I've used my laptop to MT for about 5 years, full-time. Couldn't
Posted By: transcribe any other way. sm on 2006-05-18
In Reply to: Do any of you transcribe using a laptop? - Linda Andrews, CMT, FAAMT
I love being portable, plus I have a small working space. It's great transcribing on the deck (or at the beach) on nice days. Have never had any technical issues; there's always some sort of adapter thingie that's available for whatever comes up.
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Not anymore. For some time now, I've been working 32 hours and am considered full time to receive
p
I've been using a laptop exclusively for 6 years.
I use an external keyboard 99.9% of the time, use the laptop keyboard if I'm in the car. I'm used to the monitor, but if you're used to a larger one you can also hook up an external monitor. Not sure how many USB ports computers have now, but I have 3 on my laptop and I have a USB hub I can connect if I need more. I haven't used a desktop in so long, but I can't think of an advantage of one over the other.
I have a power box that all my equipment hooks into that I sit my laptop on top of. You will need to elevate it in some way or you'll get a crick in your neck.
I've worked on a laptop only for going on 7 years.
I do use an external keyboard the majority of the time though. The USB WiFi does not accept a card, it is small, plugs into a USB port and acts like your card does, you don't use a card. Go to a website like best buy and search for Wireless USB adapters and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Actually, I have not worked as a full time MT for nine years
and that's the problem. Is there hope for me to get back in to MT even though I've been out of it for so long. I did work part-time from home from the lab for about two years after that.
Shelley
I've been doing it at home strictly full time for a couple of monts, but
I have 6 years of inhouse exp where my duties was divied up with other admin work and 1 1/2 years on and off exp doing it as an IC at home....so again, I'm no rookie....which is what is frustrating. My oldest is on sprnig break, so if I haven't been fired by next week, hopefully I will get better by then.
Yeah, but full-time lines does not necessarily mean full-time hours, so I would do it if your produc
-
I work a full time and a part time, but not sure about 2 full-time...
My hubbie is disabled and I am the only one in my family working also, so I fully understand. You will not have a day off at all working 2 full-time as that is going to be the only way you will get in all your hours. I work one job in the mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the other from 5 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and do have off one day a week, but if I had to get in the extra 15 hours to make the other job full-time I am not sure how I would do that other than lose my only day off. Also, make sure you have your account specifics in front of you at all times because you will get yourself confused as to who is what and having notes will help in that area. Good luck to you, as it is possible, but forget about your house being clean, having any social life, etc. Feel free to email me personally if you just need someone to talk to, as I have been where you are and still am.
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
Working full time at home with small children is hard but part time works great
is almost impossible. You will either have to work when your spouse is home or for only a few hours during the day and then more when they are asleep. I work part time at home and my kids (2&5 now) have done very, very well. They are great kids, very well behaved, don't get into much. I stop working to check on them/give them some attention every hour or so while I work (5 hours each afternoon or so) and they get all my attention in the morning and at night. It has worked out beautifully for us.
full-time in office/ part-time at home
I currently work full-time in a physician's office and have started part-time online. My hope is to eventually go full-time online; however that will be done the road for a single mom with a son in college. My suggestion would be try to type part-time for a MTSO and see how that goes i.e work and money with a decision down the road for ultimately being home all the time. A guaranteed paycheck is always a necessity for me. Hope this helps.
I work part-time hours with full-time pay...
I made over 26,000 this year...
full time, part time, statutory
newly defined full time...
newly defined part time....(which is an added classification)
I believe statutory just was not mentioned because there is nothing new about the definition of statutory.
full time/part time/statutory
The definition of full time is new.
There is a new classification called part time.
I believe statutory was not mentioned merely because that has not changed and they do not receive PTO/benefits.
I work 1 full-time, 2 part-time....nm
NM
I couldn't agree more. Lost my mom 13 years ago sm
this coming August. I miss her the most on Mother's Day.
The first time he said it, I couldn't wait to see it too. nm
x
We couldn't keep up interest & attendance to keep the chapter going. This was years ago. nm
s
part-time or full-time
I'm curious. Are you FT or PT? Thanks.
