It depends on the school you went to. If you went to Andrews or
Posted By: me on 2008-01-16
In Reply to: Newbie - Amy
M-Tec you stand a good chance of getting a job. If you took one of the cheaper courses like At Home Professions your chances aren't very good at getting an at-home position, but you might get a position in a local clinic or a hospital. Does your school not offer job placement?
Post your resume on the various job boards.
Frankly you would have been better staying with coding as there seems to be a pretty good demand for that and you'll make more money with coding.
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- Newbie - Amy
- It depends on the school you went to. If you went to Andrews or - me
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It depends on where you went to school.
If you graduated from one of the AAMT-approved schools, some companies will waive the 2-3 years experience. I received my first job offer before I even graduated and I am starting with a second company in a couple of weeks.
If you graduated elsewhere, you may have more luck looking for in-house work at local hospitals or clinics.
Good luck!
Depends on where you went to school,
MedQuist
Spheris
Focus
RI Unlimited
Princeton
Sten-Tel (out of Springfield, MA)
Successful Office Solutions
I know there are more, but this is all I can think of right now off the top of my head. Hopefully someone will have more suggestions.
Depends on the school. Some actually teach.
Not all schools are just in it for the money. The employers know which ones those are.
Andrews School
provides about the best MT training available. Even their training, however, is NOT equivalent to two years' experience. That is simply not a reasonable assumption. However, should you do the smart thing and select Andrews for your MT training and complete it successfully, you will come out FAR ahead of someone who chose one of the cheaper or less reputable MT schools. The reason companies waive the two-year experience requirement for Andrews graduates is not because they actually have two years of experience, it is because they know that they are getting a well-trainined newby who will require a minimum of handholding and someone who has been trained to deal with the realities of being an MT. You should have no qualms whatsoever about choosing Andrews. M-Tec is an equally good school that would offer you the same chance of early success. Many Career Step students have also found their transition to work to be relatively painless.
Andrews School
I am a current student at Andrews and I can tell you that there is a reason why this school is highly recommended, it is a great course. The boards are private because the students want it that way. There are not any students complaining about the program, because there is nothing to complain about. It is an exceptional program. The Andrews culture is very diverse. It is a positive, supportive, and extremely kind group of people. The program is well structured. The instructors are very professional. You are only required to participate in the instructional forums. If you do not wish to participate in the social forums you are not required to. If you are looking for a program with no extra nonsense this is it. I urge you to contact Linda Andrews, she is very easy to talk to and will answer your questions completely and honestly. I love attending the Andrews school and I am confident it is the best MT education available.
Andrews School
Before I enroll I want to hear from people who have actually received employment from this school. I went to PCDI and actually worked for a year but I cannot get employment at all. I have been looking local and on the net. I liked the job I had but the work ran out and no one else will hire me. If anyone has anything good or bad I would like to hear it.
Andrews School
I am a student at Andrews, and I would be offended by your comments if I didn't know better. Have you ever called Linda? If you had you would not feel uneasy about her being the contact person. She is a lovely person, very easy to talk to, and she will answer any questions you have. You have choices with your payment plan. She never asked me to pay upfront, and Andrews doesn't charge interest on your student loan. Linda is a very involved with the students. She follows every student's progress. I think the only reason you would feel uneasy about Linda Andrews or Andrews School is because you haven't talked to her. In my opinion, Andrews is indeed promising, to say the least.
Andrews School
I have been a student at Andrews for 7 months. During that time, several people have graduated and have found employment within weeks of graduating. Some of those people were off QA in 4-5 weeks. I have never come across anyone that has anything negative to say about his or her experience with this school.
The Andrews School
There is a thread below discussing schools and employers and why they may test and hire new graduates. I can give a definitive answer for our school.
The Andrews School does not receive monies from any employer for any reason. They test and often hire our graduates because they want to test and hire them. I don't have any hiring arrangements with any employer. I hope that helps a little with the discussion. I don't keep track of what other schools do. They will have to answer for themselves.
M-Tec vs Andrews School
I am getting ready to start classes for MT and i've been trying to do as much research as possible. I think i've narrowed the schools down to M-Tec or Andrews but I would love everyones opinion on which school would give me a better education.
Thanks!
