It sounds like your mind is made up that you don't need an adequate course,
Posted By: Who are you going to believe? on 2006-08-19
In Reply to: Cheapie Correspondence Courses - Christina
and that hard-working MTs in your area are just waiting to complete your education so you can be of help to them. But you did say you wanted advice, so mine would be that your future co-workers, supervisors and customers will all wish you were ready to transcribe when you got out of school, which can only be guaranteed by two schools: Andrews & M-Tec. So instead of wasting a few hundred dollars on an education that won't land you a job, spend what it takes for a real education. At these schools you can learn at your own speed with lots of support from the teachers, and when you graduate you will be an asset to the profession.
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Sounds like they made a poor choice of EMR...sm
the whole point of EMR is not to type the notes into the system - it's to choose from a menu and point and click to get the information in. Think
chief complaint: sore throat. choose: erythematous edematous purulent drainage and so on
if it's a speciality with a lot of redundancy, i.e. podiatry, they fly through their notes. If it's more unique situations a little tougher. But don't worry... the EMR companies will soon figure out the missing link...
If you have received adequate training
from a school recognized by MT companies to turn out job-ready MTs (Andrews, M-Tec, Career Step), you should have no trouble at all finding work. Your school should be providing placement assistance. They should know what companies are familiar with their training program and are therefore eager to hire their graduates. Go back to your school and get them involved in your job search.
Something else to keep in mind ...
AAMT supports and even encourages the outsourcing of American MT jobs to places like India and the Philippines. They are perfectly happy to facilitate the loss of American jobs and the destruction of American families to fill their coffers. With that in mind, one wonders what value AAMT endorsement of an MT course should have to an AMERICAN MT. Just a thought.
Do you mind my asking...
...how long ago this was? Was this recently (since this economic meltdown)?
Hope you don't mind
I really hope someone chimes in with the answer to your question but I wanted to comment that I have heard nothing but positive reviews for MTEC and the reviews have been mixed, but leaning towards the positive for Career Step. There are some CS students and alumni that will defend their school tooth and nail that it is not a second class stepchild to MTEC, and some that feel that MTEC (or Andrews) would have been a better choice.
I had a friend who could not afford the down payment for Andrews, and either could not or did not want to try to get the Sallie Mae loan for MTEC, and I steered her towards the CS program at Everett CC because she had pell grant and student loan eligibility.
You might want to ask some national companies whose grads they hire. I asked a few (you could certainly ask more than I did, and I recommend that), and one listed a few schools I had not even heard about up to that point.
It seems that the companies have some thing going on with CS because many of them have a link to request training info from CS. Not a guarantee of employment by any stretch but worth asking what that is all about. (hopefully not just about getting money from CS for advertising and referrals).
If it were me I would choose MTEC over CS. But my decision is made - I chose Andrews over both of them and as soon as I can bring myself to send in the $1500 down payment(its just a scary amount of money to plop down), I am doing it!
I don't mind saying where I live.
I live in Granbury, TX. If thats nowhere near you then they probably wouldn't even bother w/ me, right? If you live around here, let me know, if not then let me know too. Thanks for helping!!!!!
No, they didn't mind at all that I was new.
In fact, I think they preferred it. That way, they can train me to do things their way. And no, I won't be the only one transcribing. They have one Transcriptionist that has worked there for 6 years and I will be helping her out. I will only have to work in the office for approx. 1 hour per day and the rest at home. They said I could work as many or as few hours as I need to. I've thanked them very kindly every day this week for giving me this opportunity.
I hope you can find something soon as well. It is so frustrating trying to get the required experience.
ConcernedtoBMT, if you don't mind me asking...
Which school did you go to and who are you working for now?
keep in mind when doing entertainment transcription - sm
this is faaaarrr different than medical. The companies that the poster referred to that are in California require VERY ACCURATE transcription. Thus, you must be excellent with punctuation and 100% accurate with transcription. In the medical transcription industry, hospitals allow for mistakes (both grammar and spelling). Go figure, the entertainment industry does not!!
possibly changing my mind
I think this is more than just a little discouraging. I am still working on my transcription course as well and the future doesn't look too promising from what I am hearing. I originally wanted to go into a radiologic technologist program, but it is full-time for two years. I cannot quit my full-time job to go to school. I thought MT would be something I could do from home while I went to college full-time. But it doesn't sound like I would make enough money for it to be worth my time. Very disappointing.....
Keep an open mind when looking for your first break.
For a first break into the business, you really need to welcome an in-office position. Not only is it a job doing what you say you want to do, but you may actually get guidance from an experienced MT and learn more than you could ever learn alone.
keep in mind that lines w/o spaces
average of 30% - so if you are getting 150 lph w/o spaces, it is the equivalent to 180 lph with spaces.