1 full time and 1 part time for now
I am still pretty new, so that is all I am taking on. I may take on more after I get more experience, if possible.
I watched it both times and couldn't believe it either time.
I really doubt they let them do actual work. It was probably practice stuff and just made them do X number of minutes of dictation or x number of hours and they just had to muddle through and type whatever they thought it was. I saw a few lines of what the husband typed and it made no sense from what I saw, so I think they just had to put in the time and guess, just to get a feel for what she does.
last time I used CS, supposedly you couldn't use expanders
in it but my ShortCut for Windows worked just fine. Also, supposedly there was a way to link InstanText to work in CS too but I don't know how since I didn't use that expander.
As far as the autotext files from Word...no, you can't import them into CS at all. You'll have to make an entirely new list within CS.
No, I got my credential 30 years ago, didnt keep up hours. couldn't afford to. so now I'm ju
but like i said, cant take away my knowledge.
Are you full-time?
I was just wondering how they expect people to get a quota with no work.
$1,100.00 full time
x
Are you full-time?
How many lines do you do a day? I personally think this is very low even for a newbie, but I'm wondering if your accounts are REALLY easy and you have a lot of "normals" (macros) where you can get great line counts in a short period of time. Just my opinion and I'm no expert but I'd say they ARE taking advantage . . . .
I would say full time 1,000 to 1,200 per day. nm
nm
Its not me, its my full time job
Its not me being superwoman, I can assure you. My full time job is awesome and the company I work for is everyone's dream come true. My little one takes up a lot of me, don't get me wrong, but I guess I spent a lot of time out doing things where as now I have to be at home with her. My husband and I have opposite work schedules so he's on his own pretty much and I only have to take care of myself and our daughter usually. I just thought someone there is this get rich in your free time job out there in the MT field that I should look into (JOKING!! please don't bash me again!).
Seriously - I am just looking into ways to make money from home while filling up my free time. Computers is what I do so I figured it would be interesting to look into MT. My mistake I think. Sounds like way more work than I wanted to do.
Yes, Full-time.
I work 40 hours a week for 1 company. I also have an IC job on the side to help with some money, but everytime I have logged on in the last month, there has been no work.
I do see my lines starting to come up, but am still only hitting 100 lines on average which is only $6.50 an hour. Not a livable wage by any means. That barely covers my rent each month.
I also have gotten out of MT full time
So I only work doing transcription part time.
Full-time IC?
Full-time IC is a term that seems contradictory to me. I thought an IC was expected to have more than one "client", at least per IRS expectations, so how does an MTSO get away with requiring an MT's undivided attention as an IC? It seems that MTSOs have a different set of rules....and we are the ones who allow it.
Has anyone out there addressed this issue with either a potential client and/or the IRS? If so, what was the outcome? I'm thinking of filing a complaint and just need some feedback to determine if it is worth my time and energy.
TIA.
I have used a laptop only for 7+ years.
I have a 17-inch screen and use an external keyboard 99% of the time.
I've never had a problem with my USB/laptop, but
if you have any concerns why not just power down, attach it, and restart.
I use a laptop with a full-size keyboard (no separate keyboard)
I'm using a lap desk but previously was using a pillow with a book on it under the laptop. No additional keyboard though, I bought one with a full-sized board with regular size keys (an HP) which I LOVE and it took no time at all to get used to it. I also love that when the weather improves, I can take my computer outside and get some fresh air! What a great job... :)
has anyone transitioned from IC or SE to full time
How did the transition go? What are the differences? What do they take out of you for single in regards to health insurance. Did your pay rate stay the same? My premiium went up AGAIN as it does every year, 20 bucks, and i'm thinking about becoming full time, but only if it is a smooth transition. Thanks guys
Two full-time jobs here
It bites!!! I'm exhausted.
Well I'm doing this full time and ouch !!!
How do you make any money???? Typing and shortcuts is not the problem but trying to figure out some of what the dictators are saying is time consuming... How do you make money????????????
