I started 35 years ago this month. sm
Posted By: OldMT on 2006-02-02
In Reply to: Tell me about the good old days.... - MTG
I started in a small hospital in the Midwest and spent 6 years there, then moved to the West Coast. When I started, we had two reference books, Dorland's and the Surgeon's Syllabus (a red much used book). We were on Royal typewriters, four carbon copies, all colored with different color white-out for each copy. Our dictation came in on wax records with the stats at the switchboard station. They would call us when one came in and we would walk down and get it. They were on lilac wax and the others were on a salmon color. We had little record players at our desk and we would transcribe the wax records, then put them in a press to take out the grooves and use them over and over. I loved working there. We then graduated to the Norelco reel-to-reel, and then to the Dictaphone plastic belts, then the magnetic belts, and then the MT/ST, then the Mag-Card, and finally to the computer, then to the Lanier pop-up tape system, then to the Sony Network, and then to digital voice. It's been a long joury and I was with one employer for over two decades before being sold to MQ. I had the best boss in the world, generous to a fault, but then MQ came along and offshoring and the MT business went down, down, down. I make half of what I used to and I work twice as hard. Benefits are hard to come by and there is no security. I long for the old days.
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9 years this month...started in
Is it just me? Started DQS at MQ last month
and although I've read over and over that MTs that start on DQS start loosing lines, I swear my production has gone up. For the first couple of weeks, it stayed a little less than normal, then I was moved onto a NEW acct on DQS and I'm always a little amazed how many lines it says I've managed to squeeze out.
Don't get me wrong--not happy about many things going on with this company, and I'm a little nervous. I'm just a mere SE with not much say in anything. But the line thing, it's been OK for me.
I don't understand. You said you started last month,
If you are paid monthly and month ended on July 31, then it's only 10 days since pay period ended. Many places take at least a week to pay, or am I missing something?
New to all of this and just started working for MDI-FI a month ago. I know I should have asked but..
Does anyone know if MDI-FL pays for holidays or how that works. Do you have to be there 90 days before anything kicks in, if it does at all?? Thanks
6 in 7 and 1/2 years but one of those only for a month
the others I worked for at least a year and one place I worked for 3 years. My current I have worked for over a year and really like the company!!
Went thru Same Thing 2 years ago this month!
PLEASE be very careful. I know you're worried, but PLEASE contact an attorney ASAP. Go thru your state if you need a low cost attorney or free one. The same EXACT THING happened to me 2 years ago to this month. We had a landlord who we rented from for over 10 years, and then he held a mortgage for us. All was checked on by lawyers and was on the up and up. Anyhoo, we never got behind, but the market in our town tripled in 1 years' time. We had settled on a price of 179,900, I believe, and the next year the market boomed in our area. The house was now worth around $400K, or so the landlord dreamed. This SCUM, who was a very seasoned landlord/mortgage holder filed papers BEHIND OUR BACKS, declaring that we were months and months behind on the mortgage, and hadn't paid him a cent. Total lie, and we laughed cause he TOLD us via the phone that he wanted to resell the house and make some real $$$ and that we were "schmucks". I called an attorney, who knew my scumlords' attorney. This lawyer begged me to give up and get out ASAP, as this lawyer was crooked and would pull anything to get us out, as it was happening all over the county to hundreds of families. I went thru legal aid, had all my paperwork supporting our case, including the obvious cancelled checks. Know what he did? His lawyer had someone in the Court Clerk's office who was "paid off", and the whole case was scheduled before a judge and I NEVER RECEIVED NOTICE til it was all over. I could NOT believe this happened to me, in AMERICA, no less. I lost my home and most of my friends and even family. NO ONE believed us that we had not missed 1 stupid payment! Two years later, now they know the truth, but its too late for us - it was the most terrifying, humiliating, frustrating experience I have ever lived thru. All is well 2 years later and I am SO much happier where we are now - and renting, too!! Just like another poster said, I call the landlord if its breaks! And this new landlord mentioned to us that we were "such great tenants, he would be willing to hold the mortgage for us". We freaked out and said NO THANKS!! This is a very brief summation, but suffice it to say that as long as the mortgage is held privately by a person, that person can be really crooked and do whatever they want. I never thought it could happen, but it sure happened to me, and I'm no legal slouch, either! Good luck to you.