Hmmm, interesting. If you don't mind me asking *sm*
was it a paid apprenticeship?
Jen, would you mind emailing me info too?
I do have some MT experience, mostly VR, but just haven't been able to break into a really good MT position yet. I could use some help too. What costs are involved?
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.
How to compare MT training classes? I have 3 in mind...SM
For comparing M-TEC, Andrews, and Career Step, what is the easiest way to narrow this down? A person would hate to make the wrong choice, but how do you know before starting? Is one of these more flexible as far as time frame to complete? What if a person started the course and had to stop it for a while before resuming (such as taking some time off while caring for a newborn)? Are payments made as you go or do you have to pay ahead?
Is picking any of these 3 generally a safe bet? They stand out to me as the 3 that I hear the most about that aren't the scams that I have been warned about.
I guess a speedier time frame for completion would be a plus, but then is that shortchanging the education?
Any advice would be great.
Thanks!
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.
Apparently, the AHDI can't make up their mind! See inside
From the FAQ on their website (as mentioned by someone else here):
"Two years of transcription experience in the acute care (or equivalent) setting is required to take the CMT certification examination."
More can be made
The problem with MT pay is that it's all over the board and dependent on so many factors. If you're really good at MT and fast, you can make pretty decent money. You also have to be fortunate enough to find a good job fit. I'm into my 3rd year as an MT and averaging $20 an hour as an employee of a large national. During my second year I made about $12 to $16 an hour. I believe that many people who go into this field are not really well-suited to do this kind of work, and it shows in the paycheck. If I were making anything less than $15 an hour, I'd sure be looking for a new place to work.
And yes, I now see that I have made a typo
and "it's" should be "its".
LOL.
see, I just made one with only 1 parenthesis lol
/
I have not seen this comment made yet....
I am a newbie to this board and trying to decide on a MT school. I find it very interesting that while there are many negative comments out here, there are virtually no negative comments about Andrews school or M-tec..... I understand that they are considered the "best" but "best" is not "perfect". Does anyone out there have any thoughts on this or have any not-so-perfect experiences with these schools? Just something to think about.....
I only made $13.00 after 20 years
If you want to just get the experience, then go for it. Once you've gained talent and speed and enough experience, you can take that and make more than that much per hour by working production, but at least hourly, you can slack a little at times and not worry. 
I too made a mistake
I received my certificate from them in May, The guy that I talked to at the school said this field paid 10cents per character at 65 in a line making it $6.50 a line. haha and we paid the extra $1000 for job placement for life. with the promise that as soon as I got certified they would send me a doctor to work for and if I didn't like that one they would send me a different one. Only to find out that they do not send you doctors, they send you assessment tests and you have to do the background check on the company yourself. I was sent to a company that has been scamming people for over eight years by not paying them, so I got my first and only job in June and worked for no pay until September and it is now November and I have no job and no money and very little help from the school on finding one, and I am seriously considering going back to unloading semi trucks for a living. Oh yeah and most of the places they have send me suggest I go to a Career Step training course. So I am very sorry about the decision I had made to go through that school. I hope you have better luck than I did. I would not recommend anyone to go to that school. I feel like I have been lied to from the very start.
Good luck.
Almost made a mistake
I too have been considering this and went to a seminar - was led to believe they have a very high reputation. I would have made a big mistake if it wasn't for this board! Thanks so must for the inputs!
I really think I made the wrong choice
All I keep hearing about is how hard it is to land a job in this profession. No one wants to go to school and then find out there are no jobs available. I have almost given up on finishing my school for fear of there being nothing at the end of the rainbow for me. I was naive in thinking that I could just work from home immediately and have no cares in the world. Oh well, live and learn - right? I guess I better just go back to college and get a degree in something else.
I made 7.75 with MedQuist my first year.
I started out with Medquist making 7.75 based on my all-around experience and test scores I was told. That was PTE.
I went on to make 8 as an employee, and I work a second IC job making 16, 13 to start, 16 after 90 days.
home-made wine
First time in a while I have sit down at a computer and enjoyed it with a glass of wine.
I made the Wal-Mart post below, and
I've only been working for a little over a year, so I am still a newbie. I do not think this is something anyone should go into if they need money quickly, but I do think it might be the right choice for some. I make a very small income, but it works right now for me and my family.
Sure sounds the same
nm
Sounds like...
C-pak, seepak, zeepak. It's an antibiotic for airway disease. Currently taken with albuterol MDI. I've looked online and through my Saunders but I am stuck. It is probably embarrassingly simple but any suggestions would be appreciated.
