I appreciate your concern but that would be MY choice - if I wanted to decide to contact them...

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Phone: 404/885-6338
Nice to talk to and can give you info regarding MQMT lawsuit so you can decide if it is something you are interested in pursuing.

In response to a previous post on newbies finding a job - I've been typing for almost 15 years and was lucky enough to "learn the right way" from a great mentor, learning all specialties.  Editing speech rec jobs is relatively easy when you have the background in all specialties like "us old folks".

At least for right now, I believe speech rec is only as good as the experienced Editor behind it to eyeball and correct any errors.  I hate to admit it, but speech rec has made dramatic improvements in its accuracy over the last few years.  It's here to stay, it's improving - and surprisingly, the people I work with really enjoy editing.

My concern though is when the old folks like me in the field retire, and many of us are getting close.  Newbies need the opportunity to get in the door and gain their experience in all specialties to take over as the older folks leave the field.  There needs to be mentors to continue to be available to these newbies to guide them along the way.  There are good schools out there, but to "learn it all" you really need to be actively working in the field on a job that gives the opportunity to learn all specialties.

This is my concern as speech recognition becomes more and more successful.  We will continue to need quality, seasoned transcriptionists to become quality, well rounded editors in the future. 

I've taught completely green people transcription, and I've taken newbies in and guided them along the way.  It is satisfying for me because someone took me green 15 years ago and gave me this opportunity, and for that I am eternally grateful.  Putting 3 kids through college was a lot easier thanks to my full time job and another part time job I had. 

Best of luck to all you newbies out there - if you can get your foot in the door at a local hospital, even working in house to start, its a good place to begin.  Gain all the experience you can.  I'm not sure working for these big shlock houses, the nationwide transcription companies, is the best place to start - it can be frustrating when you're given all the ESL docs and junk work and try to plug through it. 

Good luck newbies - keep on pluggin.  

you are being paid correctly at a certain line rate but if she cannot SHOW you how those figures are arrived at, I would be very leery that she is being less than honest with me.  If she knows exactly how she is figuring lines to pay you, she should be able to demonstrate to you how figures are arrived at. 

Go to whitehouse.gov/contact or ehow, etc.  I did just that today.  They invited me to e mail the president - so I did.  Not sure he will ever get it but it was a nice friendly letter.  I asked him to find out and report how many jobs are being offshored every single day, faster than he can create them.  I asked him to try to get specific figures on tax implications and our social security system.  No one has ever given out this information, which would probably be a difficult task since the offshoring companies will not fess up to how many jobs really leave the U.S.  I figured if any one could find out it would be President Obama himself.  As an aside I asked him could it be true that the big banks who received approximately $150 billion dollars of our money actually applied for 20,000 new visas for foreign workers (up 1/3).  With our own money?

 I asked him how his stimulus package was supposed to work.  I have always stimulated the economy, worked, and paid taxes.  Now my job has been given to a foreign worker who does not pay taxes.  What gives?  If that is not on a drain on the system, then the lines for unemployment income are.  I mentioned that the stimulus checks handed out were never going to trickle down to the average American citizen.  Look what they are doing with it.  The best stimulus he could give us is to save our jobs.  We can't spend what we don't have.  I also congratulated him on his new job, financial security, the American people keeping the mortgage up to date on the White House, and that his kids certainly seem to have everything they need.  Keep up the good work and get back to me on those huge figures.  Oh, and I gave him my figures, unemployment at 50% of your earnings for 6 months.

Your e mail can be one sentence or up to 5,000 words.  Can you imagine the President receiving e mails from 300-500 MTs in one week.  Do it.

National SE/employee  versus  small MTSO IC

I have my opinions based on my experiences, but I'd like to hear your opinions.  I wish I could have a hybrid of the two.  Steady workload, but a flexible schedule as long as xx number of lines was done per day.  Mostly the same dictators over and over, but still available to help out if another account needs it.  Is there such a creature out there?  Or am I dreaming the impossible dream?  I'd make a list of all my wishes, but I fear I'd be laughed off the boards.  LOL 

nm

I worked as a hospital employee, then IC for quite a few years. Everytime I asked about employee openings, there were none. I would always be out of work for 2-3 months in the beginning of the year.  I finally quit and got a job with a national. The hospital couldn't keep up on the work and asked me to come back and work weekends and days I did not have anything else to do (that's a joke!).

Now I understand they are going to hire another FT MT. I want to apply mainly because of the health benefits, as I am paying $600 a month now.

 I love working for the national but now my problem...I still feel loyalty to the hospital. I don't know what they are paying yet or what the hours would be and don't even know if she would hire me full time.

I know I should take into consideration the benefits, etc. and compare it with the national, but the work at the national company is so much nicer with regards to the doctors and program they use. The hospital has a lot more ESLs to contend with. The only problem with the national is that I have a hard time getting my production and a lot of days, I get really stressed out.

What is the going rate of a in house MT in PA?  I have 10 years acute care experience. What could I expect to be offered?  Thanks in advance for your help.

She would not hire me before because I worked 7 days a week plus holidays. This will probably be the sticking point even now. Plus there is a new CEO there that tries to tow (sic) the line on hiring.

My husband has a heart problem and we really need the insurance (he's self-employed). He is working but I don't know how long, until he drops dead, he says. I don't want to see that happen. Been with him 40 years, but we can't afford to get his heart fixed right now. (Does that give you an idea of our ages). Aw heck, he probably wouldn't do it even if he could, so who is he fooling? He's a workaholic like me. I made a lot of money through them as IC, but really need to get away from that status. We were paying through the --- to the IRS and we're tired of it. I know if I was hired, she wouldn't need the 6 per diems she has now plus the mandatory OT.

Another thing...the hospital is only 37.5 work week. I would probably say yes to any OT or extra time because that's the way I am, but I'm in a hole now $$ wise.

I really would prefer the hospital but I don't want to be suckered into working for less than I'm worth just because I have no idea what they pay. If I get my speed up with the national, and I'm sure I will soon, I should be able to make more, but I don't know the first thing about nationals either as it was my first job with one. All I know is I'm doing as well as expected.

 I thank you for your input. 

be it weeks, months or years, drop me a line, that is if you don't already have someone in mind to take over your accounts, unless you are just planning to give them notice and let them fend for themselves.  Obviously if you are doing tapes this would not work unless we are near each other which I doubt (I am near Richmond, VA), but digital would work just fine and that is how I work now.  I am always looking to add on and looking to one day have a few people working for me.  So if you have the inclination e-mail me, and I will email back with my information. 

Both IC and employee have their advantages and disadvantages. Do you need insurance or not? Based on what some people are saying the health insurance offered by a company is not always the best offer out there. Do you prefer flexibility or do you want to work a set schedule?

To receive full benefits you might have to achieve certain line requirements. I just switched from employee to IC. My employer did not offer much regarding benefits and did not always offer enough work so that I could achieve the line requirements. They only offered paid vacation. Now I have the flexibility and am making the same amount per line after tax deductions as previously before tax deductions.

Not every employee position offers full benefits. Also, depending on what type of work you do, the quality of the dictators and your QA team, you could make more money as an IC.

Maybe not the question IC or employee is as important as finding the job that suits you best.