&that rate is experienced MT. Figure you making

• I've got a JOB! - newbiemommt
  • To All FYI - newbielw
  • I know it's not great, but... - newbiemommt
    • I understand - Lara
      • My husband - newbiemommt
        • Will say some prayers for you, your husband, and you family. - cjsi
        • Don't believe the docs' prognosis...sm - cat
          • cardiomyopathy - newbiemommt
        • Sounds like my DH, doesn't care that he - sm -
          • Heart Transplant - newbiemommt
  • Congratulations! - newbielw
  • Great News! Congratulations - NM - LinK
  • Congrats...I am happy for you - anon
    • My excitement... - newbiemommt
      • cpw or cpl? - anon
      • Bet MTSO is tickled, also, to get an MT for 5 cpl. - MTSO should be ashamed of herself. nm
        • clarification - newbiemommt
          • Did the MTSO, who is saintly for hiring newbies, - mention 45 min dictation wont take 45 min to type?
          • That is still a low rate, - but might be okay to start.
          • But how long does it take U to do 45 min. job? - Standard is takes 3-4 min. to do 1 min. of dictati
            • &that rate is experienced MT. Figure you making - $10 or less per hour. Not good in my book. nm
              • have to agree - anon
          • 1/2 cpw for 2-3 letter work okay but not so great for - 8-12 letter word, which is most medical terms. nm
            • Work = word - nm

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plural possessive. Even my 4th grader can do that. And, just like any business, unfortunately, there are some EMT's I would let get near my DoG!

The point was, poster above was banging on the old drum about getting a SOLID MT education from a REALLY GOOD school which probably was leading to "and it has to be ONE OF THE BIG THREE..."

Hi everyone,

I do not wish to intrude here as I am not an MT or even a student at this point, and I hope you will not hold it against me. However I need advice and after reading over the posts on this forum I felt this would be the best place to get it.

I was recently diagnosed with some health problems that are going to force me to make some serious lifestyle changes and I will have to quit my current job. My doctor suggested doing some kind of desk work and mentioned medical transcription. I have tried to find some information on medical transcription work but when looking on the Internet I am and unable to determine if the information I am finding is credible. For instance when I type in 'medical transcription information' in a search engine I am directed to MT schools and home courses and I am not certain if these are reliable sources.

I would like to ask the experienced folks on this board for information. What kind of training do I need? What are the best and most reputable sources of this training? What is the probability that I will be able to find work upon completion of my training? Also would it be possible for me to work from my home as my illness progresses?

I am so sorry to ask so many questions but I really do not know where else to turn. I want to approach this very carefully and not make any rash decisions. I appreciate everyone's patience with me as I know that newbies can be annoying. All advice will be carefully considered.

Kind regards to all,

Doug

Hello All,

I am a new MT. I was certified with Career Step in Apr. I began working for Spheris in May. My line count is 100 lines per hour. I get paid 5 cents per line. Is this pay good for new MTs? Is Spheris a good company?

Hello everyone.  I am a newbie.  Not long ago I posted about having three job opportunities and how happy and fortunate I felt.  I turned one down because the pay was excrutiatingly low--even for a newbie!  The other was occasional part-time work for a day or two every month or so.  I accepted that.  Then I accepted a part-time IC position, which is what I really wanted.

Everything seemed fine--I was so happy.  I took three different tests with this company (which I passed with high marks), an online interview, and a telephone interview.  I went through two training sessions on the company software.  And I signed all my contracts.  Now....I have heard NOTHING from them.  No letter.  No introduction to my editor.  No acknowledgement whatsoever.  I've emailed them assuring my eagerness to work with them.  But I've gotten silence.  It has only been a few days, but still, doesn't it seem strange?  In any other job I've had (all non-MT related), when I was hired, it was definite.

What should I do?  Should I email them again?  Should I send a letter via snail mail?  Should I call?  I hesitate to do that because it's a fairly large company and I don't even know if the receptionist will know who I am, since I never actually started working for the company!

I can't tell you how excited I was about this.  I felt like I really "hit it off" with the company, if you know what I mean.  I've begun testing for other companies again, just in case.  I feel badly about it.  If I get another offer before I hear from them (IF I hear from them), I'll most likely take it.

From reading this board, I've heard about "overhiring."  Do you think I'm a victim of that?  Folks, what would you do in my position?  Thanks ever so much for any help anyone can give me!

what I did was beg my way into a job for next to nothing ($5 an hour - this was 20 years ago and it was an 80 mile round trip hike). But then I got experience and moved on from there. It never fails to boggle my mind when I post a job opening and get 700 responses, including newbies who believe their MT teachers who told them that is what they should ask. Remember you are competing against 699 other people who want that job, including people who have years under their belt. So what makes newbies think they are worth that? Bottom line is, they aren't, and proof is: What does the market bear? If newbies were worth 6 cents a line, they would be hired at 6 cents a line. You cannot believe all the work that I have to do to take on a newbie. The last one I hired offered to do it for 3. She was smart. Rather than get 0 lines at 6 cents she is getting 2000 lines at 3 cents - and "buying" her 2 years experience. In two years, she will be in the job market while the other newbies are sitting at home, pouting that they can't get their 6 cents a line job. JMHO. I know there are some who will flame me for this but like I said, bottom line is newbies can't get hired for 6 cents - therefore proves not worth it. It's sure not worth it to me.

to not use your degrees and stay home with your babies...but in the REAL world most women do not have that option if they want to be able to feed and clothe their children.  You really CAN'T live on love.  I had to put my oldest son in daycare at 6 weeks old.  I hated it, but he certainly couldn't stay home by himself!  It had nothing to do with "social skills" or "convenience."  It was "necessity."  I was fortunate enough to be able to stay home with my other 2 children (as my paycheck would have just barely covered the cost of 3 kids in daycare, so it wasn't worth it).

