9 cents per 65 character line and 9 cents every 65 char are two different things.
Posted By: sm on 2006-08-04
In Reply to: Yes, 9 cents per 65-character line. - nm
do they take your character count and divide by 65, or do you have a line length of 65 and you are paid for however many lines are on a page.
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Yes, 9 cents per 65-character line.
nm
I think you can expect to get 5 to 7 cents per 65-character line as a newbie. I started at 7 cpl as
nm
If I get paid 7 cents per 65-Character.....
by electonic character count, do you think that would be with spaces or without?
Anyone? Not sure!
Thanks!!
7 cents a line
I graduated in Aug - my first job finally came in Sept/Oct they started me out at 7 cents doing orthro clinics.
Cents per line...
Yes, at 6 or 7 cents a line, that is strictly training wages. Don't settle for anything like that, especially if you have experience and you know you are good at what you do. These companies make anywhere from 14.5 cents on up for the work they receive throughout outsourcing so, in essence, whatever you make, they make, except you are the one doing all of the work, paying for your phone line/internet, etc.
If they only want to pay 6 or 7 cents a line, let them get new grads or someone with no experience, that way they will get what they pay for.
Cents per line
This is a post of new graduates or soon-to-be graduates, who need to gain experience. !!!
I charged 14 cents per line.
I drove every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to pick up and deliver work. I had six accounts in one building and had them for seven years. I recently let them go because I moved and no longer wanted to drive. You definitely charge more. Think of how much time you spend printing, delivering and picking up. It is much more cost on your part than working for a service and doing everything on line.
Oooh... 3 cents per line.
.
6 cents a line and happy
Hmmmmm....you must not have any real bills, just blow by money eh?
6 or 7 cents a line for EXPERIENCED transcriptionists? SM
I don't think any self-respecting experienced MT will work for you for that kind of money. I know for sure I wouldn't. Do you think we're all that hard up for work? It's an insult to our intelligence, knowledge, job skills, etc. You are a joke.
when every newbie gets a job right out of school at 6 cents per line, I will say they are worth 6 nm
nm
Are there companies offering 7 cents a line to new graduates? sm
This person has been offered 6 cents a line but I know the company and getting a raise will be like pulling teeth even if you do excellent work. This graduate will be doing acute care and feel like 6 cents is okay for clinic but 7 cents is more in line for acute care. This student graduated with honors from MT course.
4 cents per line for speech editor/voice recognition
Is this a decent pay?
Thanks 2 cents
sounds good to me.
My 2 cents
While I do agree it is important to get a good education, I have to disagree with the people on this board that seem to think that the only way to get a job is to go to one of the top three.
This has not been the case for me, or for many people that I know. In fact, the school I went to is quite frowned upon, but I feel very good in how I am doing. Yes, if I had done my homework before starting school I probably would have taken a different course. The fact is that those of us that did not go to the top three deserve the chance to be viewed as an MT, not as a school project.
If someone were on here asking what school to go to, I would tell them that the top three are the best place to look. However, if they are here looking for guidance after the fact, I would never tell them that they are second class, and that is the viewpoint that I, and probably more people, see when we read this board.
My 2 cents...sm
I don't think it's meant to be a negative thing. I will soon hit my 3-year mark as an MT, so it makes me wonder how long one is considered a newbie. I consider myself - experienced - in that I can do a lot of work types and specialities, but I am absolutely still learning something new nearly every day, which I think is a good thing.
my two cents
I also have spent 2 years of my life and $16,000 to be trained in the Medical Office Field. With the negativity and attitude from the experienced MTs at these sites I am realizing they soon may no longer need sites like this. Overseas MT's will be the only MT's receiving any training...how sad!!! I can't figure out why someone with a talent would not want to mentor others!
My Two Cents
Almost every reputable company that hires new graduates provides full QA and training at no cost to the employee/IC. A reputable company that provides quality product to their clients will not let newbie loose on an account with it. Of course, you do have to have an education from a good school and the knowledge and skill to be able to pass their employment test. Take some time and check out some other companies using one of MT resource sites. It should be very enlightening. Remember, many companies will waive their experience requirements for graduates from schools such as Andrews and M-Tec. Very few, if any, of their graduates have ever had to pay to work.
