This is similar to how I started out 19 years ago.

I was given the opportunity to transcribe for the radiology department and soon was asked to cross-train to other areas of the hospital to transcribe.  Boy, did I learn a lot. 

I remember one lady (I was only 18 when I started working at the hospital) after 3 years of vo-tech high school training.  I used to get mad because she would make me look things up in the medical dictionary.  She forced me to use my noggin.  Once I got the hang of it, I thanked her again and again for being so hard on me.  There was another lady who worked p.r.n., but she had her own clients.  I learned a lot from her.  I think of her often when I "can't go/have to work" even though I work from home.  NOW, I know what she was talking about, but I have learned to manipulate my schedule to not miss out on anything. 

• advice from MT if anyone wants it - eversothankful
  • i agree, and just a short added note, - sm
  • Thanks for this post. - Sandi
  • This is similar to how I started out 19 years ago. - see message

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7 cpl also from other companies.  One company, Spheris, only offered me 5.5 cpl and I turned them down.  Again, I graduated 2 years ago when I was seeing more people offered at least 7 cpl. Now, everyone from CS seems happy to work for 5 cpl.  Go figure. 

How to get experience without a job and how to get a job without experience?  Do you have formal MT training?

The internship I speak of is not the Jumpstart program but is a similar program.  I took part in a medical transcription course of study at a community college.  In order to obtain my diploma I must complete the internship.  I think it is a wonderful idea and provides experience, not to mention real world learning.  I didn't determine before I started how the clock hours necessary would be calculated.  I thought clock hours meant 8 hours per workday 5 days a week.  Wrong!  Lines typed are divided by 200 lph.  Yea, way longer than 120 actual clock hours!  That's okay but I wasn't given that information at the beginning which I think I should have been.

You learn things the hard way when you new and naive!!

A friend wanted me to try to get her a job where I start next week.  I'll be doing MT for an hourly wage.  I have an educational background and training in everything related to it except actual transcription, but I am being given a training period to get my ears up and running, and I hope that I can get fast enough.  I am working through a medical transcription text at home (bought it a year ago used to get more information about MT) to brush up and get some more information before I start. I am also gathering some reference materials to shore up what I already have at home from my previous studies. 

Anyway, she said something like "maybe you can get me a job there too". She thought that I could get her "up to speed" with MT skills and recommend she be hired.  I told her the reason I was hired w/o transcription education was because of my medical studies background.  I had to take a terminology test as part of the assessment.  She said that she would definitely fail that.  I told her then, first of all, she should take a med terms course, to which she said pretty vehemently that she did not have the money to do so.  I kind of stuttered at that point and kind of repeated what I had already said about my background helping me land the job.  I think she got annoyed with me . But this is a job where you cannot wing it at all, and you need to invest in your training. Why is it so hard to explain that to people without upsetting them? 

Recently when she knew I was looking for a job, she let me know that the tax prep firm she works for offers their tax preparer cost at a deep discount in January, and that once I pass it, I could apply to do part time or prn tax prep for them at the office where she works.  While that was kind of "insider" info that I did appreciate, I feel like maybe now I upset her by not agreeing to try to get her a job where I work. 

What do you do when people want you to get them into MT like this?  If she asks again I am considering finding a practice dictation to listen to.  I just know I can't put a word in for her if she doesn't even want to take a med terms course.

about 7 months ago.  It isn't all about typing, really.  I type about 98 wpm now, but with research, entering identifiers, finding doctors or city names, etc...the typing isn't as important, even though it still matters.  Plus, after typing all of the reports Career Step has, you'll be typing faster in the end.  When I started school I was typing about 74 wpm roughly, just to give you an idea.

Plus, there's always Typer Shark .  I bought it while in school to get some typing practice.  It's helpful and fun.

Hi Andrea:

I've been doing transcription for 25 years and I love it.  I've been working at home for about 6 years and for Medquist for 3 years.  One thing I would tell you right off the bat is a lot of graduates have problems getting that first job because everyone wants experience.  I would talk to the schools about what they offer in terms of finding employment once you graduate.  I know Medquist used to have a school called Career Step and would hire you directly upon completion, but I haven't checked into it lately.  I think the website is careerstep.com. 

