Me 2, 15-20 years ago I was making about $70,000 a year
Posted By: TheMacroDiva on 2008-08-21
In Reply to: No, you're not - I aggree with you 100% - nm - LowlyMT
Now it seems, I'm just scraping by, juggling the utility bills and paying whichever one has sent me the 24-hour disconnect notice this month; it's become a grim miserable job compared to what it was. I'm nearing retirement age, but I doubt retirement is going to be in my future for a very long time.
The single worst thing that ever happened to us was going from the gross line count to the character count, and not adjusting the line rate upward to parity -- not to mention the adjustments that should have been made to accommodate all the extra time spent struggling to make sense of huge increase in ESL dictations that has occurred over the last 15 years, and of course there should have been COLAs as well, which we all know has not happened.
In the 1980s, with the advent of powerful and affordable PCs, free lance transcription became much more common. So if you were experienced, disciplined and organized, you could be much better off economically by working for yourself -- although there were definitely advantages to working in-hospital. There were great benefits and the salary was indeed enough to support a small family (albeit very modestly.)
For a number of years during that time, many of us worked part time in the hospital for benefits, but made our real money at home.
But in my case, the time came when it just made no economic sense to work in-housel, I was better buying off buying private insurance for major medical care, tax-deferred annuities, and self-insuring the little stuff.
I would just pick up tapes from the hospital every morning, and drop off the work (which I printed out) from the day before.
I usually had 24 hours to transcribe tapes which I did during school hours, when things were peaceful and quiet.
I transcribed a couple thousand GROSS lines day. Every single character line counted, so by taking advantage of headers/footers, creative macros, word expansions, etc., I really boosted my productivity far beyond to what I could do in-house on the self-correcting Selectric, Wang or Mag Card, or whatever 10-years behind technology was currently being used, plus all the office distractions and politics, and I definitely did not to have to work 24/7 to earn a good living. (Oh how I loved WP5.1!)
In fact, 2000 gross lines a day, 5 days a week at 10 cents a line (courier 10-pitch font, one-inch margins) was very very do-able for an experienced productive acute-care MT, provided she had good equipment, good reference books, and stayed focused. It would take about 5-6 hours a day to get that amount of work done. So figure the math out for yourselves, that's just a tad under $50,000 a year, certainly not a high standard of living in those days but adequate when it meant you could stay home and be actually be a full time parent when your children were home from school, and very comfortable, if you were married with a working spouse, or had rerliable child support, or social security for your children (if you were widowed.)
If you chose to work some weekends and evenings, it was not that all that difficult to hit that $75,000 a year mark, which I did for a couple of years so I was able to pay the tuition at a good boarding school -- and cruelly thwarted my teen-aged son's only ambition in life, which was to become a high school drop-out.
Things have gotten bad, no doubt about that, and the worst part of it is, is that most of the big MTSOs are still charging the hospitals as much as we used to earn, and sometimes even more, but the MT is no longer earning it, and often can't get enough work to meet the line counts required by the MTSOs for benefits (although the cost of those benefits are reflected in the cost charged to the hospital.)
I don't know what the answer is, as the electronic immigrant is such a huge threat.
It's pretty darn awful, and I feel very very bad for those of you starting out in this field, and I do hope things change for you (and that someday soon I can retire.)
And the point that the person made is that that she was worth $75,000 a year, not necessarily that she was getting it or could get it, and I absolutely agree with her. This is a hard tough job if it's done right -- it's mentally tiring, it's hard on your back, your hands, your neck (and your behind.)
It requires a lot of time -- it requires focus, you must stay alert, and must give 100% of your attention to what you are doing 100% of the time, it takes education and brains -- and now a word of truth which my 35+ years experience gives me the right to say aloud -- it's not fulfilling, wonderful, lovable and enjoyable, it's often as repetitious and tedious as an assembly line but infinitely more frustrating.
PS: I recall one of my colleagues from those early years of my career, now gone from this earth, telling me that the 1960s were really the "fat" years, that things actually began to decline salary-wise, in real dollars, in the 1970s.
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Yea, but she's probably making $50K more a year than you are because she knows what she's doin
:)
I incorporated but only after making over 50K year
IC's risk being considered an employee if they work only for one company. I had a friend with an MTSO that the IRS went after because some of her MT's worked only for her.
Incorporation was a benefit to me because my business was making money, yet I was paying self-employment taxes on what my business was making. For example, if I have 3 IC's working for me, who bring in $40,000 per year, that is what my BUSINESS is earning, not me and therefore I should not be paying self-employment taxes on my business earnings. So I incorporated, paid myself a small salary for running the business on which I DO pay self-employment tax, and took the rest of the earnings as an S corp. They go right through to my personal taxes but I save the 15% SS tax, which as you can see on 40K, saves me $6 grand per year right there. Also enjoy 401K contributions from my corp, and increased deduction for health insurance.
would not recommend incorporating if making less than 50K per year with a business as there are increased fees and corp taxes too.
