it's interesting to me that newbies want to make the same as experienced...sm
Posted By: JoV on 2005-11-09
In Reply to: Job question - Angela
what I did was beg my way into a job for next to nothing ($5 an hour - this was 20 years ago and it was an 80 mile round trip hike). But then I got experience and moved on from there. It never fails to boggle my mind when I post a job opening and get 700 responses, including newbies who believe their MT teachers who told them that is what they should ask. Remember you are competing against 699 other people who want that job, including people who have years under their belt. So what makes newbies think they are worth that? Bottom line is, they aren't, and proof is: What does the market bear? If newbies were worth 6 cents a line, they would be hired at 6 cents a line. You cannot believe all the work that I have to do to take on a newbie. The last one I hired offered to do it for 3. She was smart. Rather than get 0 lines at 6 cents she is getting 2000 lines at 3 cents - and "buying" her 2 years experience. In two years, she will be in the job market while the other newbies are sitting at home, pouting that they can't get their 6 cents a line job. JMHO. I know there are some who will flame me for this but like I said, bottom line is newbies can't get hired for 6 cents - therefore proves not worth it. It's sure not worth it to me.
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Even some of us most experienced MTs don't make that. Make your
s
SOAP Transcription takes on experienced newbies for ER and rehab medicine. They use
s
and newbies (like EVERONE ELSE make mistakes
/
It is one thing when newbies make mistakes, but
it is another when an older MT makes such careless mistakes. I do not think I would want to work for such a person who cannot even spell themselves.
interesting that you say that
they wanted to hire me and asked me to fork over $400 or something like that. I couldnt do it and they suggested when I did, I could come back. I did a test piece for them twice, both times the same piece, please tell me what info you got, and the source.
Thanks,
K
Interesting.
Before you hit the send button, Char, you might want to stop and give some consideration to your audience. Many of the people who read this board are people who hire MTs. If your post is sloppy and full of ignorance, you will be dismissed as a sloppy, ignorant MT, and any potential employer will not give you another thought. If your post is intelligent, well written, and error-free, you just might be contacted by someone willing to give you a chance. I have contacted three newbies who posted intelligent comments in complete, accureately-spelled sentences on this board. I hired one of them. I would have been happy to hire the other two, but two other MTSOs had had the same idea after seeing their posts and beat me to it. Think about that the next time you want to post something incoherent and badly spelled because "it's just a message board". A sloppy, incoherent post might hilarious to you, but to someone assessing your suitability for employment, it's just really depressing.
Interesting...
For your sake, I'm glad that it works for you.
Unfortunately, for me, I don't think I could work for that little, and if I could, it wouldn’t be for long. I have a family to support, and even if I don't have expenses related to commuting or dressing up for work, there are still plenty of other expenses. Minimum wage won't pay for my girls' swimming lessons, groceries, new clothes for school, fuel to drive them where they need to go. It doesn't help pay for their medical premiums or copays. Let alone the fact that I will have to go on my husbands health insurance, that alone will cost me $350/month, not including copays.
Just because some expenses may be offset by working at home, does not mean other expenses are not incurred.
Ok this is interesting...
I just received an email stating that my post was seen on here and that I could work for this person for three to four months (unpaid internship) and then they would contract me with there MTSO beginning at 7cpl.
If it's legit, that still seems like a long time to intern when I've already gone through school and am about to receive my certification
Any thoughts? Should I go for it? I don't want to burn bridges but I would hate to transcribe for four months for free and then find out that I don't have a job!
That's interesting
Hi Allie,
I didn't know they owned a Transcription Company. Do they rate highly on the BBB?
It's interesting in another way too; my company was thinking of starting a school and they approached me to be involved. We live and die based on having new young talented MTs moving up. I was so glad they dropped the idea!! I really didn't want to deal with students. No offense.
Hah, I hope they can stand all the problems involved in training people. It's not easy. You need good teachers to be able to do it well-- and patience. I guess if you intend on hiring some of your own students, you would do it well.
From a business standpoint, the school is probably a separate company or corporation from the MT company.?
BTW, I think Allied is owned by the University of Phoenix. HPI founders were the primary leaders in the AAMT. I think Vera Pyle (first MT writer) worked closely with Sally Pitman owner of HPI. I think Ellen Drake of Drake and Drake (Saunders Pharmacy book) is a moderator on MT Chat which is owned by Andrews and M-Tec and I think VLC.
Nice to have a chat site with luminaries to advertise yourself. Very good idea and it must save a bundle on advertising. I'm serious!
I think those points are correct. I've heard things through the years. I find it fascinating.
