There must be a reason or many why you left your graphic design job after being at it for so long..s
Posted By: trying to help on 2005-07-14
In Reply to: At a crossroad and not sure which career path to take... - dazed and confused
and why you chose to go into MT. Actually 5 years may not be long enough to have the experience needed to make as much money as you can or maybe the MT company you work for may not be the best fit for you. With all your other variables (gas, comute, disabled husband who likes you to be home) you may want to reconsider where you are with your current MT job and try to find ways to be more productive (like more experience, word expander, different company, different work type, working for a specified period and then taking a break, etc). I have been an MT for 30 years and while it has its pros and cons, for me the pros outweigh the cons. You will just have to decide what works best for you. Good luck in whatever you decide.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
reason I left graphic work...
My husband had a massive stroke several years ago and I just could not handle working outside the house and taking care of him, so I learned MT so I could stay home with him. I have continued to do the graphic work on the side since, but he is finally to where he can handle me not being at home, but he still seems disappointed that I won't be at there. I guess I am going to have to make my pros and cons list and figure out what I am going to do. Thanks.
Here is the reason I left the hospital
I needed sick time, so they decided it better to outsource! Think before leap! The bennies are not all that they seem. Hospitals put their eggs in one basket; and believe me they won't like you asking for sick time or vacation time! Scorn? Yes I am. I was very loyal for that $13.00 an hour and it got me NOWHERE! I left on my own before the hammer slammed! I already had my own accounts on the side, so I didn't miss much! Any hospital job can outsource at any time no matter what the dictators/doctors think. It is the administration that makes those decisions, so even though MTs think that "no one can type like we do", I beg to differ.
Why do you think a lot MTSOs advertise the fact that they can save a hospital or facility benefits to their MTs?????? Please think before you put your eggs in one basket and then wind up with a national who will not pay you squat either. JMO.
You left there for whatever reason. You take delight in the
fact that they were reported for not paying OT. Now you want to go back because they pay better. Hypocritical.
Thanks, but for some reason the stuff on the left will not come up - it does sometimes, but othertim
Somebody posted a couple of weeks ago some Web addresses for other forums and they have a Medquist forum there that is password protected. Wanted to check it out.
Just left a long comment with the story.
I just left a long comment in the comment section. Any little bit helps at this point. Thank you so much if you are the one in the story or connected to it somehow.
Interior design? Psychology? sm
There are some degrees that are great, but will require a Master's or higher to make you rise above the rest. You also need internships and other experiences to help.
And there are others that are definitely not "worthless" (though I don't think ANY degree is worthless), including nursing, physical therapy, and others. You're pretty much assured of a great job with those.
HGTV Design Star
Am I the only one hooked on this show??? I was so glad to see Alice stay in the competition last night. I was sad to see Tym go, but glad that David got to stay. Wonder who will win?? 
HGTV DESIGN STAR - sm
Anyone else vote online or text message for one of these kids? Just curious as to which one you voted for....my vote was for David. Alice's designs did nothing for me, and she had a somewhat fake affect. Any other opinions?
That's good to know...do they help design brochures too?? nm
NM
Brian, you really should design and patent something because
there are a ton of us out there with leg swelling over the years. Bet you could make a fortune.
We could design a "Speak and Spell" for MTs -- "The PA says ... AM-LOPE-A-DEEN..." LOL n
nm
Just hit Alt+Shift+left arrow on line 1 and it will go to the left margin. Otherwise,
you need to use a numbered list style to do it every time. Each version is different, but you may already have a numbered list style in yours that stays at the left margin. Just assign a keyboard shortcut to that style.
Computer Generated Image or Computer graphic image
I hate Instant Text. It is expensive, long long learning
curve, and too much distraction for me.
How long should I wait after applying for a position before I follow-up. It has been as long as two
without hearing from some. Just wondering if I should send an e-mail to follow-up to see if they received my resume or not. I don't want to offend anyone but feel two weeks should be long enough for someone to at least acknowledge my resume and that I have applied for a position. Right now I would accept anything even a note saying no thanks. Any advice would be appreciated. I haven't had to apply for a job for the past 10 years so I am a bit rusty at this. Thanks again for any advice.