When I joined a couple of years ago it was something like $30 a month and you could either pay
monthly or have it deducted automatically from your account. If you elected to pay monthly, I think the membership went up about $5 to $10.
There wasn't any high pressure sales. I basically called them and asked could I come in a check it out and they give you like a week trial or two weeks (my memory is sooo bad!). Then if you decide to become a member, you fill out the paperwork and they weigh and measure you (fun, fun) and file it all away. And then periodically they will ask if you want to be weighed and measured to see how much you've lost.
They are really encouraging there (at mine anyway). They gave way prizes for different things like if you came a certain amount of times in like three months, you got a T-shirt. And then there are prizes for when you lose 10, 20, etc pounds. And at mine everyone had a little paper doll that started out at 0 and when you lost weight you moved your little paper doll around on the wall. It was kind of fun.
Well, I've just convinced myself! 
Very busy - just did my total for the month. This is the best year I've had in my 25 years of MT!
No complaints whatsoever! Hope the rest of my fellow MTs experience a prosperous remainder of the year!
When they first started 8 years ago they were bad.
They have improved with time, experience and consistent feedback.
It bothers me too, but I faced the fact some time ago that the situation is not going to change.
Some of our clients don't know it either. Others specifically request it(lower pricing). Sad, but true.
37 years. started when i was 15. nmx
xx
That's how I started out 30 years ago, too. - sm
Biggest career mistake of my life. My friend went to court-reporting school - tried to talk me into it but I wanted faster results. Back then MT pay was almost comparable to CR pay, too. I figured, why go to school 3-6 years, when I can go for 20 weeks and have a job? So I chose MT and look what happened. It didnt matter after all these years whether I was good at it or not... the field is drying up in terms of being able to support yourself at it. My friend? Steady work, good money, owns a nice house, put her kids through college, etc.
That's what I started at 9 years ago SM
as an IC at the local hospital and at first, didn't make much money, but as I got more familiar with the dictators, I could do 150 minutes in 6 1/2 hours. That was a good deal. I left because:
1. I got bored.
2. I worked 7 days a week plus all the holidays.
3. I thought the grass was greener elsewhere. I needed bennies and the hospital, even though my work was good, wouldn't hire me as an employee because then they would lose #2.
When I first started out 10 years ago,
my very first job paid $.055 per 55 character line. My next job three months later paid $.07/65 characters. Then I had a hospital job paying $10 per hour plus incentive. Moved up to opening offers of $.08-.09 cpl with nationals. Got tired of nationals. Made very decent money for the next 2-3 years paid $.12/gross line until those two contracts got outsourced or went to VR. Got a part-time job outside the home in a different field for six months until that company laid everyone off. Now I'm trying to find another $.07/65 cpl job. Ten years later and I'm in the same place in life again.
If you just started MTing, how could have have been an MT for 10 years?
That's what your post below says.
Well she started out as a reporter 26 years ago.
She's not poor by any means!
I started getting symptoms after about 3-5 years. Nobody could believe it. sm
Fellow MTs told me it was too early, but nope. I had the tests, and had/have bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Think it's anatomical for some. I have very tiny wrists, and I've read that sometimes that can be related.
Some 15-20 years later, I had endoscopic surgery on the right side. I wouldn't recommend endoscopic. If you get surgery, go open. I learned later that it's usually more effective. I still have symptoms in both wrists, can tell no improvement in the right hand.
Best things: Physical therapy was the very best, but Worker's Comp obviously wouldn't pay for that forever. Cat's Paw (exerciser) is cheap and mimics a lot of the stuff I was doing in PT.
SmartGlove when I work. Helps a lot.
Trackball - huge difference.