This crud about having to pay for or not being paid during an internship/training is a direct result of AAMT/ADHI's push for apprenticeships for the profession. There were very few of these "opportunities" prior to the apprenticeship talk, and the ones that were out there were known scams. Now it just another way to maximize the bottom line while taking advantage of newbies who are lacking proper education or confidence or ability or are just desperate to get a foot in the door.
My two cents....
I graduated in August as well, and after applying to dozens of companies I finally accepted an IC position with a company. I figured at least I would be getting some experience until something better comes along. I have only been working 3 weeks and I am glad I made that decision. You have to start somewhere, and it is so hard finding that first job. I figure once I get some experience, then maybe a better offer will come along such as a position that pays hourly rather than by the line and one that will hire me as an employee and provide benefits. I am just as new to this career as you, but I think we need to gain experience before we will find something better. Good luck in your endeavors and hang in there!!
My 2 cents.
in your post. For anyone who is interested, not all documents need be prepared to perfection. Some dictators like you to transcribe what they say and have coined phrases and refuse to have it transcribed any other way. So please, do not put forth that this profession is based solely on proper ANYTHING because it isn not. I have 19 years of experience in this field and was trained in a 4-year program. No, I am not a CMT because it is not a requirement to be an accurate transcriptionist. Thanks for listening. 
P/S: Any nurses, I feel, would be fine with transcribing since they are used to the medical terminology. However, typing speed is a plus as well, but not necessary. Accuracy is the key. Speed comes with time!!!!
I got 6 cents right out school.
Even as a newbie, I think 3 cents would be an insult.
Here is my 2 cents worth
Sometimes clinic work won't really be for a few doctors, it'll be for a system of clinics often with very, very short reports with just as much fact checking and account specs as any other place. You might be surprised and find your speed much slower for a while, I know I was.
Teaching hospitals often have the best and the worst of dictators. Residents are honing their craft and learning to dictate well is a part of that. I think we all have to bear with them. Eventually, they will improve.
As for the group of seven hospitals all with different specs, sure it will take you a while to get up to speed. It would take anyone a while to get up to speed. Granted it would be very nice if the company you work for would just give you one hospital per month to get a good grip on the specs before adding another. But, unfortunately, MTSOs are not so considerate anymore. You do sound to be learning them and basically doing okay.
My first MT job was for a teaching hospital too, only there I could do operative notes, but no ER. I had to look up a lot of words/phrases here and there. I looked up things just to make sure I knew what they were. I probably wasted a lot of time. For my efforts, I started off making less than minimum wage and was stuck at about $4.00 per hour for close to a year as far as speed goes, so I would work 12 hour days or as long as I could in a day. But after a while, I broke that and started to make a bit more per hour and in my day. I discovered I was flying through some dictators, while others still held me back. Eventually, it does get better if you hang in there. We who work at home are production employees or ICs and not hourly employees. I started feeling better about my speed, production and myself once I put that into perspective. I also increased my speed and production once I got it off my mind and concentrated on each job at hand. I also set myself line goals for the day, say 800, 1000 or 1200, whatever you feel comfortable with and worked steadily until I met that daily line count, which increased my pay also.
I did not start using ShortHand until I was working for about a year. It certainly does help. Anymore I do so much editing that it is not as much help as I had hoped it would be. I think that really depends on the account(s) you have. Shorthand is nice, but is limited with editing. And as far as editing goes, it is crap everywhere. I just decided to bite the bullet and accept it. I actually don't mind it so much now. But, again, that really depends on the account as some are better than others.
I sincerely do not think you should beat yourself up over your concerns. Despite what schools and MT advertisements tell us, it really does take a while to learn to be a really good MT. We all have been where you are (and some of us never thought we'd get through it to make decent money), but with continued practice, patience and confidence in yourself, it will all get better. I myself would think twice about leaving any job right now in this economy. I've had enough jobs so far to know the grass isn't always greener in another pasture.
