There are other considerations sm
Posted By: Lyndia on 2007-12-26
In Reply to: valid point - Sue
that really don't get thought of. In an office, I had to have panty hose, nice clothing, nice shoes, the odd lunch out because I didn't have time or stuff to pack on. There was gas to and from home to the office. That means tires wear out faster, etc. I had my hair cut regularly, makeup isn't cheap either...
At home: I buy sweats when they are marked down, only about 1 or 2 sets a year. I hardly ever put on makeup except for personal reasons perhaps 5 times a yr. I keep my hair pinned up I have no idea how long it is, don't care. My van gets $45 of gas about every 4 to 5 weeks and I fill it again at half a tank with gas over $3 a gallon where I live. Tires last eons. I munch for lunch...fruit, rice cakes, cheap bean spreads I make up, leftovers.
Then there are other things. I can do the laundry while I am working and load the dishwasher on a stretch break, run the vacuum for 3 minutes because I need to stand up. I used to have to do that all after work at night and on weekends.
You see what I mean? It may not be as much on paper, but it is going to even out over time.
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Several considerations sm
I work an incredibly difficult, heavy ESL account. I am paid 10 cents a line for it. I can do a little over 200 lines an hour in Word on this account. I figure I really make about $24 an hour.
I work for another company and averaged out at 350 to 360 lph at 9 cents, which was closer to $30 an hour.
So much of what an MT can do is determined by the platform, the Expander she uses, the size of her expander glossary, and the quality of sound she has to listen to, not to mention her skill level. Line rates are generally arbitrary.
Now, after more than 12 yrs in this business and skills/experience that include everything except pathology...I won't work for 8 cents, period. I will work for 9 or better. When I was looking for the job I currently have, I was impressed that I was offered 9.5 to 11 cents a line for strictly OP notes, which is my specialty. I am NOT an eegit (word changed from another) and I know that if I were paid 11 cents, it is a difficult job indeed.
I do have a PT IC position where I am paid 9 cents and I am p.r.n. only. The platform is fair and the dictators are very good, so I can make about the same amount of money (or better) an hour at 9 cents, as I do at my other job at 10 cents.
I hate getting into discussions about what we should be paid as MTs. You can give me 3 MTs with what looks like the same experience and training and I'll have 3 MTs of vastly varying quality and capabilities. On top of that, skill is one thing, but actually showing up for work each and every day, and doing one's best, is the something you can't put a monetary value on, but something which MT companies long to find in any MT, no matter their skills. Skills can be taught, work ethic cannot, not when you work at home!
One of the companies I have recently done some work for is of the opinion that if you aren't making enough money, you are not at your desk enough, you are not making the most of the tools available to you, and you do not deserve a raise merely because you think you need one or because another company pays more. They have typically granted raises only to ICs and only if their TAT and QA percentages are excellent. I was given 2 raises in 2.5 yrs there, and I worked for them.
So, if you are struggling to make it, lets have a thorough discussion on Expanders and glossaries and share our secrets as to how we do it. I am in favor of sharing what I know with as many people as possible who are willing to make productive use of it. There is plenty of MT work out there to be done, and as far as I am concerned, too few qualified MTs to do it.
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