I guess I should have clarified this since posts have been
Posted By: from MTs defending their jobs on 2009-04-07
In Reply to: I cannot understand why anybody would - try to be an MT in this day and age
what I meant was why anybody would go to the trouble of starting out now to be an MT..the intense training it takes. I certainly can understand those of us who have been in the biz for a while... but now I see the post above is about "being a part time MT" Do newbies not understand the amount of training it takes? That is my point...it takes years to be proficient to cover all acute care...and only to make a small wage...that was my point.. And I stand by it. It is a profession that absolutely does not pay off for new hires.
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Maybe I should have clarified
Certainly, I meant no offense to this profession or anyone else. I never meant to imply that anyone should compromise. I just choose to look at the bright side, that there are other things I consider when I have a bad MT day. In fact, if I'd known this profession would dip so badly pay-wise, I would have chosen something else. The school I trained with didn't say a word about the profession not paying well or how varied it was.
I did not really mean to imply I am content to work for what works out to less than minimum wage on average or even on a few days. But, I did admit that there are days when my work comes out to less sometimes. Maybe I spend too much time researching, am not fast enough or it's a matter of getting too may mumble-mouth dictators in a shift. I did not mean to imply that I am happy about that and that everyone else should be too. As far as I can tell from this board, 4/8 is a fair starting rate for less than two years MT, which is what I have.
Granted, I can afford a positive attitude only because I have a working husband who also provides healthcare and he pays the mortgage. Right now, I would not be able to do either. I realize my situation is not everyone elses'. I did not even find this board until after I had graduated, I wish I had. I am still working on my productivity while maintaining accuracy. I expect I can bring that up more. And we all know productivity = lines = pay.
To all, please forgive me if I seemed insensitive. I did not intend that at all.
I know...should have clarified question
I am new to the board and understand that the question has been answered for others. I guess what I am wondering is how hard is it to find at-home work for newbies? I feel that I am on here to find help, not feel that I am an annoyance since the question has been asked before.
i'd guess
that employers are always looking for those willing to work weekends, evening or night hours; of course, someone with common sense, English skills and terminology knowledge, and esp someone they can depend upon. But above all, someone that does quality transcription, not just someone going fast for the money they can make. Blanks are much more acceptable than errors. When looking for a company, there are so many factors to consider. But definitely beware of any outfit that requires money up front of any kind (and avoid). Try to go with a company you see represented on this or other legitimate boards. Age should not be a problem. Most will try to hire cheap so have enough confidence in what you bring to the table that you don't sell yourself short, even while trying to break into the field. Good luck!
Guess I still need
A LOT of help! ;) Thank you for everything. I will definately remember that one since I embarassed myself on here.
Guess what
My doctor recommended this course to me. He and his fellow doctors perfer AHP graduates.
And guess what? I am smart enough to research online and in other books about transcription. I love reading the word help postings and trying to find the answer myself. That is good practice. I have purchased extra dictation to transcribe too. If you want to do anything well you have to give it your all.
It's okay for a newbie I guess
Generally (not always though), 1 minute of dictation equals 10 lines of transcription. So, a 60-minute dictation would be 600 lines. At $40 per dictated hour, that would be equivalent to 6.66 cents per line.
Thanks!!! =) Could be better, could be worse I guess!
n/a
Guess I got lucky!
I worked with a great group of people who were more than happy to answer a quick question if they could, and after a while it went both ways. I really didn't understand the competitiveness until I worked for a national inhouse when they had an office here in town. What a rude awakening.
I guess I have two questions?
1. Why is it such a shock to newbies that the field is so hard to break into?
2. Why aren't the people who sell these MT training programs telling newbies that it is so?
Well I guess I have never had a job then. I must have imagined that I did.
x
I guess I was lucky
I graduated in June from At-Home Professions. I had a job a few weeks before I was finished. Now four months later I am done training and making 10-cents a line! I had a mentor until last week and now I am completely on my own working for a hospital in California in Neurology. I guess I was just lucky...keep on trying. I could not afford the "top three" schools. I feel that my school was adequate, it gave me a start and I've had to work really hard, but it has been well worth it-I am making awesome money, work about 4 hours a day and get to stay home with my 2 boys. Find someone to mentor you-the best thing I ever did.
I guess no one, huh? Wow! Bad sign maybe?...nm
nm
I guess you did not understand
what I said then.
I guess I should proof my work better too...ha ha
guess it's true what they say about newbies...sm
a bunch of eager-beaver pants-wetters who know everything from their 20 hours of transcribing "real" tapes, plus entitlement attitudes
I guess I'm just not willing to work THAT hard
But you are right, if you are IC you have no health care benefits, 401k, etc, so you'd get paid more. Also working for 3 different companies helps. Good luck to you.
Should be exception....... I guess my emotions
i guess when they moved your post
they deleted my answer. Did you (OP) see it first?
Agree with below, leave blanks, don't guess
You should never guess. If you are not sure, leave a blank. I don't know for sure, but companies will most likely hold you to the same QA standards as everyone else, but they may be more understanding that you have to send more blanks to QA. Ask QA to send the corrections back to you so you can review them.
I guess you don't mind working for $5-10 an hour.
I don't feel 5 cpl is worth my time. Even doing 200 lph (it took me 7 months to get to that point), I would only be making $10 an hour. Why would anyone waste their time? Their are companies out there that offer new MTs much better rates. But if you don't feel you are worth more than that, by all means, go ahead and accept minumum wage.
Guess I didn't link it! Pasted inside...sm
http://www.unitedtran.com/default.htm nm.
I guess most of us weren't responding to that...just commenting in general. sm
...especially regarding the comments of the comment on the comment....ya know?
