A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

$$ Your pay, your hard work! - whistlingdixie

Posted: Mar 31, 2012

I am wondering if you all feel like I do, many years as a transcriptionist and the industry has changed so. I used to be able to earn an income that I could live on and now half that amount! I would like to hear what your paychecks are, the amount of hours you work and is anyone satisfied. No names, of course, yours or the companies! I, personally, absolutely kill myself for $10/hour. For some unnamed companies you are suppose to earn an established amount - is it even a feasible amount, how many hours do you put in to earn it? I know we are all in the same position, trying to earn a living like building a house with Legos - it is not going to happen, but we need to make a change in order for it to happen. Let me know. I wish I had answers, but I don't! If it is this bad today, think 5 years down the line - do you really think it is going to be better? Not without change!

of course its changed - but still beats leaving the home

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I am not at all happy about the changes. I used to make 40,000 part time. Loved it. Now, half that! The thing is, I dont want to leave my house. I dont want to worry about buying appropriate clothes, outerware, lunches, half hour lunch breaks, gassiness after eating too many onions the night before, car repairs, parking, bosses, coworkers....

To be able to just get up, work in whatever I deem comfortable (sweats and wool socks or underware and tank top), working with kleenex crammed up each nostril when allergy season hits, and working the hours I choose, in the comforts of my home, with no one judging what I wear, or my crazy bad hair days, this is all priceless to me.

If I make $10.00 an hour, so be it. Maybe I will work more, maybe I will live on less, but to not have to deal with the rest of the world is so important to me that I am going to ride it out as long as I can.

ditto - n/m

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nm

Is not leaving the home worth $20K per year? Or double - that as you rose in position? This

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attitude doesn't just hurt you, it hurts all of us who not only need to support ourselves and send our kids to college now but also for another quarter century or more in retirement. Long years of dreary and uncomfortable destitution are nothing to look forward to, and it's not going to be fun for you to look back and realize you worked most of your life to bring yourselves to that.

BTW, the prevailing notion that happiness is just a matter of adjusting attitude is mostly wrong. Many studies have shown that a very large percentage of people comfortably off economically describe themselves as happy and that most poor people do not.

Outerwear, etc. - Anonymous

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As someone who leaves the house every day to go to the office, isn't this a bit of an exaggeration? Are you saying that you have no outerwear, i.e., a coat? Do you never leave your house? Too much social isolation is not a good thing, not wanting to deal with the world at large is not a healthy thing, IMO. Certainly you have bosses to deal with in your present situation and probably have some sort of schedule with a 30-60 minute break. Cars need repairs whether we drive them to work or the grocery store. If parking is an issue, use public transportation. Coworkers? Be cordial and pleasant, but do your work and mind your own business and you won't have any issues. If people are judging you by what you wear, that is their problem, not yours.

You know, sometimes coworkers are friends - wheres_my_job

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I don't know who all these awful coworkers are, that you'd want to work at home just to get away from them - ?

I once worked in a transcription dept, and everyone there was into the arts, it was great.

hehe, poster didn't say coworkers were awful. - n/m

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nm

I agree with WMJ - Anonymous

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I have a couple of good friends at the office. One of them is a movie buff (like me) and we have read quite a few of the same books. There are always going to be people in this world who are acquaintances rather than friends, but for me staying home to avoid having to deal with them would not be the answer.

hehe, poster didn't say she has no coat. - n/m

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nm

Outerwear - Anonymous

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Where I live, "outerwear" means coats, mittens and hats, I'm sure others interpret it differently.

I couldn't have said it better myself. - Also, whenever

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the price of gas goes up, I consider that a little raise for myself!

Ditto - Red

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Thank you for saying what many of us feel but are afraid to say for fear of getting rebuffed, or corrected for enjoying being at home. I always thought I would move on as my girls grew up (I worked when they were asleep and after their dad came home from work when they were young). Now I work while they are at school and I just cannot imagine doing anything else. I do notice that there are many professions in offices all across the country that are having difficulties and downsizing and it is just a rough economy/time right now especially. I enjoy what I do, enjoy my friends (yes we do have them even though we work from home and enjoy working without having to deal with office politics), and I enjoy being able to do my laundry, dishes, vacuuming or whatever needs to be done on my 15 minute breaks or on my "lunch break" and getting to cook dinner instead of having to spend that time in traffic on the way home. My choices may not be the right way for everyone or make everyone happy, but they are the right way for me and my family and they make me and my family happy! Sounds like we are not alone:) Happy Easter to all! :)

working at home vs office - Lynda

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I actually do both. I have an in house job transcribing for 2 general surgeons 2 to 3 days a week and a home job editing. I make about 10 grand a year at the in house job. I've just started the editing job so I don't know what that job will look like at the end of the year pay wise.

In house I wear whatever I want, jeans, etc. mainly because I am not seen. It is noisy and sometimes we have squabbles with the office manager. They still use analog tapes and my computer is not hooked up to the internet, both things I hate. So far this year my "3 days a week" has mostly been 2 due to lack of work. I do get maybe 8 days PTO, which I have completely used up trying to pad my pay for the days I don't come in. I have asked more than once to do the work at home, but OM says no, docs want someone in the office (I don't think they honestly care) I'd rather work at home full time. Crossing my fingers my at home job gets busy enough to be FT.

I'm satisfied - sm

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There aren't many jobs in this town where I could make what I make now anyway. I could make about the same in an office maybe, but why do that when I can work at home and not have to deal with coworkers and getting dressed up every morning, etc.

I might feel differently if I lived in a big metropolitan area where there were other opportunities, but that's not the case here.

Ditto too. - Satisfied too

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I agree -- I'd love to make what I used to, but I'd have to drive 25 to 30 miles at almost $4.00 a gallon twice a day. Subtract that along with uniforms, shoes, lunch, coworker's children's school fund raisers, doctors' gifts, etc., I am probably coming out a little ahead.