I hope my perspective was helpful to you. It is, after all, only my opinion.
God bless you.
6 or 7 cents? :::snorting::: I made 7.5 at the job I landed even BEFORE I graduated from (lm)
The School That Dare Not Speak Its Name. I then left that job for another one making 8 cents. I am now making 8 cents a line from home, and my one-year anniversary of graduating from MT training is not until May.
Six or seven cents? Not in THIS life. And I have had NO trouble finding jobs. I still get people calling me based on the resumes I sent out back when I first started looking, and I have to tell them I am no longer looking for work.
Nice try, MTSO. But trying to convince people to work for 6 or 7 cents a line shouldn't play as long as some of us are here to bring a little reality into the situation.
do you mean you make 9 per every 65 char?
x
Gross line means anything on a line is a line, even if just one word
it is counted as a line. Not sure what exactly you are asking, but if you are comparing gross line to the usual 65 characters plus spaces gross line is better. If you make 7.5 cpl per gross line that equals approximately 9.5 cpl based on 65 characters.
Word Character count.
The easiest way is to go into your Word toolbar, and click on character count (with or without spacing, depends on you school or employer) take that number and divide by 65. There you go.
Sorry I misspoke. Character count divided by 65.
nm
65 character count is standard across the board
i think i would prefer 65, and take a lower per line pay to get my feet in the door. However, recognizing how hard it is for new MT's to be hired, if the training is good, I'd take it just for the experience.
Are you getting your line count from your program or can you use the line counting software to do
s
Some things to think about regarding
It's expensive and time-consuming for employers to train a new MT. You have to consider this from their perspective. They run a business, not a support group.
Being new to the industry, you won't know this, but the chance you want them to give you requires them to hire someone to, basically, do all your work over again and then tell you what's wrong with it, sometimes for six months. You're asking them to spend in the range of $20-30,000 in addition to what they paid YOU to do the work inadequately . . . so that you can have a chance.
If you've taken an employment test with them and have not scored in the 95% and above range, or, with some companies 98%, they're not going to take you because they believe that after completing a course, you should have been able to make that 95 or 98%. If you cannot, it tells them that you spent a year or two in school and still didn't get the message. They're not going to give you a chance because they think you already had one.
They also look at the school you attended. If that school has a reputation for turning out poor prospects, then the employer knows that hiring you will be a waste. He also knows that you could have determined in advance which schools he will hire from and whose graduates do well, and he thinks that you made your choice about jobs when you chose your school, and if you chose a school that he won't hire from . . . well, that was your decision. Not his. He owes you nothing.
Before you choose a school, do your research. Going with the lowest bidder gets you a low-bid education. You need to go with a school that can demonstrate results. Graduates of those schools do not have trouble getting a job.
If you have already completed a school and cannot get a job, you can go on to a better school, or you can look locally for a physician office employer and work your way up from there.
Most college programs train only at the "physician office" level. Most distance programs train at that level, as well, so you should have the skills for that kind of job. Once there, you can work your way up to a larger office, a larger clinic, perhaps a local hospital. Along the way, you can improve your skills by self study. It may take three to five years, but you can advance that way. It's often less expensive just to take a better course, even if you've already completed one.
If you are just out of school and nobody wants to hire you, they're telling you that your academic preparation is not what they consider to be adequate for the jobs they have.
there's several things to consider.
Are you working 12+ hours because it takes that long to get the required line count, or just to make enough money at your line rate? Under most circumstances, i would work your 1st job for at least 1 year, and maybe more. Many employers will overlook the time requirement, or not be as strict with it, if you have the knowledge and skills in place. Have you asked your present employer for a raise? Are you getting the mentoring that a newbie needs? Do you have worthwhile benefits? If you are getting 'very good' work experience and do not run out of work, it may be worth staying put awhile. E/m me if i can be of more help.