Spheris is a huge company. I've often wondered if they purchased Career Step?
And it goes on and on. It is a small world toward the top. The best talent rises higher and higher.
Good research Allie!!
Interesting
1. What equipment would a new grads have?
>>>>Headphones and USB foot pedal most common. As far as purchasing equipment, you have to be more specific as to what you would have the new grad purchase; however, figure on somebody being able to handle 200$ or so. That much could be raised either via pawn shops or a yard sale.
2. Would a new grad be willing to do a 2-week trial at no pay to see if we work well together? If there is no "chemistry" the process would be torture for both of us.
>>>Trial yes; no pay--that's kind of cold. A newbie is not going to be productive to begin with. To deny any sort of pay at all...? I should think that it would take much longer than 2 weeks to figure out chemistry, perhaps a 4-week trial would be more revealing, especially if the position was remote. If the position is inhouse, then maybe the 2-week period is sufficient.
3. Would a new grad be willing to work on a graduated pay scale, starting at a low rate and working up to .08? Experienced MTs should be paid more than new grads, IMHO.
>>>Depends on how low. A lot of new grads from the top 2 schools are starting off at .07 and .08. Of course, if they are allowed to graduate from these schools, they are quality and often exceed the quality of experienced MTs. As a new grad doing acute care, I get .07 per line, but I know of a lot of other graduates that started off at .08 per line.
4. Would a new grad be willing to enter a 2-year contract, protecting the MTSO and providing the new grad with the necessary experience to get a "real" job?
>>>Absolutely. I would even sign on for a longer period of time provided there was some sort of incentive for production and an incremental raise along the way.
5. How much work would a new grad expect to produce in a day's time?
>>>My 1st day, it was 76 lines. Second day, jumped up to 200 lines. However, there was absolutely no training and no support at all other than "feedback" from QA. Had I had some training and not been left entirely on my own, I'm sure that it would have been more. Now after 6 months of acute care (doing all the reports and all the specialties), I am averaging about 660 lines per day. Sometimes I hit 1000 or pretty close to it. If I get all ESL for the night, it can drop as low as 400 or so lines.
I might be interested in something like this.
Some interesting numbers for anyone
Wow, these companies sure have a friend and defender here. Good! Stick by your guns, although you aren't under attack by me. We are only sharing ideas. Maybe I was wrong about ownership, although who owns the ownership company? Maybe what I heard that Andrews, M-Tec and VLC were the moderators. I know Linda Andrews was answering questions as a moderator when I was on the site a year ago. I don't have time to research it now, but I know someone who knows for sure. I'm curious now.
Listen, those schools deserve tons of credit. They are the industry leaders in retail internet schooling. People like Linda Andrews, Ellen Drake, Vera Pyle (Vera died) and Sally Pitman are icons in this field.
But Deb, Andrews, M-Tec and Career Step advertise all over the internet 24X7. I've been told what that advertising costs. It is amazing. If they have a full-time waiting list then why advertise at $10 to $15 a click on Google? I think they are just businesses- good ones, but not something holy that is beyond scrutiny. I was seeing posts that said to only attend the Big 3 which is silliness. We don't want to line up like lemmings. It is good that Americans are essentially skeptical. In that way we constantly seek out the best in price and quality.
Figure 100 clicks per day on Google at $10 per click. That is $1000 on Google advertising per day or $30,000 per month. NOTE: I just checked Google Adwords (we have our own advertising account there under MTs). It is $18 per click to hold one of the top 3-5 spots for "Medical Transcription School". It is about $10 per click to be slightly further down. Someone has to pay for that- the students. This goes for all schools advertising on the internet. Figure that a school has 100 new students per month.
That means that advertising costs the school $300 per student. Deb, this is any school, I'm not attacking your favs. Just looking at costs. A school like PennFoster which always holds a top spot it seems, might get 200 clicks per day at $18 per click- $108,000 to Google each month if my guess is right. Since their tuition is lower than Andrews let's say, their biggest cost may be advertising, not curriculum or teachers- they probably don't have teachers.
Spheris is a public company so who they own is on their Financial Statement.
I know folks at Meditec. They are an MT company which also owns a school. This may be another way to lower costs and ensure employment. I don't hear bad things about Meditec from their graduates. I don't know what they charge. They probably also use the HPI educational material. This is another option I would look at if I were a student.
I still predict that staffing schools will be the solution to very costly tuition and the 2 year experience requirement.
Back to work. Throwing these ideas around is fun!!
Hmmm, interesting. If you don't mind me asking *sm*
was it a paid apprenticeship?
