Most services are looking more for proper spelling, grammar, and

• General question regarding transcribing - NewMT
  • just carefully follow whatever directions are given...sm - MTSO
  • Most services are looking more for proper spelling, grammar, and - Administrator (sm)

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is no different.   I wouldn't recommend buying anything fancy to start with, just use what you have and adjust things as necessary - like put a pillow on your keyboard tray and then your keyboard on top of that.  It works great for supporing your wrists, it cushions your fingers, puts less stress on your wrist.  Pillow needs to be sort of flat and a standard sized bed pillow.  You can put a pillow behind your back to make you sit straighter, which will relieve stress on your shoulders.  You can put a wood box under your desk to put your foot pedal on to relieve strain on your leg.  (I'm only 5', so even with my chair at its lowest position my leg is pushed hard enough into my chair that I will have the imprint of the fabric on my leg). 

Absolutely ergonomics can make a big difference, but you can spend a bunch of money and not be happy with them, so you need to take the proper time to investigate them.  Just starting out I'd wait until you were making some good lines before you spent the money though.  

you need to provide.  Are you going to have to pick up tapes and deliver completed work back to them, do you do envelopes with the letters, do you print on sticky paper and if so do they provide it, if you have to return work, do you have to return it printed or can you just put on a disk and they print so you need to figure in cost of printing supplies.   If they are digital what equipment do they use and do you have equipment that is compatible so you can download work or will you have to buy some equipment/software, how much dictation will they have, etc.    If they only have 1 or 2 docs who might only dictate 2 or 3 times a week that is good for you because it gives you plenty of TAT but do they have enough dictation to make it worth your while (especially if you're having to pick-up tapes, provide paper, etc.)

6 cpl is way TOO LOW, I don't care what part of the country you live in.    If you are working for a service that is probably would you could expect to be paid, but that isn't near enough to charge if you have your own accounts. 

Hey just wondering if everyone in this business was a top notch grammar gal in high school? 

the test(s) you take in order to get a job.  They ask a zillion grammar questions, which word to use (affect/effect; their/there; advise/advice), spelling, etc.  Also all MTs, no matter how many years experience, be it 1 month or 15 years, must be able to take criticism (and learn from it). That is the first lesson you must learn.  No matter how good a MT course is reputed to be, you will still have plenty to learn at the end of it. Many have the attitude that they all the all-knowing diva of MT and everyone else is full of it. So the OP needs to get rid of the chip on their shoulder, I know people here can be quite harsh and some of those here could be a bit more tactful, but bottom line is that they are right.