umm...I hate to tell you this...but further Labor Board stats show wages in 2004
Posted By: MeganMT on 2006-06-05
In Reply to: Outlook for MT employment - nobitterhag
at $29,530. They were $23,500 in 1997. So we've gained $6000/yr in 10 years? Woohoo- you're right-- Medical Transcription must not be in trouble.
"Compensation varies not only among regions of the country, but among types of employers as well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical transcriptionists earned an average salary of $29,530 in 2004. The average hourly wage was $14.20."
"Medical transcriptionists averaged about $ 23,500 in 1997 woking in hospitals, and about $ 22,600 working in offices and clinics of medical doctors."
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Well, all I can say is the Board of Labor Statistics should visit our hospital where
an entire radiology department went to VR with Dictaphone's platform and within 30 DAYS were dictating their own stuff without ANY MT EDITING. Including the high-speed dictator, the Pakistani dictator who doesn't even WANT to do it, and the lazy slurring dictator. I think in light of my own experience, the Labor Board is behind the times. The statement below is no longer true.
"In spite of the advances in this technology, the software has been slow to grasp and analyze the human voice and the English language, and the medical vernacular with all its diversity. As a result, there will continue to be a need for skilled medical transcriptionists to identify and appropriately edit the inevitable errors created by speech recognition systems, and to create a final document."
Board of Labor Statistics has a generalized view-
would hardly say they have their finger on the MT market pulse.
No experience WILL show up! lol As in you will not
How funny to think it would be okay to do that.
exactly what we mean about wages dropping...sm
just the facts maam - I have had experienced MT's call and OFFER to work for 7 cpl - they are losing work to VR and EMR and off shore and feel if they want to still work at home, they'll get the work where they can and for how much. Not my idea. I don't like it either, ya know.
hourly wages
Smaller Midwest town. Hospital MT position starting at $10.50. No raises except annual cost of living. Beneftis paid partially by employee. Is that a fair hourly wage for beginning MT?
hourly wages
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I was thinking the experience would be good as a Newbie. My goal is to work from home after I get my speed and accuracy. The hospital also offers work from home after one year in house experiencem, but I don't know what or how they pay for working from home.
Who knows, maybe she'll show up at your chiropractor and undercut YOUR rates. NM
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$12 to $13 an hour are poverty wages
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How would you show the cards in person when you work in another state? You copy them and mail/fax
s
It's not day labor . . .
MT isn't day labor. It's a difficult job that requires experience and considerable practice to reach the point where you have marketable skills, and then more practice in order to improve to the point that you can earn a decent living from it.
You pretty much need to be working consistently to be able to get experience and keep it up to date. Every time you came back to work, you would be so rusty it would take weeks to get back up to speed.
Services typically do not have pools. If they did, they'd be unable to predict when people would work or how much they would work. That wouldn't be very good for business. The work isn't done casually on a "whenever" basis.
MT is not a good choice if you are not able to commit to serious training and a consist schedule.
The Department of Labor website
has tables that should answer your question. There is no absolute answer. There are so many variables that responses from individual MTs would apply strictly to those MTs with their particular skills in their particular locations and not necessarily equate to your situation. Best to check the DoL site for your locale.
Try the FTC or your state's Department of Labor and Industry.
I think the FTC is www.ftc.org
the US Labor Dept does a little blurb on thousands of jobs...
you can see that they certainly don't have their pulse on the MT field like people who have been living it and breathing it for the past 20 years. I've been in it since the 80's, in my first IC job started at 9 cpl, now can't even BID a job for 11 cpl as I get outbid. However my biggest account just told me they are trialing a speech recognition system. I looked at some of the test runs and darned if the thing isn't working quite well. So there goes $100,000 a year for myself and five of my MT's. There's no security in this market. Your service can lose an account **snap** like that and then you scramble to try to get another...so I know you think you've got what it takes, but it's like trying to get an acting job when the rest of the world is watching cartoons...So....I'm in nursing school....
I hate to tell you this....
But most people call them "Trans Scam." They'll scam you out of money, and you never seem to get "good enough" to make money from them. Get out of there now!!!!!!! Do a search here and on other chat boards to see what people have said about them.