It sounds to me like
the training you did get was enough to secure a job for you, which you say you are doing ok at. This is a huge accomplishment in and of itself! It is quite normal to feel like you are not producing what you should be when you first begin. I too let this overwhelm me and quit my first good job, which I now regret. With regard to the BOS, if you own one or have access to one, I would just review its major points until you memorize them. "Saving Keystrokes" is a great book, and adding to your expansions is one great way to increase line count. Most companies, I believe, like the ShortHand software for word expanding, which you can download online and try out for free if you don't already have it. I would not worry so much about going over your old text books; you can learn a lot more by sticking with the job you have , and speed will come with experience. The CMT certainly is an ego-booster and would qualify you for practically any MT job, but I agree this is not something you should attempt without at least 2 years of full-time work experience. These are just my thoughts. Good luck!
Sounds odd
I have never heard of such a thing either. To get into my MT educational program all I had to do was take a pre-enrollment test and meet the requirements like having a computer, high speed internet, virus protection, Windows xp or higher. Things of that nature.
You've made some good points.
Thanks for posting.
Everywhere I have worked, coders made more money than MTs.
nm
I make 2-3 times what I made as a nurse. nm
Not much money to be made for new grads at MedQuist.
Guess it is pretty profitable to get rid of experienced MTs and then fill their spots with new grads at half the rate.
I was lucky if I made $1 an hour my first week! sm
It was horrible! After a month, I am now up to $8 an hour.(I know that is still not much!) I would look up every single drug and doublecheck the dosages. Now, I am familar with many of them and it feels good not to have to look them all up. It is great that your company thinks you are doing good work!
Not true, I made a 95 once. But grammar and spelling
are key issues as stated below.
No instructors, and home-made materials = CS.
I'm also a CS grad, and if I had it to do over again, I would definitely choose Andrews or M-TEC. No more "training track" for Spheris from CS. Focus no longer hires newbies from CS. People are finally waking up.
They're templates or shortcuts that you've made yourself as you go along...sm
All the physical exams you've saved for each doctor, all the op reports that you've saved as templates, shortcuts, or macros. Your opening and closing sentences in your letters saved by doctor...your lab tests that get repeated over and over...your doc versions of any tests that you get over and over - their EKGs, cardiac caths, PFTs, etc. Your normals are what make you even more successful at this job in addition to just having words and phrases in an expander. nm
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.
6 sounds sleazy to me!
You can and will get 7, just keep looking. I made 8 right out of school, and no it wasn't one of the expensive schools.
Six is a rip, three is absolutely ludicrous, and you are worth more than that. I applied with every company out there, two-year clause or not. It was not hard at all to find 7-8 my first year. My second year I make much more, and I don't and never have had to "beg" for anything. Just because someone else did 15 years ago, doesn't mean I have to or would.
I don't see anything sleazy about a list either. Name me any school that has job placement. What else is there? Sleazy is the ridiculous comments above from the owner suggesting new grads are worth 3 cpl.
This sounds really questionable to me.
x
Sounds like a company I know in
Alabama near 280. If it is and you want to talk, send me an email. I worked there before.
Sure sounds like a certain company
that is notorious for this very thing.
It sounds like you are doing good (sm)
so far with your line counts. You are also very fortunate to be making 9 cpl with your experience. There are many MTs with years of experience who are not paid that much. Your line counts will increase as time goes on. You will become more familiar with your dictators and will spend less time verifying words, etc.
I think it sounds great!
I am a newbie who is currently in an internship program which I paid to participate in. I am not getting paid, and it doesn't bother me one bit! I studied through the US Career Institute without studying up on which schools were best, so I was in a real bind. I did not have the "proper" MT education, and as I am finding out, it really was not a good one either.
When I started, I had only a tape player, computer, a dictionary. I had to purchase my foot pedal, headphones, several references. I think that is doable for a serious prospect.
I also feel that a newbie that has been looking for work without luck, and one that possibly did study through the best schools would be more than willing to work for a couple weeks sans pay. My unpaid internship is a lot longer than that, but I see it as practice/education rather than a pay-less job.
It may be different for someone who went to one of the best MT schools and is fully prepared, I don't know. Maybe then they would want to be paid. But seriously, 2 weeks to prove yourself is not that bad is it? Especially for a person who cannot find a job, and has been searching for an opportunity for months. I think you are very kind to consider it!
CS website says there is money to be made for those who promote the training program!
No wonder people are so quick to promote CS. I don't think M-Tec or Andrews pay people to promote their school! If they do, they owe me some money, LOL!
You'll do great, as it sounds like
you've already done your "homework". Best of luck to you!
Sounds like you need the position from Boo2
is requiring. Maybe you wouldn't have to look for a job, filling out those applications and trying to do those tests. Since you do not have children, you should have no problem at all with the turnaround. You two could be two peas in a pod.  Oh, I'm bad, very bad! Take a taste of your own medicine, bitter or sweet? Lord, forgive me, please!
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