Andrews School or M-TEC are the two best. NM
x
Question about Andrews School...
Hello.
I am considering becoming an MT. If I do decide to attempt to enter into this profession, I have decided that I want to attend Andrews for my MT training. I have read numerous people say that once you have finished with Andrews, if you really apply yourself, you will have the equivalent of 2 years actual working experience. Personally, this seems unrealistic. Would anyone here say that it’s true that if you do well at Andrews that you will be at a similar level with an MT who has 2 years experience? I have read that it is quite typical to have the 2- year-experience-requirement waived if you have completed your training at Andrews, but beyond that, is it at all realistic to think that a newly-hired Andrews graduate will be able to hit the ground running, and be very confident in his/her abilities.
I realize that this is somewhat of a strange question because everyone’s different, and not every Andrews graduate is going to be at the same level after their training, but I’m talking in general terms.
It would really be quite the motivator knowing that, although the studying and practicing will be tough, I’m going to be able to rock-n-roll when I get through, and there will be less of a learning curve upon being hired.
I do realize that, regardless of where you get your training that the “real world” always presents different challenges than what you prepared for in school.
I have all of the tuition money saved and I’m ready to get started, however, before I spend the money, I really want to cover all my bases.
Thanks so much for any advice that you can offer. 
Is the Andrews School accredited sm
so I can get a student loan to attend? The guy at the bank asked this question and I am not sure even after going to their website. Thanks for any info.
They are not a good school; try Andrews or M-TEC
x
Andrews School and M-TEC are the absolute best schools.
Career Step is a distant third. Any other are not worth the money and nobody will waive the 2-year's experience for any schools but those.
Need advice from current or former Andrews School students
Hello,
My daughter wants to go to school to become an MT and wants me to recommend the best school. I've been an MT for 10 years and went to a community college, but she needs an online school. I have heard on this board that Andrews is one of the best schools.
Could anyone who has experience with this school tell me about their experience, whether the school is work-at-your-own pace, and just their general likes/dislikes about the school, and most of all--do you feel it prepared you well to begin your career (for those who have graduated and started working). I would appreciate any info so much!
Thanks so much!!! 
Try asking the school directly. Both Andrews & M-TEC have some sort of assistance programs, not sure
x
Best way to start working immediately after grad is Andrews School or M-TEC online. nm
x
It depends...SM
I have some very good dictators who dictate in quiet areas, but I have others who dictate from their cell phones, which is horrible. I also have one who dictates from the cafeteria in a children's residential center with kids screaming and hitting things in the background. The good news, however, is that after you have done those dictators several times, you begin to understand them even when the sound quality isn't that great. Don't get discouraged. You eventually develop an ear for it and can learn to block out the background noise. Good luck!
It depends on whether
you need to hone your typing skills or not. Knowing your word processor helps a lot. I worked with MSWord for years prior to changing careers. However, my first two employers needed Word Perfect knowledge. Not much difference there. Aside from your typing skills, work on listening skill, too. For me, the toughest was learning the medical terms for each area but you'll get the hang of it.
It depends...
I have made, starting out hourly, about $8 an hour (8 years ago), then started at another hospital 5 years ago, started at 12 something an hour, then we got incentive pay and with incentive sometimes made up to $16 an hour. If you have high line counts you can make 20+ per hour. But of course also depends on how they calculate a line count......good luck!
It really depends
on the company you work for. If you are just looking for a pedal to do practice work or test files, I recommend an Infinity pedal. I got mine brand new on ebay for about $20.00. It's a 15-pin serial port pedal and works great with Express Scribe. But each company has different requirements, so if you haven't gotten a job yet, just remember that you may have to purchase another pedal to meet their requirements (that will work with their software).
depends who else wants the job
if experienced people are getting 7, you probably won't have a chance.
It depends on why you want to do MT...
There are lots of changes in the field right now. Many are just trying to hold on until retirement. Some believe jobs will always be there. It is a good job if you want to work from home. It is not a good job if you hope to become rich or if you are not self-motivated. Think about it and decide if it is for you or not.
Depends.
Some doctors will never be voice recognized because they are terrible dictators. If you get onto an established account, then you will have less typing but you will never have 100% editing.