Guess what, it's not just the testing. MANY doctors are terrible dictators.
Sometimes the dictation they use for the test is from the actual doctors they are hiring MTs for. If you can't do it on the test, you can't do it, period.
of these posts before I enrolled in an MT course. Thanks
Please read through the posts below (sm)
and be forewarned that there are so-called "companies" and "MTSOs" out there who say they hire newbies but then ask for money upfront in order to work for them. Bottom line: do not pay to work, except for purchasing your own software and equipment. Reputable companies and MTSOs will not ask you for money and will not need you to buy a footpedal from them. Take care and good luck!
It's been only a little over a month since the last posts about this (sm)
Tsk, tsk. This woman needs to go away and stop ripping people off.
Maybe it would help if posts had times on them
so we could see when each was posted. Sometimes it's two people posting at once, and one person got interrupted in the middle and took a while to finish and send.
I agree with both posts above...
I have over 30 years experience and started in a hospital.
Good luck!
If all you get from reading the MQ posts
is about ASR, you're not paying attention.
All of your posts are helpful, but
I'm an almost Newbie who has become very confused reading all the posts about good schools, bad schools, good companies, bad companies -whew - my head is turning. This is something I have wanted for a long time. I've gotten taken by 2 bad schools and I'm just about to finish my third attempt and this time I'm determined to work. My problem is I can't afford to quit my current job in insurance and maybe not make enough money as an MT. I also don't know where to start to find a reputable company to even try to get MT work. I got into the Trans-Scam deal about 4 years ago and that had just completely discouraged me. I thought I would never be able to be an MT. I just didn't have what it takes. This time I'm determined and would certainly appreciate all the feedback you all have. I read some posts from MT's making pretty good money - but does anyone ever reveal what those good companies are?
Posted by DJ...about 8 posts down. nm
There are several recent posts....
from their graduates who have found jobs. You may want to do a quick search. 
What about all the "I can't get an MT job, nobody will hire me" posts?
Are all those people who are begging for work lying?
Just because some people get lucky and get jobs regardless of their training (or lack thereof) certainly doesn't mean everyone will get lucky.
Toni, I have been seeing your posts SM
and I have to say that you are really misinformed about the MT world. To any newbie reading, her opinions on where a person should get training - she is putting out information that is simply incorrect.
The capper for me today is reading the post above this, where she is giving out her opinion on who is who in the MT world and who owns what. It's just wrong.
Read through previous posts here...SM
This topic comes up frequently, actually. Your school SHOULD be offering you placement assistance - ask who hires their grads. Try local hospital/doc offices, and keep applying. I wouldn't buy equipment because you never know what you'll need for a job. Purchasing some references would be a good idea, though.
From some of the posts I've seen on here I'd stay away....
apparently the pay sucks....and you don't even get paid for at least the first month that you work there. It can be hard finding a job as a newbie, but it can be done. You just have to apply/submit your resume everywhere, even if they say they want experience and if they will let you test for them, take the test. That's how I got my job and I'm making 8 cpl. And I got hired by a national before I was even finised with school by a company that said they wanted two years of experience. Don't sell yourself short by just taking anything that comes along.
What you don't see are the negative posts that were removed (sm)
The moderator deleted the negative posts because they were related to grammar errors and were getting out of hand.
Don't let negative posts discourage you.
I read the posts replying to yours and I just felt like they were very negative. Do not let them get you down. There is always such negativity on this board. It is true that the first year will be harder and you will not make tons of money. But I feel like with any new job, it is going to take a while to get good at it. If you are going to be the breadwinner, then you might have a problem but if you are married and your husband makes pretty good, you'll be fine. After a while, you will get faster and faster and make more and more money. I think most importantly, you being happy at what you are doing is what matters. I am still a newbie and make a little bit more with each day that passes by. So don't worry about it. It seems a lot of these seasoned MTs are jaded and just want to bring you down. Do what you enjoy.
I agree 100%. I also had posts removed because of mentioning
the school I graduated from that was not one of the "Big 3". I didn't use bad language and I wasn't rude in the least, so there could be no other reason that my posts were pulled except that I mentioned my school. And this happened 3 or 4 times, not just once.
I see now that my school actually has it's own board, which is good.
She is incoming new MT and I hope that she can get some help here. Previous posts
that I had to remove were made by experienced MTs and were very ugly in nature. Nichole came here and asked for help and when she was ridiculed only then did she retaliate. I posted a Sticky above about helping incoming new MTs and not treating them like they are trash. I would ask all experienced MTs to please follow that advice or don't post at all.
Thank you,
Administrator
I love reading your posts Patti!
nm
It's good to read positive posts...
I can't really say I'm discouraged because I haven't put my self out there yet. Once I start applying then I can determine whether it was worth the money and time or not. I am going to apply to every company I can find and I'm going to send resumes and letters to all the Drs in my area and see if anyone will "bite" and help me get my foot in the door! Thanks LISA
Posts from March said the pay was very low & there wasn't enough work to go around. Ask about
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Gotta go thru all the posts here and on the Company board to see if you
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Go thru ALL the posts on these many pages and you'll find most of
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Past posts say have to PAY for software to work for
fg
If you read through the past posts here you'll
see that M-Tec and Andrews were the best. They help with placement and most grads have a job by the time they finish up. Career Step is the next choice.
Search thru the posts here. Depending on the branch, their newbie pay is only 3-4 cpl. nm
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Read Company board and do a search. Many posts about them. nm
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Past posts say lousy VR & MT pay, and running out of work. nm
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Now why am I attacked because your posts are confusing? Sheesh. Watch out everybody.
there's a snake loose on the boards.
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