Oh boy, you're going to get some interesting responses! Here's mine (sm)
First of all, I am not an authority on what the MT future is. I recently got into this business myself and consider myself fortunate in my situation, as I was able to find a job with a private MTSO who was willing to give me a chance. So I do believe it is possible to find work.
Secondly, if you're considering M-TEC, that seems to be the best choice for schooling (for those who can afford it), as I have seen many posts from M-Tec grads who say they were placed the day after graduation.
Thirdly, you seem to have the drive and the affinity for the English language that it takes to succeed in this field. Personally, proper grammar and use of the English language has always come natural to me, and I have always loved typing, and those two things helped prompt me to make the decision to go into this field. That, and I wanted to be able to work at home doing something I enjoyed.
So I say GO FOR IT! I think you will do well. Best of luck to you!
Need help from experienced MTs
Hi everyone,
I do not wish to intrude here as I am not an MT or even a student at this point, and I hope you will not hold it against me. However I need advice and after reading over the posts on this forum I felt this would be the best place to get it.
I was recently diagnosed with some health problems that are going to force me to make some serious lifestyle changes and I will have to quit my current job. My doctor suggested doing some kind of desk work and mentioned medical transcription. I have tried to find some information on medical transcription work but when looking on the Internet I am and unable to determine if the information I am finding is credible. For instance when I type in 'medical transcription information' in a search engine I am directed to MT schools and home courses and I am not certain if these are reliable sources.
I would like to ask the experienced folks on this board for information. What kind of training do I need? What are the best and most reputable sources of this training? What is the probability that I will be able to find work upon completion of my training? Also would it be possible for me to work from my home as my illness progresses?
I am so sorry to ask so many questions but I really do not know where else to turn. I want to approach this very carefully and not make any rash decisions. I appreciate everyone's patience with me as I know that newbies can be annoying. All advice will be carefully considered.
Kind regards to all,
Doug
Thanks experienced MTs
Thanks a lot guys. I am old fashioned and believe in coming up through the ranks, I just want to be paid what I am worth. I just do not know what I am worth. Thanks for all yalls help. (Yes I am from Texas!) I am sure that I will have tons more questions for all you old hands! Tks again- Kit
experienced MTs for 7 cpl? cheapcheapcheap! nm
.
I am an experienced MT and I had the same conclusion...
with the Dragon system, it just isn't set up to do the kind of production an MT needs. It's fine for the lawyer doing some letters or even the doc doing his own dictation but for an MT to use it all day long doing 6-7 hours worth of transcription, the editing and correcting-- well, it's just as fast to type it right in the first place. So unless you're really slow or handicapped, I wouldn't recommend it.
Experienced MTs- Rescue me pls!
Hello All,
I am a new MT. I was certified with Career Step in Apr. I began working for Spheris in May. My line count is 100 lines per hour. I get paid 5 cents per line. Is this pay good for new MTs? Is Spheris a good company? 
Employment dilemma!!! Experienced MTs,
Hello everyone. I am a newbie. Not long ago I posted about having three job opportunities and how happy and fortunate I felt. I turned one down because the pay was excrutiatingly low--even for a newbie! The other was occasional part-time work for a day or two every month or so. I accepted that. Then I accepted a part-time IC position, which is what I really wanted.
Everything seemed fine--I was so happy. I took three different tests with this company (which I passed with high marks), an online interview, and a telephone interview. I went through two training sessions on the company software. And I signed all my contracts. Now....I have heard NOTHING from them. No letter. No introduction to my editor. No acknowledgement whatsoever. I've emailed them assuring my eagerness to work with them. But I've gotten silence. It has only been a few days, but still, doesn't it seem strange? In any other job I've had (all non-MT related), when I was hired, it was definite.
What should I do? Should I email them again? Should I send a letter via snail mail? Should I call? I hesitate to do that because it's a fairly large company and I don't even know if the receptionist will know who I am, since I never actually started working for the company!
I can't tell you how excited I was about this. I felt like I really "hit it off" with the company, if you know what I mean. I've begun testing for other companies again, just in case. I feel badly about it. If I get another offer before I hear from them (IF I hear from them), I'll most likely take it.
From reading this board, I've heard about "overhiring." Do you think I'm a victim of that? Folks, what would you do in my position? Thanks ever so much for any help anyone can give me!
I think Axlotl does but they hire more experienced MTs
I think Axlotl does but they hire more experienced MTs only (something to shoot for in 3 years).
Most of those experienced MTs got their jobs YEARS ago
without any training. With offshoring and voice recognition, only grads from the best schools can be sure of getting an MT job nowadays.