Depends on the MT - 1.5 hr to 3, 4,
It varies with the MT and with the dictator. Very experienced MTs might take only 1.5 hours. Others might take 2-3 hours. New MTs might take more, and student MTs might take . . . days.
If there is a lot of material in the 1 hour's worth of dictation, then it will take longer. If there is a lot of dead air, it might be possible to transcribe it in an hour flat.
Depends on if you want a job or not.
If you need to work at home and want to get a job right out of school, there are only two reliable choices, Andrews or MTec.
Read the archives. Look at the numbers of people who complain about not being able to get a job after graduating. It's not because there are no jobs -- jobs in MT go begging. It's not because they're stupid, either. It's because only two schools teach MT effectively enough to virtually guarantee you a job. They cost more for a reason--they have hgh-quality programs with instructors.
National services will test and hire their grads without hesitation, and those grads invariably get up to speed quickly and make it past the 2-3 month point of employment.
I think that depends on the company
I think some companies but a time frame on when you can test again if you do not do well the first time. Good luck
Depends on how fast you are...sm
I would hazard a guess that a beginning MT, working on a new account alone at home, with unfamiliar words, having to re-listen, research, might make...mmm $4 an hour? That's why experience is so valuable.
depends upon the company
The company I'm an IC with is located in CA but I live in TN. Since I've had a problem with my sleep for *years,* it was an ideal situation in terms of what accounts to put me on. I'm in charge of H&Ps on three specific accounts. They need the reports by 6 a.m. their time, which is 8 a.m. my time. No problem. It's rare for me to sleep until 4:45 a.m. Usually, I'll get up around 2:30 to 3 p.m. I just go back to sleep for a few hours when the morning rush is done. My work day ends by 4 p.m. my time, which is 2 p.m. their time.
depends on the hospital
There is hospital near me who will take on beginning MT's who have typing and medical terminology skills. They work with you for up to a year before you go on your own. They pay about $11.75 an hour to start. But, then there is another hospital that requires years of experience. You need to check with you local hospitals to see what their requirements are.
depends on how much schooling they go for
After high school, go into the armed forces or live at home for a while with mom and dad.
Same to be said for most 2-year associates degree.
After BS degree, probably can find something to sustain independent living. Absolutely after a masters. Pick of your field with a PhD.
That is today's reality. Don't just wait for your kids to finish high school. I would recommend (and probably get kicked around for saying so) taking the kids to Belgium to finish schooling is much better and if they finish in the top percentiles, their college education is also free. Belgium kids routinely score 40% higher than their US equivalents on the very (repeat very) same tests. My nephew's presence in the US Marines was welcomed after he finished his education there. Knowing 3-4 languages fluenty in our global economy is nothing to sneeze at. If you really wants you kids to succeed and don't want to leave the US, then teach them different languages to speak and the earlier in life it is started, the easier for them to learn. Translation is going to be a necessity for doing most things in another 10 years.
It depends on the training...
that the new MT has. With proper training, it wouldn't be a problem. If you are trying to do the job without the proper training, it is much more difficult.
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!
Just depends on who you talk to
When you select a school, be sure to enroll in a program that can offer you some job support or a program like Career Step's Spheris Training Track, which can lead directly to employment. Maybe other schools have something similar. Just be really clear about what your school will provide you with when you start your job search. Some schools don't offer any support whatsoever. There are companies who hire beginners. New grads get jobs every single day. I haven't graduated yet, but I know that though sometimes it takes a while to get that first job, almost everyone at my school who has wanted a job upon graduation has found one within a couple of months, and high honors grads usually get multiple offers.
Buy Olympus DS-2. Then it depends if
you want it to be completely automated or the front desk have to drop and drag. If you want it automated, go to DocShuttle's web site and look at their DocShuttle Administrator, Dictator and Client. If you will be the only transcriptionist, then look at their Eshuttle Email program, same site. Otherwise, you can set up an FTP site and then use a free ftp software, like ftpsurfer. The front desk can drop and drag the files up to the ftp site.
Email me if you have any more specific questions... but it sounds like Eshuttle would do it.
Not a rumor ... it depends ...
If you are an employee at a company that offers benefits, then you get them. If you are an independent contractor or subcontractor, you don't.
