I have been an MT for 20 years and have a job..sm
Posted By: Is the grass any greener? on 2006-02-06
In Reply to:
with a good company, small midwest MTSO. I make 10 cents a line, have no long distance bills, get to do the work type I desire 80% of the time and rarely run out of work. The platform is easy to use though a bit obsolete but fast enough that it does not slow me down. I can average 350 LPH most of the day, sometimes more and sometimes less. It is acute care and of course there are ESLs but not predominantly. I have never been denied a day off and don't have to work weekends. My schedule is flexible as long as I get my lines done. So...I am generally content until I read about other companies where people are making more money, more LPH, with less experience. On the other hand, I see companies that are not nearly as fair sounding as the one I work for. So...I guess I just need to be told I should stop looking for a dream job and consider myself fortunate? Or can I do better?
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58, AHP/self-taught, trained at hospital 5 years, now with 2 of my own accounts for 10 years, employ
Also worn out 2 keyboards in 4 years. I will never retire. DH will come home some day from work and I'll be slumped over my keyboard. I put in 14 hours a day 7 days a week.
Pack years = packs smoked per day x years of smoking - sm
25 pack-years = 25 years of 1 pack a day, or 12-1/2 years of 2 packs a day.
I don't think pack-years applies to someone who smokes only cigars. But I don't know for sure.
I worked for Cbay for 3 years. I was also part of their lay off back many years ago. sm
Even though I got stuck in a lay off era, I still love the company. They paid well then. The people were nice (exception of 1 person) and if I had the opportunity I would go back again. Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how u look at it), I have a great paying job right now, so I am not looking for a change. I do know that at one time, they asked management to accept late paychecks, but never sure of the reason why. My check was never late.
I know it used to be 5-10 years back, but the laws changed within the last 2 years. They can only g
x
6 years legal then switched to medical 17+ years ago. sm
I don't mind doing legal and will do it now from time to time, but be prepared to be totally bored out of your mind.
At least that's the way I feel. I love to transcribe, learned legal in college, went on to get my paralegal degree, etc., etc., but I did temp work when the kids were younger, which was about 90% medical and I would never go back to legal except for once in a while.
Booooooring.
Only 3 years away from reaching total years for retirement
but if I had to do this and raise a family, would feel exactly like you do. The pay is terrible compared to what I used to make. I work 32 hours a week, hope to be able to continue even after full retirement age. I have worked on VR now and unless places get to where they really do not care about how their reports look, think they will need MTs. I very seldom do a report and it is 100%, just cannot remember 1 like that and most take a lot more editing. Working now because want to, not have to anymore, thank goodness!!
I dumped my ex 20 years ago, but got lucky 13 years ago
It would take me all night and pages and pages to describe what a bad person my ex-husband was. After six years of putting up with his OCD, verbal abuse and alcohol, I left him the house, took the kids (5 and 1) and didn't look back. That was 20 years ago.
I wasn't looking to get married again, but I did. After 13 years I only complain when hubby doesn't see things my way. :)
My older kids, who were 5 and 1 when I left, are married and have kids of their own now. My husband gets the Father's Day cards. Their "real" father sits alone in the perfect little house I left behind and let him have and he drinks himself into oblivion every night because nobody is "perfect" enough, including his kids and his grandkids that he never sees.
Sad, but true. So glad I smartened up and got out of there when I did.
We have been supporting other countries for years and years now.
What is the big deal. Look at your clothes, cars, items in your house. You will see mostly China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan etc., etc. We have not supported our own people like we should have for years now!!!!
Only 2 in 13 years for me. First Edix for 8 and now Webmedx for nearly 5 years. nm
.
When I trained, back years and years ago
We did not have spell checking nor the internet (Google for instantaneous help). OMG, how did we do it? We used Correcting Selectrics with the lift-off tape to correct errors- you only had dictionaries, both English and medical, to look up things so yes we did have to learn to spell all those big longgggggggggg words.
MT: 24 years. Same company: 11 years same co. after buyout.
x
Grammar Question: 9 years' ago or 9 years ago? *sm*
 I have a terrible time trying to remember this rule! HELP!
Worked inhouse for years and years
Inhouse transcription from 1973 to approximately 1992 and we had no downtime for answering the phones and when the physicians came into the room (or others) needing some assistance, just part of the job. I did not feel bad about doing it then and I dont see why you would either. You don’t realize that probably you are making right now more than if you are outsourced, right? You have hourly salary plus incentive. Guess how many of us have that now? Probably inevitable about outsourcing so I would say just enjoy while you can. The pay our here now sinks further and further. I make, for instance, 4 cents a line for voice recognition and 8 for straight. Now, more complaining?
19 years old...married 26 years. nm
n
they've been doing this for years and years (nm)
IMHO
People have been saying that for years and years - SM
however, I am working fewer hours and making more money. I think maybe the answer here is working as an IC for a one-owner company. MTSO was an MT for many years and she knows the secret to making lots of $ is putting your MTs doing what they do best and leaving them alone.