6 or 7 cents a line for EXPERIENCED transcriptionists? SM
I don't think any self-respecting experienced MT will work for you for that kind of money. I know for sure I wouldn't. Do you think we're all that hard up for work? It's an insult to our intelligence, knowledge, job skills, etc. You are a joke.
Not true. I score tests for new and experienced MTs.
I'm shocked at what should be basics that newbies do not have. Shocked.
There are a few good newbies but most have not a clue what they are typing. Applying knowledge to actual transcription is FAR different than just spouting off what a term or value means.
&that rate is experienced MT. Figure you making
x
Is your internship paid? Can you stay with it and get experienced and apply for an at-home job
s
make as many as possible
expanders equals $$$$. But you have to be careful not to use the wrong one. If you have two that are similar you may end up with something ridiculous in your report so proofread well! I like to make Expanders for entire physical exams and operations. Some operations by some doctors are so similar it's worth it to do that.
Low MT pay v. those who make $40k+
I see so many people complain about the current rates of pay for MT's and say that they're barely making it. Then, every once in a while there's a post by someone who says they've been working as a MT for two or three years and are making over $40k. What gives?
Are the MT's making this much money just "lucky", with the right company or in the right situation, or just very fast? Are they working for their own accounts with no benefits and have to take a lot of taxes out of that $40-45k? Are the people who complain most about pay just newbies? Or, do many of you consider that amount to be barely making it? I live in the midwest, and that salary could easily support a somewhat modest lifestyle for myself, my partner, and our baby while he goes back to school.
I have a pretty good understanding of all the variables that go into MT salaries and that it's slow starting out. I realize this isn't a profession you get into solely for the money. I'm just wondering if it's reasonable to shoot for (for example) making $40k/year as an MT three years after graduating from Andrews.
Try these guys. They make (sm)
all sorts of handy gadgets like that.
I'm sorry you couldn't make it
Business actually is growing at a record pace. I'm truly sorry that you weren't able to meet the standards (one error per page...50 pages, 50 errors). It is not unusual for disgruntled students to forgive their inadequacies and blame it on the Company.
However, once enrolled in our program you can always come back and display your "talents". If you have been inactive for 6 months, you can pay a $50 reinstatement fee, submit a new application, and resume.
If you are that talented, making all that money, what do you have to lose? Another client, hospital, clinic?
I really don't think I'll hear back from you, $50.00 reinstatement isn't "petty cash," right?
Lin
Then you don't have what it takes to make it
as an MT. If you can't digest truthful information being given and have the courage to digest it, apply it to any areas of yourself that might need tweeking, then you will not last as an MT. This industry can be pretty rough at times. If you have thin skin, you won't make it. I can only imagine how you will take QA feedback.
Good luck to you.
Did you make the wine?
Some friends of mine like to make muscadine wine, here in Georgia.
Make sure you present yourself at your best
There is a lot of competition out there. You have to make sure your resume reflects you at your best. Have someone review your resume for typos, spelling, grammar, puctuation, or other errors. Make sure it is as perfect as it can be. Make sure your cover letter is perfect as well. The MTSO I work for has commented more than once that when she gets a resume with errors (for example, run-on sentences, missing punctuation, typos, etc.), she just drops it in the trash. When she advertises a job, she gets so many applicants that she doesn't waste her time with those who don't even look good on paper.
Y would it make it MORE DIFFICULT?
Having NO school experience is worse than having school experience????? I find that very hard to believe.
Actually, someone did make the statement
above that if you graduated from M-Tec, Andrews, or CareerStep many employers will waive the experience requirement. I'm thinking that is where the discrepancy lies. The statement is being misinterpreted to mean that they will waive experience altogether instead of just waiving it for testing.
do you mean you make 9 per every 65 char?
x
It isn't going to make much difference either way because
you're not producing a lot of minutes, a lot of lines, or a lot of pages.
That sure is a lot $$ for the course. You can easily make
$15K/year, but getting that first job will be difficult. I personally would not have invested that much money in taking an MT course.
Yes, this does make sense...
in the fact that I see the differences between these two sentences. The problem is, I don't know what to do with that information.
Forgive me, but WHAT do I have to do to make $40,000
a year? After 18 months I am so frustrated...0.07 cpl at 1000-1200 lines per day. Did I make the wrong choice or am I just not SHARP enough?
TIA
To make 40K per year,
You have to make roughly $20./hr for a 40-hour week (if my math skills are any good!). To do that, you need to either make a higher line rate, or produce more lines per hour. That means doubling either your lines per day or your cents per line.
