I've got 35 years' experience, transcribe sm
Posted By: nfm on 2007-06-28
In Reply to: Is it possible to make a living off of 4 cents a line? - Newbie trying to pay the rent
300 lph, and nearly went bankrupt when I worked for a company for 7 cpl. I didn't stay there long!
My advice is to keep your day job until you can find something better after you have learned lots, lots more.
Newbie MTs remind me of tiny newly hatched turtles heading for the big ocean! Only a few survive.
Take your time and learn as much as you can on safe, solid ground.
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Well I don't know anything with all my years experience because I only transcribe clinic work ..
Other than that, I see quite a few replies to your original message so hmmm
...when you've had a few years of experience. Graduating
s
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
So how many years of college do you have, and why do you still transcribe? (n/m)
Geez
Yes, 25 years here - all acute care. You name it, I transcribe it.
Can't complain - I have a great account and high cpl rate. It took a lot of energy and was very time consuming to find it - but it was well worth it.
My best friend has been a nurse for years but I would not have her transcribe for me...
Believe it or not, we do more than "just type." Working the equipment and software is just a small part of it.
I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft. My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones. When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard. Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones. The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye.
Same experience here. I've had
MTs/CMTs apply who completely failed the testing, and become very, very nasty when I sent them the test results. I loved finding ANYONE who could ace testing, and if they were a CMT that was just fine. But having a CMT in no way demonstrated that they could transcribe reports better than anyone else.
I rejoiced as much the day my CMT expired as I did the day I received the "you passed!" letter in the mail.
Live and learn.
How many years experience as MT? nm
x
Yes, I could see 9 CPL with 18 years experience!
I am just a newbie doing clinic reports. I get 7 CPL and am grateful that MQ was willing to hire me right out of school. I sure hope all the bad rumors do not materialize. I am hoping to get in more experience before the rug is ripped out from under me. I am glad that you posted. There were rumors about the 'new' minimum lines being 8,000 PPP and I am only up to 6,000. So I might be Okay in that area. Did they state anything about any certain percentage of reports going to QA. That is another rumor going around, that only 15% of reports can go to QA, which does not make sense as I know they don't want us GUESSING what the doctor said!
With 2 years experience!
It is a good thing to make that much with so little experience. HOw did you start editing with only 2 years experience? How can you possibly know enough of the language of medicine to edit? I call someone with 2-4 years experience a newbie not an experienced editor.
Is this right? MUST HAVE: 2 years' experience
bn
15 years of experience and you don't know
x
Well, she's now said she has 16 years MT experience
and explain to me how she has been in this field for 16 years and does not know medical terminology? An impossibility. Maybe she did not understand their format, how to access or send back work, any number of other issues - but if you have that many years experience - you definitely know what you are doing MT-wise. And I am the poster from below who was let go after all the changes by the MTSO - and her true belief that her way was the RIGHT way and the only way and how could I not see that (???).... there are so very, very rude people out there - lucky for you perhaps you have not met one yet - your time may still come - and perhaps you will take a different attitude. I agree that there are really some dingy MTs out there - I do QA - I see it daily - the terms are hysterical they come up with - well they are funny when they are not serious - but you don't last 16 years and not know your stuff.
Thanks. You can do it with 14 years' experience! (nm)
x
7 years experience here, doing
multispecialty clinic work for local lady who has her own accounts and get .10 per gross line, also work for a medium sized national and get 7.5 per 65-char line. Same as the other poster, would rather have enough of the .10 per line, but it is not there.
With 22 years of experience. :)
nm
10 years experience s/m
I've been with MQ for going on 10 years now and only make 7.75 cpl. I am a "tier 2" - doing acute care basic 4, clinics, specialty clinics and even some cardiac procedures and OP notes. I recently interviewed with 3 companies and was offered anywhere from 8.5 to 9.5 cpl. With your experience, I would certainly expect to be making 9 cpl, unless you can pick up some private accounts on your own.
Another thing to consider is whether or not you'll be needing benefits. My experience has been that IC pay is a little better because there are no benefits. The line rates I listed above do not include any incentives which may be offered. That's also something you should take into consideration when looking. Those rates are based on a 65-character line - spaces and demographics included.
I have 15 years experience, mostly
heme/onc, endocrine, ortho, etc. I have been exposed to op notes for the past 8 weeks and absolutely despise them - cannot make my line counts after previously being well above what is needed. If you can afford to take the cut in pay to learn them, go for it, but I sure cannot.