Regarding the prior post who said "For insurance, for professional liability insurance, I was told that you have to be incorporated. I don't have a problem with this. If I hired someone to build an addition for me, I would want him/her to have insurance. Why should medical records be any different?"
Medical records are different because the MT carries essentially zero liability. Insurance insures against lawsuits. MT's lawsuits are nearly nonexistent. Many, many, MANY MT's do not carry professional liability insurance. The analogy of a construction company putting on an addition is not equivalent to the MT situation. It would be like asking if your neighbor carries liability insurance against your contractor. Why would your neighbor carry insurance on your contractor if they have no liability? Exactly.
I know someone making 60 grand a year with no CMT
Means nothing. Nowadays, it's pure luck and nothing more.
Is your hubby making that much a year? sm..
Is he telling you to earn that much or is he being funny? Just my situation, but my hubby would never tell me how much money I had to make or whether I should work part time or full time. Life is too short to work 7 days a week or 12+ hours daily for the almighty dollar!
If U R making 40-45K/year for working half-days,
Something doesn't add up.
Are you making less than you did 3 years ago? sm
Unfortunately, I was making a LOT more. Went from $900 a week to an occasional $900 a week and so many dead slow weeks it's about time to quit. I will not be able to afford another computer and pay the overhead with so many slow weeks. Of course, the alternative is to work for a very low line rate and I have found it is not worth it to work for pennies.
After being an MT for 2 years, how much should I be making? sm
I feel like I can't get out of this rut of making enough money to just pay my bills and nothing left over. What would you say the average annual salary should be after 2 years of acute care work?
Thanks
After five years I was making $14.50/hr
We got one hour of PTO (paid time off) for every 10 hours worked, so that's just a little less than 3 weeks a year. We had a 401K that was pretty decent, good health insurance, life insurance equal to two years' pay, and they offered AFLAC and disability insurance as well.
Oklahoma's cost of living is among the lowest in the nation....I don't know how people living in California can make it on $8-$12/hr.
You are an exception to the rule. After 20 years, I'd like to be making
dd
You're okay making LESS than you made 10-20 years ago?
I'm not. No, every "job" doesn't work itself DOWN the ladder of success. I'm working to earn a living, I'm working to have goals, to better myself and my way of life. I would never settle for a job that keeps paying less and less. Sorry, but I disagree with you but to each his own.
Yes! My kids (above, age 22 and 24) started out making more than I make after 30 years of MT!
.
I was making 6.5 cpl in 1975 at a service -- 30 years later most jobs
Talk about PITIFUL.
10 years here, too, and making 8.4....same as i was 5 years ago. nm
f
my friend just finished her BSN 2 years ago, working 32 hr/week making $60K with benefits nm
x
Haven't heard in years. Supposedly making it harder to get money
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
35 years this year, hmmmmm
My income?
The last 4 years I have averaged $48,000 to $54,000 a year
I have been in the business for 12 years, work roughly 8 hours daily, and make a decent living doing this. Paid by the line at 13 cpl. I have rougly 75% ESL and do H&P, consults, DS and OPs (the basic 4).
Tax guy told me to hold 30%. After first year when got idea what I would be making, he told me
:P
1 hurricane in 30 years or every year. I'd take Texas :)
Just kidding with u but I have been to Florida..... Talk about illegals! woweee. Not saying all over, just where I have been. See...... generalizations help no one. If you don't live there, you do not know so please consider your response. And, yes I was actually raised in Pasadena/Houston TX area and NO WAY would I want to live there again. :)
56-years-young, married, one 29-year-old beautiful son...
... and going to school to get into law someday - age is not a concern, it's a blessing!
Actually I remember hearing this years ago, only it was the year 2000.
It is not only for physicians. Medicare and the insurance companies have been pushing for this for years. They want to be able to just log in and get the information they need without having to send a request for it.
My goal every year is $52k, which I have done for the past 2 years working sm
for Keystrokes. I do radiology only, I should mention. I took the amount I wanted (actually needed) to make in a year, divided it by 52 weeks, divided it by 5 days, came up with $1000 per week or $200 per day. I divided that by 8 hours and by my report rate ($1.25). I know that I need to transcribe 20 reports per hour on average. I keep a tally. Some days, it takes me longer to do than others, but I sit down and do my 8 hours every single day. I use my Expander a LOT (literally for all but a few words). I am on one account, so I know those doctors inside and out. If I am short at the end of the week, I ask if there is work available on the weekend for me to do. The most I end up with 2 hours to make up what might have been short during the week.
At $40k, you would need to make $153.85 per day, or $19.23 per hour. At $0.07, you need to type 275 lines per hour, or 2200 for the day. This should be very easy to get with using an expander and sitting down with a set schedule.
It takes a while to get used to making sure you hit your internal quota every day. I have to think of it daily and make it up on Saturday or Sunday so that I never start a week behind my personal goal.