I don't think it is the "national" part of services that hurts. I think the low wages can be gauged by the number of suits in the company. More suits = less $.
And why pay QA? Just hire people experienced/good enough to do the work correctly the first time.
I have been doing Radiology only the last two years after several years (sm)
of acute care. I love it and find it easier although not as interesting as acute care. I was told by those who hired me that a good medical Transcriptionist will be able to do Radiology even with no experience in it. There are some specialized terms but easy to learn. I would never go back to acute care unless there were very good dictators and good sound quality.
30 (!) years; OTJ (don't think there were schools 30 years ago) nm
:)
Years ago it was 7 years. Not certain as to status now.
10 years here, too, and making 8.4....same as i was 5 years ago. nm
f
Shame on me.. Am I the only one with 4+ in 2 years, but with my last one 2 years.
Lots of little "stints" in between, just trying to keep my head above water.
24 years MT, 7.5 years with the same hospital nm.
x
22 years, same company 10 years nm
nm
32 years, longest was 28 years at same co. (nm)
*
28 years, 9 years at 1 hospital..sm
9 years at one hospital, 8 years with 2 services, then went out on my own (11 years ago) and got a bunch of surgeons and I moonlight on weekends for a national (9 years with national).
If I knew what I know today, with how the MT business has gone down $$-wise for us over 20+ years, if I had my druthers and could start over again, I would have stayed with CODING/BILLING instead of MT work (though I love MT work) as billing/coding is still lucrative in this country....
just my 3 cents 
32 years, 18 years at hospital...
7 at Medquist, 7 at Spheris. Starting at Transtech Medical tomorrow.
Do you need to have 2 years full time experience or just 2 years' experience? nm
..
49 years old/self taught/daughter 20 years old/self taught. I'm a CMT, and daughter is studying t
take the test soon.
I know I'm old - 30+ years as well
but I do remember specifically being told "double". Maybe there is something to the reason being that they used to "talk good."
I'm going on 35 years of doing this
and I try to keep my goals realistic dealing with rheumatoid arthritis, etc. I don't like to see a minimum of 200 lines/hour; occasionally can reach nearly 300 lph but depends on the dictators. Seems the account I do now mostly has dictators from India, the ones I dislike the most. I love Russians, Japanese, Germans, French, etc., etc., but for some reason I find the Indian accent very difficult!!!!
I, like you, do not use expanders or "normals" etc., mostly because I'm from the old school and I type every word. I'm sure if I used some of the crutches I could easily reach 275 to 350 lines/hour, maybe more who knows! I keep telling myself one day I'll relearn how to do all that but right now, I don't care....when the time is right I'll know. Mainly I just keep trying not to stress myself out too much. I've put in my time and paid my dues and do a great job. I'm not a young chick anymore and don't expct myself to produce these huge line counts, but believe me, I know I could if that was my wish!!! Don't worry.....Be happy!
My Dad is gone now 10 years....
The last present he brought for me was an anniversary clock which I placed on my fireplace mantel in the center....Well that's Dad's spot because whenever I move that clock to any other spot it stops working, but the moment I place it in "the spot" it works immediately. My youngest daughter was almost 2 when my Dad died. After his death she would wake up and tell me "Grandpop was here last night"....I know my Dad comes around many times.
18 years.
nm
As an MT for 25+ years
I wouldn't recommend this profession in this day of voice recognition being on the horizon. Most of us who are doing MT are 40+ years old and there's a reason for that. Most community colleges and junior colleges no longer teach this skill. There's a reason for that. It's soon to be a thing of the past, whether one chooses to accept that fact or not, it is.
Second, this is a great job for awhile. But if you notice that over time people start to get nutzo when they've been out of social circulation too long and start to get a mean, angry edge to them. This is not a healthy way to live, sitting by yourself all day with no contact with the outside world except over the anonymous internet.
This is a great part-time job if you want or need to earn some extra income, but if you're thinking of going to school and have the time and means to do so, I suggest earning a bachelor's degree, which will open your options to many, many different possibilities rather than winding up limiting yourself to being a one-trick pony in a dying field.
I'm leaving this field within the next week - hopefully forever. I have accepted a position that's totally unrelated to MT and want to start building a resume in a profession that has a future. I've also completed my bachelor's degree, at age 48.
I'm not going to paint myself into a corner and wonder what hit me five years from now when this profession no longer exists. I respectfully suggest that you take that into consideration as well.
Best of luck to you in whatever you decide to do, but so allow yourself as many options as you can and don't lose touch with the outside world.
I was a MT for 15 years before going....sm
into a supervisory role. My current day consists of such things as:
Teaching new physicians at hospitals/clinics how to dictate and the information we need to provide a complete medical record for them.