So if you need health insurance or other benefits, you have to be an employee and work for a company that supplies benefits.
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
It all depends on how well you can understand
the dictators and how good you are at proofreading. I have been editing for a long time, and even with a lot of experiences I have some really low line days, and I get paid by the line.
Take this into consideration: How fast you are and how accurate you are equals how many lines a day you can proof. How much do they pay per line versus hourly. It is pretty easy to determine.
Depends on the company
I have a part time that requires 2500 per week part time and two that have no requirement. I generally do 2000+ lines per day with them all combined.
It depends on where she wants to work.
If she wants to work locally, then a local college program would be best. But if she wants to work online for a national, most of them do not recognize local college MT programs. She would want to use a reputable online school like Andrews or M-Tec (and NOT one of the cheaper schools).
Depends on the company
It is harder to get a raise with one of the big nationals. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to ask. Talk to your supervisor and give her the reasons you feel you deserve a raise. List your good qualities such as dependability or good grammar skills. You have a 50/50 chance! Good luck to you.
I think it also depends no where you work
When I worked as an IC, I ran out of work and I also had days where I had very sporadic work which didn't help my paycheck. Now that I'm an employee at a local nephrology clinic, I never run out of work, sometimes I have too much work, and I there is ever a day when the doctors aren't working, I still get paid for an 8 hour day. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. After reading some of the horror stories, I consider myself lucky.
It depends on a lot of factors.
I charge 13.5 cpl, but I do everything digitally. I do not pick up tapes or print out documents. If I did, my rate would be much higher. I also have a very long TAT. For shorter TATs, I charge more. Also, consider your cost of living. If you live in a high-cost area, you should charge more.
Good luck.
I think it depends on where you work
I work from home locally and I get yearly raises.
Depends on the situation
Usually they lump clients together regarding the software that will work with stuff on their end. So all the clients that use (as an example) Lanier and Meditech will go on the "L" platform, and people with experience with those systems will get assigned to that platform and trained on it.
Or it could have to do with specialties. Example - I type only radiology, and have never been trained for the "Basic 4". I will only be working radiology accounts, so I work on the "rad" platform and am only concerned if radiology accounts are out of TAT, approved for OT, etc. If I type for company XZY and they are way behind on Acute Care reports, sorry, I don't type that. Some distinct specialties are split off into their own platforms with their own supervisors and would call themselves some sort of team name. My supe might be over all the radiology MTs, and there may be several subteams under her (such as "L" platform above).
Usually new platforms are scary to current employees, because some companies tend to use us as guinea pigs to work all the bugs out as we go. Its easier for companies to assign new employees to the new platforms because they'll have to learn everything new as it is.
Depends on your perspective.
I recently read posts from MTs that complained they weren't making enough doing MT. They said they were having a hard time taking care of their families. Then some of them went on to say they were making more than $35,000! I would be thrilled to be making $35,000. I do expect to be close next year though (my second year as an MT).
It depends on your account
Sometimes MTs, new and otherwise, get accounts like that. On the plus side, it is experience that you can use. Learning some of these difficult ESLs now can be benificial to you when you move on to another job. As far as line count goes, that would be tough. Just do the best you can, at least it is a paying job.
Good luck and God Bless.
depends on circumstances
The great proof for me is that I'm home all the time, we don't have to pay daycare and we save a lot on gas by me working at home. And if you're happy. You have to enjoy what you do. I'm not making a ton of money right now, but all the things above outweigh that for us.
It really depends on your training (sm)
Simply by going to a particular school (online course), most companies will waive their 2 year experience requirement. Make sure you pick a course that is AHDI approved .... http://www.ahdionline.org/scriptcontent/mtapproved.cfm. Going this route you will have no problems being able to work from home in the beginning.
It all depends on your employer (sm)
and what they require.
I work a flexible 12-hour window in which I can put in my time at any point during that time frame. I asked for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. which is what I stick to. If there is a time that I need to alter that, it is pretty much always allowable as long as I notify my supervisor. I work employee status for a hospital.
For those that work as an inidependent contractor, they sometimes work on turn-around-time only. They can put in there time here or there as long as the jobs are back within 24 hours' turn around time, for example.
HTH!
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