You really shouldn't be so judgmental and self-righteous.  There are 2 sides to every story...not just YOUR side.

Seriously.

Chickadee

I am thinking about going to one of the top 2 schools.  If I graduate and am hired as a FT employee by one of the nationals, what do you think would be a reasonable/average rate of pay per line? 

I am trying to get an image of what my finances might look like in the year following graduation. I need to sell this idea to my husband as it is a considerable financial outlay and I need to assure him it will be worth it.  I assume I will have a minimum line count per pay period (say 10-12,000 every 2 weeks).  Is it reasonable to think that after a month or two on the job FT a newbie from a good school could possibly make 120-150lph production?

Thanks for any feedback.

I'm a student MT who will graduate in May. Right now at my current job I make $15/hour. I decided to become a MT for a career change. I'm worried after reading the post below that new MTs can start out between $5 to $9 an hour? I just don't understand why anyone would take that as acceptable pay as an MT when it is a obviously an important job. Don't we deserve more than that, even as a new MT? Minimum wage in my state is $8.07/hour, why would anyone accept less? 

you are assuming chiropractic care and chiropractic adjustments are the same thing and I don't think you can make that assumption.  For example, he may be thinking of doing some myofascial release under chiropractic care and then specifying adjustments. I would put "chiropractic care, (the other treatments,) and chiropractic adjustment. 

a) he probably won't even notice what you consider a redundancy, if he reads it all

b) why would you want to take OUT words from a dictation - you get paid for them, don't you? 

In the healthcare field, we don't make assumptions.

I just could not let this pass unanswered.

What you forgot to mention Dianne is that you also paid for the online course and some great Instructors.  I should know, I graduated earier this year and I had two job offers within two weeks.  They really know how to teach MT!

One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.

Brenda

I respect what each of you have written.  Many benefits that this job gives us ARE truly priceless.  But that is beside the fact. 

If the companies keep seeing people posting here saying that they essentially are willing to trade decent pay for these benefits, then that pulls EVERYONE down to a lower level of pay -- which includes people such as myself who have this as their only income.  There is no incentive to companies to even CONSIDER paying us more if we basically tell them give us our candy and we'll be good little kids and then let them walk all over us.  We can't demand higher pay and say we're satisfied with what we have at the same time. 

For some of you the pay may be just fine.  You have husbands or savings or family, etc.  There are others who MUST make a living at this for one reason or another and MUST make as much as they can.  Some of us are caregivers, some have disabilities, some are trying to attend school, etc.  It hurts us when people make compromises and send that message to the MTSOs. 

I've said it before and I will keep saying it -- anyone who works from home can have the benefits you mentioned but they also deserve a decent salary for their work.  They are two completely different things.  No home accountant, dentist, car repairman, electician, physician with office in their home, lawyer with office in their home -- you think they lower their rates because they have the above-mentioned benefits?  Think again.  I use quite a few of them and they charge no less than anyone else. 

Working from home = good for the employee/IC.

Working from home with decent pay = good for the employee/IC and just as well. (as in "justice.")

Working from home for less pay just to get to work from home = a compromise that affects more than just a few and overall not a sound decision because you are not fighting for what you are worth (whether you feel you need it or not).   You are letting emotions override reason.  Yes, there are savings in gas, etc. but we still deserve more money. 

People who take public transportation to a job outside their home save money in gas too but they are not paid a lower wage because they take the bus or ride the metro!  People who wear uniforms are not paid a lower wage because they don't have to get dressed up!  People who are allowed to bring their kids to work (I worked for such a firm) are not paid a lower wage because they can bring their kids to work.  So what makes that acceptable for us?

Same goes for the question of benefits.  You may not need them.  Others do.  It matters very much what a company's benefits are.  Good for those who don't have to worry about it.  They can decline.  But all of us should be offered the best so that those of us who do need them can afford them.   

And if you reply, well, if you don't like a company you can change jobs, it's not about that either.  It's about the salary range overall for the transcription profession period.  Benefits come second and are an entirely different category.  The standard of pay affects each and every one of us from the most experienced to the newest newbie.  Benefits affect some of us but they ARE important and are also worth fighting for.  If you don't need them, there are enough who do.  

Companies watch one another.  They watch this board to see what we want.  They watch this board to see how little they can give us and still retain us.  Right now we have people saying "unionize!" and others saying "It's okay.  I get to stay home which is something I'm willing to take less pay for."  You honestly think the MTSOs are taking us seriously??? 

Look, I'm not trying to come down on you -- good for you for what you are able to have.  I'm glad for you.  Just please look at the overall picture, look at us as a group of professionals who deserve what any professional deserves working from home or not.  Why should we be treated any differently?  Why should we make compromises?  You are deserving of a decent, living wage and all the benefits a company can give period.  Anything else is icing on the cake.  At least, it is in other professions.  Let's NOT be "specialists" in compromising.

Are we a team or not?  We're giving the MTSOs mixed messages here folks!  Let's look out for one another. 

I have someone asking me what line rate I would be willing to work at on a 13 words per line basis, and I have no idea what to answer. Can someone please give me some advice on this?

Thank you!

Can anyone tell me the going rate per line for employee status?  I am currently IC, but looking for employment.  Any help appreciated. - Newbie!