Someone with 30 years experience does not need CMT after their name.
Okay, 25 years experience,
and STILL having this problem. Now I don't feel so bad. I really feel for you! I don't know about the QA keeping busy, as they are always complaining how swamped they are. They just get mad when you send too many blanks and they are supposed to fix it, when the real person to be upset with s/b the dictator! Do they talk to THEM, no! Then stop complaining already!
How many years experience do you have? If over 10,
I mean, if you have 10, 20, 30 years experience, how do you like receiving the same pay as a newbie just out of school or with only 6 months to 2 years experience? Don't you think you've paid your dues and earned your stripes and deserve better pay than what the noobs get?
I have 3 years experience.
I agree that someone with many years experience should get somewhat higher pay. But more experience doesn't always equal a better MT. There are some people in this field who have been around a long time and probably shouldn't be in it. And like it or not, if you want to make decent money, you have to be fast. Accurate and knowlegeable also, but if you're not fast and using every tool at your disposal, you'll never make good money.
years experience sm
If you go at it looking for a job, and put in 10 years or so, it'll come back as no jobs fitting that category - in other words, no one is willing to pay for people WITH experience!!
I have almost 30 years experience and
am making 9 to 11 cpl on a tiered system at my FT job and 10 cpl at my IC job.
or it could be MTs with 5 or more years experience...
I have been an MT for 10 years and I am only 31 :)
I've had lots of experience with this...sm
as a foster parent. Here's some suggestions for you:
- Don't negotiate a kid's negative behavior like that counselor recommended all of the time - make negotiating a rarity instead of the actual standard rule. YOU are the parent and in charge, not the child. If you negotiate then they'll always think that life is a big negotiation pool.
- Be consistent. Set up the house rules and consequences/rewards and even write them out for the child. For example, set up a sticker chart and every day the child brushes his teeth without being told twice to do so he gets a sticker, and when he gets "x" stickers accumulated he gets a small prize. In my house we have what is called a grab bag, which contains items that I got at the dollar store. The grab bag is a dark laundry bag and the child cannot see in there - they have to reach in there and grab a prize out. On the other hand - anytime the child misbehaves, i.e. does something to make the younger sibling cry on purpose, they lose a sticker. Kids his age usually do well with having to obtain around 10 stickers to get rewarded.
- Talk with the teacher about what is going on and ask them to try techniques to help build his self-esteem. Oftentimes they'll do things like this by asking your child if they'd like to be the team captain for a game. A lot of schools have school counselors available for free, so if this is available ask the school counselor to also spend time with him.
- Socialize your child as much as possible with other kids. Sports are great for this and allows them to burn off energy. Playgrounds are superb as well.
- I also love the John Rosemond stuff - he's great on getting kids negative behaviors turned around.
- Most importantly make sure your child knows you love him. Spend a few minutes each day snuggling/loving on him or at least trying to. There will be days he'll be refractory to this but other days he'll appreciate it.
- Never speak negative about his biological father to him or when he can hear you. Kids don't understand when they have a parent that is bad and things like this often cause them to misbehave more. I've had kids come to me whose parents were horrible parents/people yet the child still loves them.
- Don't forget to take time out for yourself. Enjoy that bubble bath!
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any further questions. Good luck!
I've had similar experience
Yes, I think I do know what you mean. Especially since I am familiar with the account, I know what the format is and where the same ASR mistakes are made and go through and fix them while playing the audio. It's like I can read, listen, look ahead and fix all at the same time.
It is faster than typing in general; however, to keep my hourly rate up I really have to stay at it and get in the "zone," without getting up much. After a while I feel kind of stressed out. I think I have traded one kind of tired for another.
Are you saying you have 2+ years experience and only make .04 cpl? -- if so you really need to look
for something a little better. That is a total slave wage.......I make .085 now with 3+ years, and I started at .06 with 1 job, and .075 at another, and .085 at another (until they changed their pay tier then down to .07 which sucked). My goal is .10 eventually......believe me you can do better, start looking if you are not already.
Actually, no, MT with 9 years experience. So, I can only assume
not organized, or just dawdling. Who knows, but it is frustrating.
I did a couple years ago and it was of no help...just my experience..nm
.
I have 20 years' experience. I once took a test for
a company that was I currently working for because I had heard so many people were flunking it and I flunked it too. I am a very good MT, and my company called the extraordinary even, but I still flunked the test. I also tested for another company and made a 79 I think.
