transcription. I lost my home and my car. My son went back to live with his dad and I had to move in with my elderly mother. When unemployment ran out, I ended up on food stamps and at the door of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. They told me I wasn't "handicapped enough" to warrant assistance or job skills retraining.
I had to figure out my own physical therapy because the public health care system was such an abdomination. That was a long and painful process. I learned how to take care of myself again and how to restore balance back into my life.
Ultimately I ended up back behind the computer cranking out medical reports . I work 5 days, not 6, and I type 8 hours over a 10-hour window, allowing for plenty of "stretch" breaks and time out for lunch. When my shift is over, it's OVER. I have a life now.
I can tell you this much. When I look back on those years, my regrets are not because of what happened to my house, my car or even my body. I was able to get all those things back eventually. But I never figured out how to have a second chance to be there for my son more when he needed me. I was usually too exhausted to help him with his school work. Missed a bunch of soccer games. The TV and video games were his babysitter when he was younger. He was a latch-key kid and during his junior high and high school years, he and his friends (usually other latch-key kids of workaholic parents) virtually ended up raising themselves.
I was lucky. He turned out just fine. But I can say without hesitation that the extra money, the good house and the new cars were most definitely not worth the price I paid to get them and I am a whole lot happier (and better off) without them. I indulge myself in simple pleasures that money can't buy and live a full and satisfying life now.
If I had it to do over again.......
2 jobs
Whoops! Sent this incomplete message by accident. Completed message posted abov.
2 jobs sm
I did not lose anything, but for the grace of God, but you told my story work-wise. I had to "retire" because of the back pain and each day that goes by, I think of returning to the same work because that's all I know after all these years of 100 hour work weeks. However, the posts on this board are very discouraging as to who to work for, etc. If I had it to do over, I probably would not have "killed" myself the way I did, but then again, my son would never have gotten his master's degree. Can't win. I am using a laptop and can't do much else for too long without wicked back pain. Paying the price for being an over-achiever but still have high hopes "repairing the damage" myself once again and doing this again soon. I thank God to still be here but pray the back pain will go away. Tried PT, heat packs, all kinds of gadgets, but the damage is done - overuse to say the least. A rheumatologist had the brass ones to say he sees "nothing wrong" with me. Good God, I wish he could feel the way I do just for one day. I sure am relating to others today. My gift, I guess, there's always someone worse off. Take care of yourself. We all need to share to help others not make the same mistakes we did. Don't overdo it and do it ergonomically correct or the damage will be permanent. Thanks for sharing your story today.
That would be 2 FT jobs....nm
s
jobs
Check online on MT Jobs...there are quite a few services on there that are hiring, most of which are asking for only 5+ yrs experience. I've been applying past couple weeks. I have 24 yrs experience, & got the definite impression that they're nearly desperate for us seasoned pros!
JOBS.
I hear people complaining from the big companies that they hate their jobs or that they are low on work and etc. So, it brings me to this question; I have been working for a small MTSO and was thinking about trying to get on with a big company, but then I read all of the bad posts about them. What do you think is better? Dont the Big Nationals offer benefits?
Thanks tonz for all then INFO!!
jobs
Hi, I apologize in advance if this is posted in the wrong spot. I live in Grand Rapids, MI, and my husband has been looking for a job since September, to no avail. If anyone knows of anything open around our area, could you please send me an email? I would greatly appreciate it. My husband has 10+ years experience in customer experience. We aren't even getting any unemployment, so it's been very difficult. Thanks so much just for reading this, and God bless you.
Some of the new jobs are second and third
jobs obtained by people whose primary job doesn't pay enough to take care of basic needs - thanks to corporate greed and the government's complicity in absolutely ruining the middle class little by little!! 
There might be MT jobs but only 1 for every 10...sm
I've been in the field for 25 years and been watching very closely what is happening with outsourcing, VR and EMR. I bought a VR program and became proficient with it to see if it can be done. I went to the hospital in the next town when I heard they had a VR program that in 30 days, had the docs doing their own radiology transcription, without proofing. I went to the EMR conferences to see what the programs can and cannot do. If you think you have 30 years of MT work left until you retire, you will be in for a big surprise...There is a huge push to automate. The only work left will be crappy ESL's that the machine can't understand. Oh, there might be jobs, but 1 job for every 10. Wages will fall, and it will be cutthroat. Only the most shrewdest MT's will survive. Dictaphone is a million dollar company that will only exist if they can convince doctors to keep dictating. Yet they know the cost has to be competitive. Solution: Speech recognition. They put their smartest engineers on task to find a way to make it work. They consulted with MT's to find out how to make it efficient for editing. And guess what? They were successful. As far as India taking the work, in a few years, there will be experienced MT's that can do the work.
Best advice I can give is to at least get a bachelor's. It will get you in the door somewhere doing something you like. I'm getting mine in a field that is growing and can't be outsourced...nursing. I LOVE working from home  but I don't have my head in the sand.
VA jobs
I did VA overflow for a while and I did NOT like it. Talk about poor dictators, bad reports, etc. Also the government does not want to pay much. Very frustrating to me and gave up after a month or so. This was a couple of years back but it was way worse than any teaching hopsital that I have done. Of course I did to a lot of psych posttraumatic reports that were really weird. But that is just my opinion.
new jobs
i see where a lot of people are getting out of transcription and thinking about doing something else I was just wondering what else people were getting into knowing that MT will no longer exist in probably 5-8 years and the fact that we are getting older, etc. Are you staying in the medical field at all or getting out all together? Would like to know what some of you are doing to make up for the income that we seem have lost over the past 5-6 years and will continue to lose (as it sounds) to make ends meet???
I like my 2 jobs, too! nm
x
two jobs
This may not help, but just to add to your thoughts - I work 2 jobs, one 12 hour shift and then I go home and do transcription part time for now. I am trying to find a full time transcription job so that I can quit my 12 hour/day job. Luckily, there are many jobs out there for us that have flexible schedules, and that is my hopes. My advise to you is the same: Look for flexible scheduling.
two jobs
It is hard doing it that way, I've done it before, although my full time job was out of the house, so I had the break for the drive.
I now work full time at home and also part time. My part time position is a couple hours a day, but has a 24-hour TAT, which helps tremendously. I have a couple of choices of when I can do the work, which really helps.
Having a set schedule has its advantages though. When you are done, you are done, and can make plans for the times you don't work. If you have to do it the way you explained, I would at least give yourself an hour break in between.
2 jobs
I have a 35 hour a week job at a hospital coding and then 20-30 hours a week at home as MT. I need the outside contact with people. I like both jobs but wouldn't want to MT or code for that many hours.
My hospital job gets me out of the house and provide affordable insurance. My at home MT job is a lifesaver as far as extra money.
I think if you have to have 2 jobs
do MTon production for less hours and something else besides typing for an hourly wage. I think it would be very difficult to have 2 full time MT jobs. 
Yes I have one of those jobs....
I work at home but do so for the local hospital here.
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