I would venture a guess that most folks making 40K a year do NOT work for nationals, but have their own accounts which tend to pay more per line, which ups the $ per hour. Of course, with that comes a whole new set of headaches and probably more incidental hours (billing, delivering, bookkeeping...time spent maintaining an account in addition to transcribing hours.)
Unfortunately, by the time we see ads everywhere for big money opportunities (transcription, selling on ebay, raising alpacas, etc.) the prime time to get involved has probably already passed, and then folks who respond are stuck with disillusionment and bills for starting costs/prep.
Just my humble (and maybe a bit pessimistic) opinion.
You make more editing???
I make $22/h transcribing...interesting
I make more as an MT than I did as a nurse...
Nurses do not make the big bucks, let me tell you....I make more now as an MT...plus do not pay for daycare, etc....
We all make mistakes
No matter how long we've been at a job. It happens. You'll learn more and more and make less and less mistakes, but they will always happen. I see mistakes that even QA make while looking for samples, often.
Want to see a silly doozie I did the other day?
ERROR |
poor glucose tolerance (managed by died alone) |
CORRECT |
poor glucose tolerance (managed by diet alone) |
This error was upgraded because of this mistake and when I got my audit I was like huh? I kept looking at it wondering what was wrong with this. Finally I saw my mistake and felt so st*upid. And, I've been doing this for almost 10 years.
So, either you feel better knowing that you are not alone or worse knowing that you'll still be making these mistakes 10 years from now (just not nearly as much).
you can make up to $40 per hour.....
if your speed is good and you have a good expander. anyone who types less than 70 words per minute, will probably have a hard time earning over $20 per hour. Those who are making $5 to $9, well that's just crazy. Terrible account, terrible dictators, terrible expanders...something is definitely wrong.
Trying to make the right choice
I have spent months reading and learning about becoming an MT and I am still left with questions that I hope maybe a broader range of people might be able to answer (you all  )
Is Career Step's program the same as what's offered at M-Tec? The price is clearly not and I have spoken with enrollment at both locations and asked them directly the cost differences but normal everyday people who do the job is who's opinions I'd like most.
1. Training (are the both relatively close in what they teach)
2. Certificate vs. diploma
3. 4 months for one program vs. 9-12 for another.
Any honest, none school bashing, opinions would be very gratefully appreciated.
Need to make a decision soon....
Here's my situation: After months of research, I finally decided that I would like to go to M-TEC. Actually I would LOVE to go there! But I have one problem. I don't have the money for the down payment. As a teenager, I made a mistake of maxing out a couple of credit cards so now my credit is really bad so I cannot get the student loan they offer. Actually I can't get any student loan (that is credit based). So, I can either go through Everett Community College and use financial aid, and then maybe go back in a couple of years and go through the M-Tec Program? (I'm saving a little at a time so I can get my debt paid off) I guess I am just wanting a little advice on what to do or maybe hear from someone who went to Everett, because I don't want to go through this program and end up with no job! My son is already three and my husband and I don't want to wait too long to have another baby so I would really like to stay at home. Thanks a ton! You guys give really good advice on this board and that's why I came here to ask :)
Make your own hours?
absolutely not.. that's a myth..
Make Sense?
Does this make sense?
On sight apnea secondary to number one.
Newbies
Hi Sarah,
It can be very discouraging and frustrating. Not to burst your bubble, but it may be very difficult to start off working at home if A) you did not go to one of the "big" schools and B)you have no experience. A lot of the schools will have partnerships with MT companies so they can plug you right in to work; I know Andrews school, MTEC, Career Step, VLC...those schools can offer assistance with employment. Unfortunately, it's a little tougher through community college! I know it's not what you want to hear, but working at a small office or even in a hospital setting would be key to starting to work at home. You will have to put in some time outside of home to get some practice before a company might allow you to test and work for them at home. Not saying it's not possible to work at home right out of school...just difficult.
newbies
I absolutely agree with CMT. I also graduated from a local school and was blessed to be hired by a local company (2 weeks after graduation) who hires newbies on occasion. Although, many companies did allow me to test for them. I would suggest going the office route for now and try to work something out with your employer maybe after a few months' time. Send your resume to everybody. There are new jobs everyday. It is time consuming and frustrating but you will get something. Stay positive.
Newbies, etc.
If there are any newbies or wanna be's out there who would really like help getting going and are willing to put in the time and effort, I can help. The pay will be minimal to start, but with LOTS of hard work, you can raise that fast. There are two must-haves before I will take you on. If you answer yes to both questions, you will be on your way to learning. Please e-mail me to see if we can work together. I am in Illinois.
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