Who hires with 2 years' experience?
I want to get back into MT work, but everything seems to be acute care/hospital dictation. I have some experience in that area but not 2-3 years' worth. Anyone have ideas?
30+ years, and similar experience to yours. (sm)
I just quit a clinic I'd been at for over 25 years. Was treated like dirt, and when other employees got a COL raise and I did not, I was told I had "worked there too long." Nice, huh?
Have over 25 years worth of experience and do you think
I made more because of all the years? Better think again. My salary now for straight typing is 8 cents a line. Most of the companies are not willing to pay us like we made in the past. I am not upset about this for myself but I know others are not as fortunate in that they have to raise families on less and less.
Can I help? Ortho/WC MT experience x14 years.
You need help on something???
20 years' experience in Radiology
Please email me privately and I'll be glad to give my 2 cents.
What I make with 22 years of experience
Here's my experience. I have been making around 10 cents per line since 1997. I was with ddi and then Medquist for a total of around 16 years. In 1997, I was given my last raise - mind you, I asked for ALL of them, no one ever offered them to me. After that, I was told I was in "highest tier" etc., etc. Even when I offered to work on more difficult account (back when that still mattered and we were offered extra) - I was told I already made higher than the difficult account offered. So, I have made the same cpl since 1997, yes, 11 years. I hit just over $40,000 one year out of the 22 years... otherwise, I range from 35,000 to 38,000 if it is a good year. I am dedicated, work full time, weekends as required, and holidays as when possible/the number required. When I started looking to leave MQ, I was offered 8 and 8.5 cpl - my experience was irrelevant, though all the companies seemed to be quite gleeful to be getting all the MTs out there with many years of experience for 8 cpl... One company offered to up the 8.5 to 9 cpl if I would work their night shift and only ops on their most difficult account. No thanks. I work days. I finally found a place that offered me a lateral move. Really like where I am now but if I think too hard about it, still blown away that something I love to do has led to making the same amount of money I was making 11 years ago... with really, no hopes of more, unless I live and breathe MT and become a workaholic. I'm 43, by the way, been doing this since I was 21. Because of my move to a new company a year ago though, I refound my love of MT. Good luck.
30 years' experience of transcription
Have transcribed for 30+ years in internal medicine, cardiology, orthopedics and pulmonary
With 10 years experience, I wouldn't
A QA with years of verifiable experience
has no problem working and adapting to multiple different accounts. That's what they do. It is much more difficult to train an MT to be a new QA than to hire an experienced QA. BTDT.
P.S. - with 15 years experience, I'd encourage you to go for it.
You might not get hired the first or second or even third time you apply, but as long as your experience matches up with what kind of work the company does, you certainly would have a decent shot.
In the same boat but 16 years of experience
Well, actually I got to test for one company and somehow I actually failed and I'm not even sure what or how that happened. Talk about spirit crushing. Now, I cannot get an offer to test except for the jobs that want to pay peanuts like 3 cpl for 5 years of Escription experience. No thanks. I'll just starve LOL. I think the biggest problem is that the good jobs are few and far in between and everyone and their dogs are applying. I don't stand a chance. Time for career change.
12 cpl, 24 years experience. I am not giving name of company.
x
Many MTs have failed tests with 20+ years of experience. sm
It shocks me how incredibly BAD some "experienced" MTs do on those tests. I cringe to think of what they've been typing for years. So, people will claim that they're "all that," and they may well be, but recruiters won't know it unless you prove it.
Also, a resume is occasionally more fiction than fact, which I've seen proved out more than once. Years of op note experience and they can't spell Vicryl. Ayup! Sure thing.
Meghan, with 9 years of experience and if you are an employee and if
this is your first QA job, I would say $14 is about average to just a tad below average. I think $15 is a better figure, but I would pay probably $14 for someone on their first QA job with your experience, but I would definitely if I were you do some looking or try harder to get your hourly pay increased.
Great!! I have years of experience as a transcription
x
And I have 25 years of acute care experience
x
Well, I have 25 years experience also in all work types
and only do acute care with a line rate of 10.5 cpl M-F and 11 cpl on the weekends.
You can negotiate it a little harder, and you will get it depending on their needs, I guess.
It is MDI-Maryland.
Hon, I have 16 years acute care experience sm
in all work types/specialties and only getting 9 cpl as an employee with a service plus incentives.
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