Congrats! How long have you been a MLS and how long did you study for the test!
Please see message. I have three daughters with long, long hair.
I also have long hair down to my waist and my three girls have hair that long too. My daughter brought them home from school last year. I was devestated and grossed out!!!! I have never had to deal with lice. Anyway, we did the treatments and two of my girls broke out in a severe rash with the OTC stuff. Their little heads were so sore!! I thought I was being meticulous with eggs, only to find them hatching again down the road. A nurse at the pediatricians office suggested I try oil to suffocate them since my girls were allergic to the lice solution. I bought a huge bottle of veggie oil and dumped it on all three heads, plus my own. I then wrapped the heads in platic wrap and then a towel. I left this on for 30 minutes. It takes a while to wash out the oil, but we never, ever had the lice or eggs again!!! If you try this, make sure you put on an old shirt and put a towel around your shoulders. Obviously we were desperate, but we all have such long hair and very thick hair so I was willing to try anything. And I figured there was no chemicals involved so that was pretty safe. And it sure did help my littles ones since their scalps were pretty raw from the solution. Hope this helps and Good luck!
It's been a long, long time since I've used a C-phone, sm
but I do think jobs can be paused.
I had a problem with this for a long, long time sm
I have always worked days, like from 6-3. Over the last few years, it didn't matter how much sleep I got, I became real groggy between 7 and 11. Really shoots the day. Talked to my doctor and he said my blood pressure pills were the culprit but he refused to change me to another brand or dosage since I have multiple aneurysms (2 in the brain). My BP has been stable for a long time and he wants to "keep it on the low side". I tried taking them before I went to bed instead of early in the morning, but then I had headaches all day. So, I am changing to a night shift for a few months so I can sleep when those pills kick in and so far it is working pretty good. I stay mostly awake during my shift and die when I hit the bed from 6 am to 10 am, then I lay down again later in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. I still get 6-7 hours of sleep, it's just split up during the day, plus I am mostly awake now when I sit down to type. I don't have to deal with the heat in my office, either. It tends to warm up real fast in here with the south sun on the house and 2 pc's running all day, even with the air conditioner on.
Way back when, a long, long time
ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I had my own accounts also and some years cleared $75,000. Yes it can be done, but you need to have your own accounts. Also lots of delivery, and other duties involved. I work for a large national now and make much less, but I got tired of accountants, having to deal with hardware problems, deadlines, driving deliveries, printing, printers, etc. So I decided to simplify my taxes and stay home and just type. Don't have to worry about computers either, because the company will just send me a new one.
Long, long files. Seemed like they'd never end! I'd never go back to VA again. nm
s
I've been doing this a long, long time...
I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!) Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place. Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly. They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line. That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages. Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas. YES, we're complaining.
Been in this biz a long, long time, 30+ years and....sm
I love/loved MTing. However, things have changed so much during these years. The job definitely gets easier; don't have to look up much, can decipher ESLs much easier, in other words, you get pretty comfortable with things and you have confidence in yourself. The more experience you have the easier the job, but....
I actually made more money 10 years ago!! We didn't have speech recognition and you actually got paid for headers/footers, demographics, carbon copies, etc., you got paid for what you did fairly; today, I am not so sure.
You will feel burned out at times, but that passes and you find you like your job again.
Good luck to you!!
A long, long time ago, I was going thru
a really bad time emotionally and physically. I was suffering, and my transcribing suffered. I assure you - if you are to the point of not paying your rent, literally, and needing food stamps, there is something else going on in your life than current transcription rates. We are all in this industry and many are thriving, most getting along comfortably. If you are literally to the point of food stamps, you honestly would be a fool to continue. I blamed it on my job, on my line rate, on everything but the honest truth that I was ill and was NOT working as I should or could. It is a really sad thing that you keep spreading this propaganda that MTs in our culture are doomed and now destined for food stamps. Food stamps are not something to toss around lightly, as you would know if you ever had to use them. Please let's not be quite so dramatic. Again, if you are really in those dire straits, you really need to face that MTing is not the fit for you, personally, and do something about it rather than blame our industry. You dwell on the past, but we can't do that. While you may have made other wages 20 years ago, may I remind you that we were pounding away on IBM Selectrics using layers of paper and bottles of white out, going crazy trying to rewind tapes over and over to get that dang word, with no idea what an Expander was. Technology is fantastic. Things have changed, but things are still great in this industry, and in this world. Those who change and can adapt will be fine, but you need to recognize that most of us are not ready for food stamps.