I also take an incentives that are handed out (for instance if they are asking for help in a backlog situation at increased rate) and work at least a partial shift on holidays. If I am ahead at the end of the week, I carry it to the next week and know that I have some lines in my internal quota bank.
I know this sounds weird, but it works for me. I have helped a few others to get to their goals as well, and this seems to work for them too.
I would also look for something that is more in the 0.08 to 0.09 per line range. Ask your lead for production tips. Ask other transcriptionists. It is very possible for us to make good money, we just have to focus on our goals.
I have a sales background, which involved sales quotas. This is easier as I am in control of my daily production, not on someone else's decisions.
Good luck!
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!
I meant hospital for 8 years (not months)...going on 15th year.
x
don't do annual but do big trips every few years. Last year went to Africa including safari
spent 18 days - one day traveling there, (stopping in for a day in London), then two weeks working at an orphanage and girls vocational school, safari on the weekend, then two days of travel back. Whew!
I thought they can only audit you or send you a tax bill 2 years prior. It is now 2006 - the 2 year
I may be wrong here - maybe it is 3 years, but I thought the law changed and it was 2 years. Check into it.
sure i was. i'm making fun of the people who are making a case for background checks, etc
to do medical transcription at home as if they may do something AWFUL with the info they receive. So if you want an invasion of privacy let's REALLY invade it and make sure fat chicks don't transcribe because they are so busy eating they can't get the work done, they mess up the keyboard with food and if they are provided health insurance they will raise the rates for the company sky high because their health risks are higher than others. Then there are the psychological issues overweight people bring to the table. After we eliminate fat people, we can go on to eliminate diabetic people who may have low blood sugar while typing and go into a spell and type the wrong thing. I could go on and on through the process of elimination. How about prescribed medications that may cloud your thinking? So you take Ambien to sleep but you have an Ambien groggy hangover when you are transcribing? Should they transcribe. How about your teens are on your last nerves and you take a Xanax? Should you be allowed to transcribe?
You realize by doing that they're making more money & you're making less? You should reconsid
Mine are in year-round thank goodness! They've started their new year 2 months ago.
x
Union diesil mechanic - good pay, great benefits. We swap year to year on who brings home more sm
money.....but I am an IC and he has all the benefits...health insurance/dental that the company pays for, pension plan, 401k, etc. Factor all of that in and he makes way more than I do.
to cowgirl - Last I knew, last year the job paid $25,000/year no taxes, etc.
The hospital was bombed about a year ago, but not a lot of damage, very minimal damage.
44-year-old WF, M, Texas, 3 grown kids, just had 26 year wedding anv.
nm
nope, still crunching last few days of year to hit my 50k this year. how can you when you haven'
;
Nothing this year. We ALWAYS got a cool surprise in the past, but this year nothing. :-( nm
d
After I went to a 1-year MT course at a vocational school, it was so bad that I did the 2-year colle
Not only did I finally receive the proper training, but the woman on the advisory board hired and mentored me. I also joined the local AAMT and networked. Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be. A community college will have a good program to include medical language, MT courses taught by local MTSOs, business English, anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, etc.
I think he makes $700,000.00 a year, and if they ask him to walk before his first year MQ has...sm
to pay him a cool 1 million dollars. You can check this out at the Medquist website. I think the CFO makes $350,000 a year, and the head of IT makes $250.000 a year.
P.S. This does not include the perks, like expense account, car allowance, sign-on bonus, etc.
Our 16 year old son has been working for a year now to pay for his truck.
He's learning how to sand and do body work and how the engine and transmission go together. My parents didn't buy cars for my siblings and I either. I had a 20+ year old beater car until I could afford to move up to a a newer one.
I see all the nice new cars parked in the high school parking lot every day. It's nice that so many disrespectful punk kids get handed something nicer to drive than what all the teachers drive. Oh, well. Honestly, I think most of them borrow Mommy or Daddy's car or are the child of a doctor who can afford to hand them everything.
Hopefully, my kids will take better care of their cars because they bought and built them on their own. You're not going to grow up to be responsible if you don't work hard for something and expect Mommy and Daddy to bail you out all the time.
Oh, my Dad lectured us on even allowing our child to have a vehicle because Dad didn't have one until after he had worked his way through college, lettered on the football team, got straight As, lettered on the baseball team, yadda yadda. He either walked or hitched a ride. Yeah, well, times were different back then, Daddy-O. LOL At least my kid has the opportunity to work and earn his own car.
IC - 30 hours week, $98K last year. So far this year - 28K. sm
Individual IC - own account(s).
Not me, owed last year, and expect to owe this year- sm
or break even, had more expenses this year. Only owed $200 but still don't want to owe at all. Need to start doing estimated tax payments again so I don't owe! Guess I will get off my butt and do that this year.
come on.. you cannot compare a 2-year-old and a 15-year-old
x
46/F I have a 9-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.
.
Got $$$$ back last year but this year
I have to pay them, sold a property I never lived in but I had enough sense to set aside $45,000 so just waiting on them to send me my WT2s so I can get started.
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!!!!
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