Shorthand - I have made it my hobby to learn to work smarter instead of harder. I studied the productivity sites and am constantly working on building my ShortHand file. It's rare that something isn't in it. I have gotten to where it shows a savings of about 50% keystrokes, which is something to think about. It's like working half a day and getting paid for a full day.
Rest. Get up at least once an hour, go to your dining room table, put your palm flat on the table and press down. You should feel a really good stretch. And then I take at least 5-10 minutes to break. Maybe not the best thing for productivity, but the best for longevity.
I quit for several years and started again.....
I'm a moron. I hate it and I hide it from my kids. It stinks.
This really is pathetic. 5 years ago I started out with .07 and they are still only paying that?
started at about 8K PT 2002, last couple years 12K but
I did not work much in 2005 for about 6 months when my 5-y/o got diagnosed with cancer and going through chemo, etc. So I would have made a bit more. I expect to do about $16K this year. I alternate my hours a lot though, about 60 or so minutes of work during the school year a day, but then only 30 during the summer, plus a side job that fluctuates ($300-500 a month). I am shooting for $20K next year, still not at FT (5-6 hours a day). I'll see how it goes. I think $12K for PT is good, but that is my opinion.
Ive worked Sundays since I started transcribing 18 years ago!
..but i know that they always need to be covered and people keep getting sick and having operations... holidays too. we are in one of those kind of jobs. i love having time off during the week to get things done though.
Yes! My kids (above, age 22 and 24) started out making more than I make after 30 years of MT!
.
I proof as I go. I didn't when I first started umpteen years ago. nm
x
I started a neighborhood watch a couple of years ago...sm
we were having similar problems to what you're having and they're gone now. Here's what worked for us. I gave every home in the subdvision a flier asking anyone that was interested in forming a neighborhood watch to come to an organization meeting and made the meeting a week later and on a week night, and gave my phone # in the event someone was interested but couldn't attend then. Out of 150 homes in my subdivision we had 40 people show up and 20 called expressing interest.
Everyone had the same complaints on the same "problem" homes and as a group we decided that each time the noise level was high enough to hear outside of the vehicle or house that we'd call the police. We all alternated placing those calls so the police department didn't think it was just 1 person complaining. The police department agreed to increase the patrols for our subdivision at all hours of the day and night and just having people see them ride through every few hours helped significantly cut down on the problems.
Over time the people that were causing problems either put their houses up for sale or moved out of the rental home and left when they saw that we neighbors insisted on a peaceful and quiet living area. It worked! When these problem homes left the problems with the trash thrown on the roads left as well.
In addition we were having some problems with some of the youth hanging out walking the streets at all hours and it was making some of the residents nervous, especially when the youth were walking through yards. So, we told the youth to stick to the roads, ask permission before cutting through yards to find out who cared and didn't care if they walked through them, and one of the men placed a basketball goal at the end of one of the cul-dec-sacs for the kids to play basketball after the neighbors in the cul-dec-sac agreed it would be fine. It worked - some of them started playing basketball there and they honored requests of homeowners that didn't want them walking on their yards.
Good luck to you!
I've been in MT for 20 years. Started out in the office at a hospital.
Switched to working for services from home for a while and now I work for the same hospital I started out at, but I work from home now. So I guess you can say I've come full circle and now I'm back where I started. I much prefer being an employee of a hospital versus an IC or employee of an MTSO.
It may be that your user profile in EXText is not set up to allow you to add normals. I've found with services they don't give their MTs a whole lot of freedom with their software. 
all that PLUS, when I started 13 years ago, electric typewriters were still used (smile!) no message
xx
I have 13 years experience and just started a hospital job working from home making $16 an hour
and with a really good incentive plan. I live in the Kansas City area. $10 seems like a low starting point even with only two years experience which is the usual benchmark for hospital MT jobs.
It's been my experience that the low end of the pay scale for hospital employed MTs was around $12 an hour. Also, it's been my experience that the pay offered is usually based on years of experience and how well you perform on the transcription test.
I would say if their pay is that low, they should at least be making it up with incentive and it doesn't sound like they are.