Sure did...you been around for a long, long year
the reason you (and I) don't get it is sm
probably cause it is a gross exaggeration of their production. No one could produce that much, unless they kept their fingers glued to the keyboard. I'm sorry, it's just not possible. Don't beat yourself up because of other people. Be proud of who you are and what you do! 
For some reason if you have a different
opinion than the people reading your post, they tend to grow fangs and sharp fingernails and tear you up. I don't understand this as we all have the right to our opinion. We need to work on a solution to resolve this issue not attack one another. We don't know what kind of situation the other posters are in and they don't know what position we are in. Just because one person has a wonderful experience with MQ and DQS does not make the person posting a bad experience with MQ and DQS a liar. It simply means that you are in different situations.
Reason
The reason for that is straightforward: the owner of the other website is very pro-offshore MT transcription and apparently is in cahouts with the MQ execs up to her eyeballs. Nothing wrong with, nothing illegal, all very straight up, but all very you scratch my back and i'll scratch yours. They LIKE each other, and the other website simply will not tolerate any negative MQ comments. And here? Well, the truth is allowed to be aired out. Thank you MT Stars for having the cahoonas!
The reason is for ME's 20% pay cut
They underbid on jobs, telling the client if they use the ASR system they will pay 2 cents less per line, telling them it is such a fast system they can do this. That is not the way it worked out. We are not producing more with it. Expansions were just as good, if not better is some cases and now they have to take the money out of our pockets. (It is on the archives here if you read back through as well.)
There was a reason behind this
As was mentioned, they are not actively seeking offshore. However, in order to keep this very large account (and it is large), they had to use some offshore labor. You know, I don't love it either. However, all of the MTs on this account could have just been out of work. So, now a little of it goes offshore, and the US MTs still have their account and their work. It's not great. It's not the ideal. But, at least we are still working.
You know the reason--
Because some idiot did it and they got sued. When I worked at a hospital years ago, it was July in Phoenix and the temperature was well over 110. We had a guy bring his daughter into the ER with burns on her legs because she went down an outside metal slide at McDonald's and got burns on her legs. His excuse was-- Well, there was no sign on the slide saying it was hot. People are just plain stupid any more.
The reason you don't see many men
in this profession is because they are unwilling to take _____ and they are also unwilling to work so hard for so little pay. I would not recommend this job to anyone just starting out, because I believe it is a dying industry. We are already seeing that now with VR, etc.
One reason why (sm)
Actually, it depends on how the company connects to the internet. At my company we cannot hire any with satellite because we use an IP Sec VPN with our platform (ExText) and there are latency (slowness) issues. If you found a company that uses SSL VPN you would be okay. Here is an article that explains it in a little more technical terms. http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/127542.html
One I like for some reason
"Don't let the screen door hit ya on the way out!"
Perhaps the reason they are
hospitalized is due to a childhood type illness that is better dealt with by a pediatrician.
Reason I'm asking is
I have a friend who uses EXText and says lines seem harder to get with EXText than with other programs. I just interviewed with a company that uses it, and I'm wondering if anyone else has trouble getting lines with this program.
This is another reason why I'm
exploring other career options. Although I've had some bad office experiences I don't think that the constant isolation is good. I agree with the suggestions to get out of the house and away from the computer.
The reason for this...
Many insurance companies are now requiring owners to sign a statement saying they will not knowingly hire anyone who has been convicted of a felony. That's why I believe we are seeing more background checks. Just the nature of the business.
run! run far away! If there was ever a reason for VR, this is IT.
x
And the reason for that is
not that they believe he is the worst. In fact, if you actually look at the site, you will see they are backing him because their whole goal is to "stick it" to AI, Simon, the producers, etc. They are backing Taylor because he is good, he's different, and he's definitely not the manufactured pop star that AI wants. They so don't know what to do with Taylor, just like they didn't know what to do with Clay. I'm sure they would love to have Kat in there because it's easy to market another California diva with the same kind of voice that you hear on the radio every day. Her attitude isn't exactly "idol" material, but then again, I'm sure it's commonplace out there so she'll fit right in. I would have loved to see two polite southern gentleman in the finals. So VFTW is backing Taylor to give a "take that" to AI, and I hope they are successful. I joined the Soul Patrol way back...right after the auditions...and I would love nothing better than to see Taylor make it all the way and welcome any help we can get.