You best bet is to just keep applying and testing with other companies. Eventually you'll find something. Good luck!
hate to tell you but yes I most certainly am an MTSO
as attested to by my corporate annual report to the Secretary of State, my notice of acceptance of an S-corporation by the Internal Revenue Service, my certificates of shares of the corporation, my quarterly payments to the Department of Employment Security for my employees and my portofolio in a corporate 401K. The OP said "sensitive information" which would hardly constitute your name and address which people even write down on blank pieces of paper at the supermarket to try to win a Caribbean cruise at the supermarket. And if I were you, little Miss Cop of the Internet, I would keep my fancy little fingers off this board. According to your own logic, how easy would it be for a hacker to get ahold of YOUR IP address and start stalking YOU down? The OP probably even has a site on MySpace for cryin' out loud. So go ahead and dispense your advice, i.e. panic, via the MTSTARS board. I'm sure that since you found this site it makes you an expert in all matters. LOL.
I hate to admit it, but ...
I figure if he forgot that he dictated it, he won't notice if I don't type it! So I start right where he starts over again.
Hate to be a downer, but ...
you're only going to learn what is taught in that course, and you have no idea of the things you're NOT going to learn. Sure it seems like you are learning a lot since you are starting at the beginning.
You will need to spend all the time you can on the internet, reading and learning more about everything that you learn in the course. There is a very good reason that the AHP course does not get good reviews here - or anywhere.
I realize you have spent money and have to do the best you can with what you've got, but hopefully someone who is still trying to decide upon a school will take note and make things easier for themselves.
Read ALL the posts on this board & the Company board and you'll
s
hate-schmate - I think you exaggerate.
nobody "hates" the big three. What we do hate is the ridiculous constant sales pitch going on here, on a board that is supposed to help new MT's but obviously has turned into a place to grab one more potential client. All that gets posted here is "go to the Big Three and you will get a job without even testing"-- then when someone else posts to the contrare, that poster is attacked, ridiculed and dismissed as having unverifiable information. Nobody hates.
We don't hate our jobs. There's no money in it
anymore now that the corporations have taken us over & are offshoring our jobs. This field used to pay really well, but those days are over & it can be difficult to make minimum wage, especially on VR. Many MTs are trying to re-train to find other careers so they can actually make a living.
Sorry for mistakes...I HATE no preview option here. :( nm
x
I hate to burst your bubble, but some people can do it.
Maybe you can't, but I did. I took my knowledge of medical terminology that I learned as a nurse, combined that with good typing skills, was tutored by some exceptional seasoned transcriptionists, and became a quality MT myself.
I hate it when husbands INSIST on things ...
when they don't know what they're talking about!
Way too many people drop out of MT courses, the schools are smart enough to get all the money up front.
why take all your advice from people who hate their career
It is true that there are a lot of people on this website that have had enough of their career and want to discourage everyone from being an MT. You have to remember that all the negative stuff people say about being an MT come from people who have been doing it for so long they are burned out. You also should consider the opinions of people who still love their job.
While it is true that it isn't easy to get started as an MT, it can be a worthwhile career. These experienced people just want to make sure you understand it isn't easy but it also isn't impossible. Check it out for yourself, research the schools, and make your own decision. Now that you know what you have ahead, you can make a more educated choice. Good luck.
Honey, I hate to burst your bubble, but
poor sound quality and bad dictators are reality in the real world of transcription, always has been and always will be. If you cannot do these dictations, you will not be able to pass hiriing tests, much less be able to keep a job. If the schools give out diplomas without assuring these people are ready for this type of work, then I feel very sorry for these students who spend a lot of money to take their course.
Who said I HATE this field? I LOVE this field but
also see the changes coming down the pike. Also feel it is not fair to withhold or misrepresent that part of the equation to someone who is considering entering MT or just starting out. Knowledge is power. It would take years for a new MT to have the kind of insight into this field that a 20+ year experience lends. Believe me, I would be only too happy to keep running my MTSO, making $75,000+ year while working 20 hours a week, paying my MT's well, but it's not going to happen. Try reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman if you want a perspective of what's going to happen to not only MT work but a lot of great white collar jobs. India and the rest of the world are breathing down our necks and in the next decade will be serious competitors for American jobs. There will be no "american" jobs - we will be competing against the rest of the world for jobs.