Though I love the research and find this interesting 40.00 a day is not going to cut it... Does it get better????? I feel stupid !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am stuck going full time because
that's all the university offered. They said if I didn't want to go full time then get out of line because 933 other people wanted my spot. I have a small MTSO right now and so am able to just parcel out work and do a little QA each week. I already had an Associate's of Science which transferred to the U, and then I had to do pre-req of Nutrition, Developmental Psych and Organic Chem (and after I did organic chem, over the summer no less, they dropped it as a pre-req grrrrrrr). This fall is my third semester, I will finish after my fifth semester though I want to go on to get a master's as a nurse practitioner....another 2.5 years **sigh**
It depends, IC or full time? nm
x
In my area they have full-time
interpreters on staff because of very large Brazilian population.
Full-time is 32-40 hours BUT
This is where full-time gets tricky. Say you work you full-time hours 32-40, depending on the company,but you haven't made your line quota, hence, you end up working more hours to make your quota. Also, if your company offers health insurance and you haven't made your line count, then your health insurance is in jeopardy. That is why it is important that you have "work" consistently so you don't have the added pressure of worrying about keeping your health insurance.
Me too. Less than 8 hour day, but full time.
xx
Two jobs, 1 full-time, 1 IC (nm)
x
Wow! Not any full time MTs want to comment...sm
on their income per month and company. That can't be a good sign.
Not any full time MTs want to comment
Maybe we consider that our business and no one else's. I used to work in-house and we were always instructed to not give out what dollar amount we earned. Same thing applies here IMO.
Been working on a laptop for 6 years.
Definitely need an external keyboard and I would also recommend an external mouse instead of using the touch pad, unless you have a keyboard that has a touch pad. Unless you plug in an external monitor too, the smaller screen may be an adjustment, although several of the newer laptops have 17 to 17.5 screens now. A major plus to a laptop is if the power goes out and you download via wav files you can work, at least for a little while, using the battery. I have cable internet, but I also get 20 hours/month dial-up with that, so I can use the dial-up to download/upload and use my battery to work for 3+ hours. You can also get an inexpensive inverter to plug into your cigarette lighter in your car and plug your laptop into that to charge your battery, or use for working in the car while traveling. I have a box about 1-1/2 inches tall that all my power cords plug into and I have my laptop sitting on that and it makes it the right height for typing.
Laptops generally run considerably more than a desktop, though you can find a decent laptop now for $800.00 or less, though most will run you around $1000.00/more depending on what bells and whistles you want.
I used a Dell laptop for 5 to 6 years and I never had
a problem with the monitor. I did turn it off at night though and used a screen saver. I now have a Toshiba that I've had for about 18 months. I turn it off for the weekend because I also have a desktop I use for non-MT stuff, but I leave it on most of the time otherwise, unless going out of town. I have not had a problem with this monitor either. I also have an HP laptop that I've had for about 5 years. I don't use it on a daily basis, but I have never had a problem with the screen on it either.
I have never used an external monitor, though I do use an external keyboard.
Usually years. Were you given a used one, full of animal hair, dust, or
s
Have you used the same laptop that whole time?
If not, how long did each machine last? Do you work full time?
I use a laptop most of the time
and have an external larger monitor hooked up, plus external keyboard. My husband had a Dell in the past that he used the monitor all the time, and it went out in about 2 years I think. He kept using it then until last year with an external monitor. My previous Dell laptop from 2000 developed some kind of vertical greenish line down one side after a couple of years. Don't know if other companies have better or worse record on their monitors, must my experience with Dell laptop.
I say you need to give it a shot full-time.
That's the only way you will get quicker and more accurate. You need experience. The more you do it, the easier it will come. Good luck.
IC versus National Full Time
I have been an IC for the last 10 years. I have enjoyed a somewhat flexible schedule. Because I do radiology and acute care, there is a time during the day that I do have to be at my desk working, usually 2-3 hours a day. I thinking of going to work for a national because of the down side to being an IC. I don't always have work, I do work weekends and holidays at the same rate of pay and no vacation time. I have the worries of going on vacation next week with the loss of a paycheck when I get back. Do the nationals really require you to work 8 hours even if you have your line count?
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