JMO
I pay $35/month through Vonage for unlimited LD. Local phone co. charges $50/month. NM
x
I quit once for 3 years, but then started again. (Quit cold turkey when I did)
M-TEC has a Basic program (12 month) and a Premier program (18 month). To WAH, you should take the P
:)
1 month and you?
A month - and you?
We have had it for a month. All 5 of us
at one time or another tested positive for Strep. Only got well after antibiotics. But it lingers and flares up for weeks. Our entire town has it, and all for weeks and weeks - actually since Halloween.
If it has been less than a month,
you're probably still on probation, which works both ways. I would review the policy and speak to a supervisor before they invest any more time in training, etc. If you're professional and polite, it will work out.
Since one never knows whom they'll encounter down the road, try to make a graceful exit. Good luck.
I'm 30. 31 next month....
See update below.
a month...
I type 24 hours a week. I am new though and only get paid 7 cents a line right now. Would love to make more too!
$9,500 per month
Oh, I don't like to post my earnings here. It is such personal information. And I have you all beat cuz I make 19 cents per line.
My 18 month old was saying....
nm
A month? I do!
nm
how is $288/month better than $57/month?
x
I got one about a month ago.
It's been all right so far. It was not my first choice, but I needed a laptop in a hurry and didn't want to spend a lot, and Gateways were on sale at Best Buy, so that's what I got. If I had had more time, I would have chosen a Dell or HP, but the Gateway seems all right. A colleague mentioned that his son's school uses Gateway laptops and have been happy with them, so it's probably a safe choice, if you can find one at the right price.
One month
I took one month off, but wish I would have taken a little longer.
I have been looking for about a month
and finally I got 2 offers, but 1 company I've heard nothing about and the other I've heard good and bad things about. I really need to be working and don't know what to do. It's a bad time for everyone it seems.
as of June, I'm at 47,000 and that was with one month off!
x
I agree, especially with a 6 month f/u. SM
Can you call the office and ask the doctor call you back to explain the findings?
Thanks. You know, we have been OUT OF WORK for over a month.
the moment is hard.
And, ha ha, nothing with MQ is fast anymore anyways. I bet I haven't made over 120 lines an hour in 3 months. I get bad reports nonstop. NONSTOP.
It would have been decent of them to have said it was an option instead of pretending like it was mandatory. Especially since they know we are broke out here from having no work. And believe me they know we have had no work.
Oh well, just another reason why I can't stay in MT after all these years. Why do I want to keep "giving" it away.
I adore it. Have had it about a month...
...and it's now the only keyboard for me. I've always used ergo keyboards, but this one has totally negated the pain that I'd get even from those. I use the "booster" part that goes in the front--which seems to be the key, along with the more canted angle of the board. Thank you Microsoft!
Well, I actually pay close to $700 a month..
for health insurance, so wouldn't affect me much. The company will still be based in Houston though. They just have another location in Florida. The gas sounds promising. I was wondering how much for food. How much for bread, milk, etc. Just to get an idea. So far, it just sounds like the homes are what is real expensive there. The gas is comparible to Houston. How much do you pay for home insurance per year? In Texas, the ratio is usually something in the range of you buy a house for $140,000, your monthly bill would be around 1,400 for everything, taxes included. The homes here going for around $130,000-$160,000 look comparable to the homes ranging $260,000-$300,000 there. That is a huge difference.
Only been there a month, but have not ran out of work yet.. more than enough.
Maybe it depends on your account. I have only worked on one account and this one has plenty of work. I have not ran out at all.. usually, the account is even a little behind..
I have a 9yo shih tzu and an 9-month-old
Lab/retriever mix. Beautiful babies!!
5000 a month
It is actually quite possible to do. I work for a small transcription business and one of our transcritionist averages $1900 to $2000 a week. She takes advantage of her ESP/shortcut program and makes templates for everything. So it can be done.
$9500/month
Well, I for one do not believe anyone pays 19 cents a line. I would need to see proof of that in writing as I think it is a bunch of a bologne!
$9500/month
Well, no wonder, you live out in the East Coast area which is way more expensive to live, so that I can believe.
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