Other than than, it is never too early to start building a medical library.  I would start with Dorland's Medical Dictionary or Dorland's Medical Speller.  They aren't cheap, but you will get your money's worth over the years.  I love my noise-cancelling headphones that I found on Medword.   

I hope this helps you get started.  Good luck!  

Monster.com and placing a resume there.  MTDaily is another place you can put in resumes.  Keep passing resumes out.  Look for a company and check out its reputation here and other MT service blogs or boards.  I came here first and discovered that some companies don't pay until they see their names lit up here.  I went looking for transcription companies advertising for doctors to type for, and then found the back door to their recruiting department.

..

I also was a little nervous accepting this position, mainly because after posting a question on this forum regarding anyone's knowledge of this company, I received NO responses!  I am very happy with everything so far, the account I am on is great and my supervisor is very helpful!  Good luck Sonnett with your test!  Have you heard anything yet? 

Okay, it is time to let the cat out of the bag on how you are going to be successful as a Transcriptionist out of school.

The first thing I am seeing is that these schools promise that you will be working from home making in upwards of $40,000 a year. Forget about that. You are new to this. If you come out of school working on a production basis you may very well fall flat on your face and make $3 an hour by the end of the day. I was a transcriptionist for almost 5 years working for a hospital and I decided I could make more working on a production basis.......I failed miserably my first year.

First off, get experience under your belt and make an hourly rate in the meantime. How did I do this? Well, I started out getting a job in a hospital, any job I could get. I started out in billing, even though I wanted transcription. I watched and waited for openings, when finally someone in the psychiatric unit called me (I made friends with everyone, the key to getting calls like this one) and said they were losing their transcriptionist and I should apply. I applied and got my first transcription job, making an hourly rate. Had I not gotten pregnant with twins I would probably still be there.

After babies were born, went back part time in the evenings. This time since I had experience and another local hospital was willing to hire me in the radiology department. Again, hourly. I watched and waited once again (I hated radiology transcription). I got to know who was in charge in the transcription department. I sent her a fax asking her if she needed any part time help (back then there was no work related email). She said, yes, I could work part time (I now had "experience"). The part time went to full time with benefits. However, I got bored and decided to work for, of all companies, Medquist. I thought with my speed I would be making at least $20 an hour.....hahahahahahahahaha, what a joke. I was lucky to make $8 an hour with them. After about a year of struggling I finally got my foot back in the door of a hospital in another state. I had to commute to the hospital every day during training, it was awful, however, now I again work from home, have the ability to make about $20 or more per hour, I own my own home, own a half decent car, I am divorced and don't take any child support from my ex, instead we share in the custody 50/50.

The moral of my story........

Get your foot in the door. Look for jobs that are front desk, secretarial, whatever. Once you are in there and they realize how great you are you can go wherever you want. My first transcription job in the psychiatric unit also involved secretarial duties, so not just straight transcription. I highly recommend getting into a hospital. The bennies are the best and lots of hospital transcriptionists are working from home with full hospital benefits. If you can't get into a hospital, get into anywhere where you can do some sort of typing/transcription, that way you have your first reference/experience when you apply to a company that is strictly work from home. Everyone wants experience, they just don't want to be the ones to give it to you. 

I am so tired of seeing these schools and companies swindle people.

If you are looking into training, I highly recommend your local community college. You will probably take some credit college courses that will be able to be used should you decide to do something else. My local community college has a course for under $3000 and there are college credit courses that are able to be used towards another degree.

I did my training as a medical assistant, transcription was only part of the course. However, now I am so bored with transcription that I am going back to school to be a nurse.

I hope this helps someone out there. Good luck to you all!

in this business.  One lost an account to EMR and the other lost a good portion of an account to "writing in charts" which is a clue that particular account is going EMR most likely in the near future and trying to save money to purchase it...  It is very expensive for the doctors (more than our pay).  My PCP uses it and he said it is very costly but he is still using it. 

Now those MTs that lost accounts are working for nationals and averaging between 6 and 8 dollars an hour because they are being thrown horrible dictators and platforms that aren't up to par. 

Everyone in this business is struggling and thankful for what they have and afraid to ask for a raise.  I have 2 of my own accounts that I haven't had a raise in 10 years because I know someone will underbid me in a New York minute if I were to raise my rates. 

I just like what I do and like the flexibility, but if I were to spend $4,000.00 it would definitely not be to become an MT, not by today's standards anyway.