Things to look out for
There are errors in their course material. There are other courses that are more thorough with more accessible knowledgeable staff. Also be aware that there are people, a lot of them former students, out there who are "affiliates" that make a decent income by promoting CareerStep and getting people to sign up for the course.
Yes, but all those things you
mentioned can be written off as business expenses since they are required for your work. There are other write offs and percentages you can take as well by working from home, maybe not the whole heating bill of course.
Like working anywhere, there are always expenses incurred associated with any job.
there are all ways of looking at things
I'm going to respond to you, item by item –
>>>The seasoned MT's and recruiters are using this forum to vent on their frustration with the newer MT's.<<<
What I saw was one harshly worded message from MTSO. As a former business owner myself, I see where they are coming from. While I do not agree with the manner in which they expressed their views, I can look beyond their frustration and understand how they feel. Try to look beyond how MTSO expressed their views and focus more on what they were saying.
>>>This is just my opinion, but if you need to put others down to make yourself feel superior go to the site where the seasoned MT's are.<<<
Putting others down to make yourself feel superior is what kids do. And why are you using the term “seasoned MTs" when you speak of people with a lot of experience. You make us sound like a steak going on the grill.
>>>This site is for newer MT's that need advice and a place to talk to other new MT's. Seems inappropriate for the experienced MT's to jump on this site to talk about what makes them mad about the newer MT's.<<<
What MTO did is give you serious advice, and you need to seriously consider WHAT was said rather than HOW it was said. And if you want to speak of what’s inappropriate, I feel it is very inappropriate for someone trying to break into the industry to post messages on the Main Board asking for help with their test.
>>>Has it been that long that we cannot remember what it was like, or was it like this.
Every day of my life. And I was grandfathered for this job. I never went to school for it. If you had a good ear and good spelling skills, you received on-the-job training. I vividly remember my first day on the job ... I think I transcribe 250 lines in 8 hours. And the work was filled with blanks and errors. Now, I'm asked to do some dictators that more experienced MTs say they can’t do.
>>>I did not have to apply for a job with my computer. I actually got to speak face to face with someone hiring. Maybe if my lack of experience did not charm them, I could. I think it is harder to apply on paper than it was for us in person.
I agree with this. I do very well with face-to-face interviews. With respect to applying for a job over the Internet, it’s become “dog eat dog” so to speak. With so much being outsourced to foreign countries, there are thousands of MTs in this country who are fighting for the same jobs with the same companies. You’re no longer a person; now, you’re a white piece of paper with black ink on it. And that’s all you have to sell yourself beyond the competition.
<<<Let's lighten up a little bit ladies and play nice.<<<
Kill joy!
mastering these things?
Doesn't a lot of this come with time? It's seems like with transcription, like anything, you have to jump in there and do it. If your serious about it, will you not learn to master all these things over time? I mean anyone can do anything they really put there mind to.
It depends on a LOT of things.
Have you systematically inundated companies with your resume? And what's your resume like? Is it EXCELLENT? Does it show the employer all the specialties you've learned? Does it show other experience that might be helpful, such as working at home in a home business (many employers wonder how you will handle being at home) or general transcription, etc.? Are you keeping HIGHLY accurate records of all the places you've applied to and following up with thank you notes even with the places that won't hire you? Have you reapplied after not hearing from them in a couple of weeks? Have you networked on different chat groups with other MTs? Have you placed your resume on any of the sites that take MT resumes (including this one)? What exactly have you done? We need more information!
Cannot say enough good things about M-TEC!
You get what you pay for! :-)
Depends on a lot of things
Depends on how long you have been working as an IC, do you have a husband that works and has taxes withheld, what deductions you have as an IC, combined income, etc. My best adcive is that if this is your first year as an IC, to go to an account with your last year's taxes, your husband's (if you are married) last pay check stub, a report of what you have made year to date and what your expenses have been and get some advice. Do not wait until after the first of the year when they are so busy. But for the first year talk to an accountant, pay $50 to $100 for some advice. They are not as busy right now and it could be cheaper than if you wait until the first of the year. Or else, get a copy of Turbo tax and try to do your taxes even it if is based on last year's program and that will tell you what you need. If you are married and have trouble putting aside money, I suggest you have your husband up his withholding, it is easier that way. E-mail me with questions and I will try and answer for you. Patti
Cannot say enough good things about M-TEC!