Keeping up with information to assist clients and employees with current 5 different platforms as well as staying aware of changes these platforms foresee coming in the future. Yes, I'm always learning new things.
Answer questions about various accounts that arise. Some of these answers are by the MTs who don't look at the written information we give them on an account but the majority of the questions are "one time" incident items for an account.
Answer questions about turn around times, process stat requests, vacation requests, schedule changes, questions about bills and all sorts of other things during the day from clients as well as employees.
Answer inquiries and provide insight to senior management about things going on with a current client, which of course means I'm talking to the current clients frequently to ensure there aren't any problems not being resolved as well as looking for future additional business with the client.
I also transcribe when needed, usually averaging transcribing between 1000-5000 lines a month while filling in for the accounts having peaks or MTs out for various reasons (including, like Dano said, the one whose grandmother has died 6 times.). I currently have 1 employee who has I presume about 8 grandmothers in nursing homes on feeding tubes in 8 different states and of course all of these grandmothers happen to develop "potentially life-ending" medical crises 1-2 days before a holiday. I do "wonder" how this employee is going to handle it when all 8 of these grandmothers do die if they die at the same time!
I do love what I do, even when I get a phone call from a hospital waking me at 2:30 a.m. stating that the entire hospital computer system is down for maintenance and they forgot to tell me it was scheduled previously and that is why our transcriptionists can't get in to work).
About 20 years
Used to raise a lot of animals but not many anymore, kind of winding down, ya know? I used to organize an annual rare breed animal and pet expo in Tennessee. Most animal people are just really nice folks and it's a pleasure just chatting with them. I have a lot to say about the posts regarding animal cruelty and PETA but that appears to be a good conversation to stay out of.
I did for years and so did DH
I was a foot carrier, my brother was a foot carrier, and DH he was a motor carrier and route manager. (In fact, that's how we met.) He also delivered for another paper later on as a motor route. I actually do miss the smell of newsprint and the route. I'd do it again except we live in a very rural area now.
Ten years ago....
you could make good money working at home as an IC for a service. I made a bundle working part-time with 3 little kids. Then they just slowly and incrementally (it's still going on I gather) stripped you of more and more money. I bet I would make less than half of what I used to make had I kept working for the national. I am now making over 30,000 a year working less than 40 hrs a week, but I am home based for a local hospital. I am a regular employee, have full benefits, paid time off, 403b plan, retirement plan, the whole thing. No, I don't have the same flexibility as I work a set shift, but at least I feel good about what I do and feel that I am fairly compensated and actually receive a raise every year. I hope the pendulum swings back to more hospitals having their own department and they get away from trying to save a buck using a national service.
not in 19 years
Never crashed and burned. Consistently up to 2000+ since 1998. At one time worked two jobs and was going to grad school. Still doing about 1800. Corp America taught me to concentrate and multitask. I add macros while I am typing. Tinrnobu=there is no reason to not believe us. I work about 5 to 7 hours a day. M-T and Friday nights 10-2. Deal with it, boo.
I was 32 when I did that - and that was five years ago - sm
it was cocktail waitressing, and I was thankful that I had my looks/shape then to get the job. It was after 9/11 and the payscale dropped significantly in NYC and it became cut throat for getting any kind work, including transcription! Transcription pay dropped from $20-25/hour down to $10 (YES, $10/hour) up to $15/hour.
25 years?
With 25 or 15 years experience, I sure hope those companies paid the MT very well. I have 36 years experience and made more money in the 1980s than I do now. Its a shame how the MT's pay has decreased.
so-how many years does it take
nm
lph after 1+ years
I am getting frustrated with my line count. I am doing 150+ lph using Instant Text. I have been working for the same company for about 10 months on the same account. My fingers are flying as fast as they can, I stop to proofread after each paragraph, and do a second quick proof at the end of the report checking for cc's, etc. Do you think this is reasonable with my experience or are some of you able to do more than that with 1+ years of experience? The company I work for has a pay scale - the higher the line count, the better the pay. The higher the quality, the better the pay. I don't want to sacrifice quality for a higher line count.
What are you going to do in 10 years when
Technology has already replaced the need for:
Employment agencies.
Travel agencies.
Airline ticket windows.
Time's up. Use that information to your advantage or find yourself applying at Walmart.
30 years?
Wow, where'd all that time go? And I've done everything in MT there is to do including dictate!
Six years
mostly liking it until the big national in J'ville
26 years...sm
and plan to do it at least another 20 years.
30+ years
nm
25 years
Dover Business College for Medical Secretary; no job there; began extensive training at a company in 1980 for 5 years;they no longer exist. Left for another company in 1985 and through 2 mergers and then we became MQ.
22 years
dd
36 years. nm
MT for 25 years
It is starting to feel a lot longer than that. LOL
21 years! nm
nm
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