Friedman states: "The convergence of 'flatteners' has created a whole new platform. It is a global, Web-enabled platform for multiple forms of collaboration. This platform enables individuals, groups, companies and universities anywhere in the world to collaborate...this platform operates without regard to geography, distance, time, and, in the near future, even language. Going forward, this platform is going to be at the center of everything...wealth and power will flow to those who get these basic things right...the infrastructure to connect with the platform and the education to get more of their people working on the platform.
Please wake up and look beyond our box.
Then tell me what the appropriate board is please
Because I go to the job seekers and all I see are employers, not people soliciting jobs. Please help.
Bet someone on the technical help board can help. nm
x
look at Job Seeker's board for ads
!!
try on Word board
x
Arizona board
Please see Arizona state board....
If you are the same MT Hopeful up and down this board,
nm
Please search the New MT board. There
:)
Job Seekers Board?
My apologies, I'm new at this. Should I post it on the Job Seeker's Board?
Jenn
don't believe all that you read on this board.
I have worked for Medquist for a few years, and I think they are a great company to work for. There have been a few bumps in the road, but they hear the MT's and are trying to correct them. The pay is good, and the platform is excellent.
job seekers board
Do you know what I think is really funny? When newbies (me)ask where we can find a job that hires new graduates and we are told to check the job seeker's board! Have you checked it lately?? 2-5 years experience and NEW GRADUATES need not apply! How do we get experience? with pay??
job seekers board
I am sorry but to me that is a load of you know what!! I worked just as hard as anyone and I am sick of hearing how I should of went to Andrews or M-tech whatever!!! I worked my butt off for along time and I would just like a chance to prove what I have learned! who cares what school I went to? Sometimes it has to do with the student don't you think?
There's a job on the seekers board for new MTs.
New MTs looking may want to apply. I'm not a newbie, but will never forget how I started out.
There is info further down this board regarding CS.
Ask on the word board.
I'm new to this board (maybe 2 weeks).
Sometimes I just read the posts to see who is the meanest. EvaEv - you win!
This is not the appropriate board to post this. You
need to post your resume on the job seeker's board - look to the left.
This isn't the word board and it isn't a very
active board. Ask your question on the word board if you can't find your answer by googling.
new MTs -- see angry MT on main board and never
NEVER work for free to get your foot in the door. No company worth working for will require that. You may have a hard time getting that first job -- but think enough of yourself, your qualities, your training to expect a fair wage for services performed. I started 30 years ago in the office with 2 podiatric surgeons. Thought i'd never use most of the terminology i learned: wrong! Start whereever you can, it may not be at home, but the upside to that is that you may have a stronger foundation and less stress when you do bring your job home. Good luck!
There were two jobs on the Job Seeker's board
over the weekend that were looking for typists and general transcriptionists. Try one of them as a starting point. I don't know anything about either of those companies, but I started out doing general transcription while I was still in school. I worked for emediamillworks/FDCH, an insurance company and a small MTSO in New England doing work comp reports until I got hired to work at home by our local hospital.
Just proceed with caution. Don't go buying a bunch of equipment or paying anybody for a job. I wouldn't invest in anything except MS Word and a footpedal (can be bought on Ebay). You can download Express Scribe for free to play the sound files on your computer with the footpedal.
http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/
Try this link to a recent ad on another board. sm
http://www.mtchat.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=164984&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1#164984
oops....sorry....wrong board
/
Check the "company" board
or do a search.
Look at the job seeker's board..apply everywhere
Regardless of what it says for experience, request to test for them. If you are good and pass the test, you may be given an opportunity. This is what I did 4 years ago. I got the job as an IC, and then not too longer after added another, and then another. I just kept replying to job ads and requesting to test. I passed the tests and was offered the jobs. Most of the time, I wasn't even asked about my experience. The proof is in the pudding. If you can do good work, are reliable, and are flexible in when you're willing to work, you can find something. You just need to get out there and start replying to ads.
Check out the Job Seeker's board here.
I saw a couple of ads that mentioned newbies could apply.
look at the Job Seeker's board and post your
??
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