I graduated from the premier program nearly 8 years ago now and have been employed at home since graduation. I had numerous offers to test because many companies will waive the 2-year experience requirement for MTEC grads. I had job offers every place I tested, so I had my pick. Like the other poster said, go to their site and research or call them up. Best of luck to you! 
A couple of things...
1. People who hire do read these boards so, for your own sake, watch spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
2. Have you tried contacting your school for help with your job search? That should be your first step.
Lots of luck.
These questions seem like things
your instructor could answer better than anyone here could. In general, when to edit for grammar, what format to use, and how to decode mumblers are all things that you will get better at with more and more practice, so don't get too discouraged. For those hard to understand dictations, try playing at different speeds (even faster) and going back to the difficult parts after you have transcribed the entire report. As you do more and more reports, you can look back through them to figure out what a dictator might be most likely to say at that point, which may give you a clue. Another trick is to put key phrases around the part you can't understand in Google and see if you come up with something. You can put an asterisk for the part you can't understand and put the key phrase in quotes and sometimes that will help, for example "* prostatic hypertrophy."
It can really help to say it out loud in the doc's accent! Really! Some things just pop out at yo
s
Unless you are facinated with all things medical
.
Thank you so much for you honesty. The things you said are very true. I only wish I had read some
Hard to tell as each company does things differently.
I'm sure they'll ask the basics about your experience, what work type you prefer, hours/lines you can do each day, etc. They may ask you questions to see how well you know your stuff. They should also ask you if you have any questions and they should tell you what they are looking for, what their platform is, how they pay, etc.
typo, fascinated by all things medical. nm
.
Moving to California and selling a few things
Hi All,
I am taking a long break and moving to California. Yeap that's right I am just up and leaving. So I must travel Lite.
I am in search of a house to rent--so if any of you Californians know of a place I would appreciate it.
I am selling: This would be great for someone thinking of evidently having their own accounts.
C-phone and headset with instruction manual (paid $200)
USB universal foot pedal (paid $100)
Panasonic Cassette transcriber with foot pedal (regular cassette) (paid $250) Great for those doctors still using regular cassettes or great doing general transcription work.
Resource materials:
Medical Transcription Guide Do's and Don'ts 3rd edition (this is the most recent one) (paid $44)
Nurse's Pocket Drug Guide
PDR Nurse's Drug Handbook
Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary 27th edition
Sloane's Medical Word Book
The AAMT Book of Style
Stedman's Medical Dictionary (Illustrated in color) 28th edition with CD
The language of Medicine with CD inside
Medical Transcriptionist's Desk Reference (Carolyn Collins-Gates)
CD transcription sample reports
I would like to sell all as one price so best offer.
I hate it when husbands INSIST on things ...
when they don't know what they're talking about!
Way too many people drop out of MT courses, the schools are smart enough to get all the money up front.
Plus there is the "monitor" board to report things, look at left - nm
s
I think jealousy makes the unsuccessful schools say bad things about the others
If I had a really bad school that nobody liked and it had a really bad reputation, what would I do? I would claim that education doesn't matter. I would tell people that you don't need all those books and materials because you learn it all on the job anyway. I would tell people that all schools are horrible. In other words, I would try to bring everyone else down to my level. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't why we see so much negativity about schools when the graduates tell a different story. Graduates of schools that do a good job say it was worth it. Graduates of stinky schools say they wish they had done it differently. Then someone yells that all schools are bad. I think they protesteth too much.
Sorry, I read the wrong post. I had way too many things on my mind.
but that said, I think the local hospitals would be your best bet. You can get invaluable experience there. Especially with acute care.
Good luck with your job search. WIll keep you and your family in my prayers.
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