Here's one reason
I didn't know it meant "no message". I just saw it used a lot, so I used it, thinking it was for anyone who didn't want to make up a nickname.
Would the reason you think he
sounds dumb be because of his accent? He's southern. He can't help it. But he is certainly not dumb.
Oh, the other reason is
when she e-mailed me about losing that account, she asked if I had any experience in another specialty, which I had very little of and told her so, and I have not heard back from her.
They do this for a reason. sm
The reason they give you a test that has bad audio or is otherwise difficult is because they want to see how you will handle the situation. On the job, you WILL encounter reports which have bad audio or spots that you cannot understand. It is just a simple fact of life in this field. They need to know what you will do when confronted with this situation. Will you try to gloss over your blanks and guess, or will you flag appropriately? I have worked in QA, and you would be amazed at the number of "transcriptionists" out there who will fill in whatever nonsense sounds close rather than flagging a spot appropriately. It's actually very scary. These companies just want to see if you know how to correctly handle dictation which is unintelligible. They aren't trying to make a mockery of the profession.
well one reason could be
for example, a heart condition runs in my friend's family (the condition that sometimes causes athletes to suddenly drop dead for no apparent reason) and her doctor told her that all her children should be tested because it was a 50/50 chance they would have it too. So I would imagine if her kids were still in school it might benefit the school to know this, especially if the child was involved with sports. Perhaps knowing this the school might invest in a defibrillator.
I don't know if that is the reason they ask about family history but we don't really know why they ask for it so I would probably find out why they needed that information before I either gave it out or assumed they couldn't possibly need it.
I was a little surprised at this response- It didn't sound to me like Pattie was ignoring other people's opinions, just stating her own. I certainly don't think she was trying to offend anyone. Lighten up a little. :)
reason?
Any particular reason?
The reason
I 'viewed' is because I'm thinking of making the switch over to editor, and wanted more information. Hopefully, more will respond. It's anomymous after all.
For some reason I think of CSI but that would be
pathology or Medical Examiner transcription.
BTW: Does anyone ever notice that doc who does the autopsies on CSI LV mispronounces when he is dictating? It drives me nuts. Makes me want to apply for a consultant job on the set. LOL.
I wonder if this is another reason...
for getting out of the hospital setting. Out of curiosity , I just looked to see what kind of MT positions are at my local med center. They have a part-time position transcribing for Radiology 4 hours a night , MWF. They expect :
1-2 years of progressively advanced radiology transcription experience in health care setting (hospital, clinic, etc.) Professional experience to include ability for extensive research and staying up to date in radiology procedures and equipments. Producation Expectation: 50-70 reports per day (after 1-2 MO orientation) 75-100 reports per day (after 3-5 months of orientation). Preferred: CMT
That's 12-25 reports / hour! Now , I don't know how long radiology reports are (I haven't even started my MT course yet) but does that seem like a reasonable / doable production number for radiology reports?
The reason I am asking is because I
am an IC for a client, who does not telecommute. I need a way to make up some of the driving time picking up tapes and returning completed dictation. In researching, I came across the Express Scribe and wondered if there is anyone else out there who uses it to convert the microcasettes to text. If there is anyone, who could give some insight or advice about this, I would greatly appreciate it!
The reason is...sm
I thought all transcriptionists used spellcheck. It is to assure that if you overlook a word then it will highlight it so you know that you misspelled it. It is easy to accidentally put 2 letters or something like that. With spellcheck I am assured nothing has been overlooked.
I have never transcribed without a spellcheck. Out of habit, I am so used to it I don't feel right not using it. It saves so much time also. With my software it will highlight and if it is a word you aren't sure the correct spelling of it give the suggestions and saves me the time of having to look it up. It is just something I have always used and don't feel right not having it.
|