20+ years - AnonToo

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My yearly salary has never changed much either except for when I was a single mom in Southern California where at the time I made $45K a year (2-3 outside jobs too for clinics). I moved to a more rural area back in Louisiana and lost the 2 extra accounts obviously, this was preinternet, and while my pay dropped to about $32K the COL was a lot less (i.e., $500 mortgage versus $900 for 2 bedroom apartment rent). I still make around $32K when I am full time and that has been consistent since about 1997. People say "no you mean with the increase in COL it's that." No I mean I make EXACTLY the same amount of money give or take $5K per year. If I lived in a more expensive area I would have done things differently OR if I was single as I am currently married. I do think you *can* make a living doing this, but I don't think you can be the sole supporter in a lot of areas of the country.

working from home - mt1347

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I've been satisfied working at home for years, but after moving to a new place 2 years and finding myself with still no real friends - other than the library ladies and the grocery store checkers - I'm beginning to feel socially isolated for the first time. I never felt this way before. I make about $18 an hour, so if I go back to the "outside world," I will not find a job that pays that, not around here. And right now, I can't really afford going back to a real world job. So, I'll just have to get over my feeling of social isolation because I need the money to survive. I just consider it a price to pay for working at home - if I worked in an office, I would have to pay a price for that as well - clothes, makeup, parking, gas, etc.

We created this monster... - Escaping serfdom

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Do you hear what you're saying? I'm sure the MTSOs hear it loud and clear.

Why should MTSOs pay more for our services when there are so many MTs who are SO happy to be sitting at home in their skivvies, working just above minimum wage. That has ALWAYS been the problem, but more so now.

Working at home has been considered a part of an unpaid benefit package. "We don't have to pay you so much because we give you the PRIVILEGE of working from home."

Just keep telling them how happy you are with this arrangement, but don't complain when your cpl pay drops again.

I suspect this forum is overweighted with the lazy, "content-to - be-poor" contingent. Agree, as CPL

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drop finally to where they can't afford to pay for their TV connection, those will have no right to complain.

Agree - MT

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I think that's one of the biggest differences in MTs with decades of experience and those who are newer to the business. For those of us who started in-house many years ago, we were respected for our knowledge, paid accordingly, and none of us became MTs because we could "work at home in our pajamas." We started because we love the work. Eventually being able to work at home was a bonus. Then these MT schools started advertising WORK AT HOME! and attracted newbies who are content to work for 2-3 cents a line VR just so they can do that. We all know how that has affected the business.

To answer the above question, I clear about $3300 a month for a company I like, but I now know that can change in an instant. I averaged $4200+ for my last job of 20+ years which I loved (very good VR at 6-7 cpl, no nitpicky QA, speedy program which imported demographics, assigned departments, headers & footers counted, etc.) The company closed last year after no longer being able to compete with offshore underbidding and EMR point and click. We had three weeks notice.

monster - mt1347

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Did you read what I posted? I worked in offices for years - much longer than I've worked at home. It was a privilege to work at home when I first started doing it - you have to be high producing, reliable and extremely competent. We batched our work and worked in DOS - so computer literacy was needed and it was much more than point and click as it is now. I really don't believe I'm missing anything by not being in an office - been there, done that - including the money solicitations for showers, wedding and baby gifts for people I hardly know, potlucks where I wouldn't eat the food because I don't know if the people preparing it let their cats walk around the counters where the food is being fixed, etc. The point is, we have choices and some of you seem to think work at home equates with mental health - it does not. The isolation I'm feeling right now is due to my being "new" in this area even I've been here 2 years - it has to do with the culture of where I live, not me, my social skills, or my work at home situation. I'll figure this out and either I'll stay here and make a social circle, or I'll move. When I look at studies about people at work - I'm satisfied to be at home without the office politics and stresses of working with strangers. I think something like 60% of the work force would like to work from home - so that says a lot about. Feeling a little lonely or socially challenged does not mean my mental health is in danger - it just means I need to make some changes.

Working from home - Anonymous

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I undesrstand why people made the choice to work at home, it does sounnd pretty tempting. For me, interacting with people and getting out in the community was important, my mental health and happiness wins every time. A big deal is being made about clothes and makeup, but a person does not have to dress to the nines. Most offices are more casual now, and the MT departments are usually away from the main campus or away from main reception areas. A few inexpensive items, maybe 1 or 2 skirts and some dressier slacks is all a person needs, it's really easy to mix and match, and it's not necessary to buy new things all the time, as some people seem to think. Consignment shops and Goodwill are great places to look for clothes, some of them never worn. You don't need a lot of makeup, that is not a big expense. Parking and gas? Carpool or use public transportation. Mental health professionals are expensive too, should you ever find yourself needing one of those should you bug out at home.

Last line says it all - LOL - wheres_my_job

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Here's a bonus, a really significant bonus, to working "in the real world" - when you paint your nails, you can go to work, and SOMEONE will say, "oh I like your nails."

This may not sound like a big deal, but in my opinion, IT IS. I think instead of cutting pay to MTs who work at home, it should be increased - as HAZARD PAY, due to the hazard to your mental health.

The worst part of it, it can be so insidious, you don't even realize the way this at-home job is destroy-, er, I mean changing you - til it's a big enormous hassle to pull out of it, an inconvenience to everyone (and I am a massive financial inconvenience at the moment) - but, mental health counts for a lot.

Viva la nail polish!

I'm on the fence about this... - time4achange

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...and not sure what side I'm going to land on. I totally agree with the advantages of working from home, and when I factor in what it would cost to get to an outside job and dress like a grownup, that makes me think I might not have it so bad, at least for the moment. But I don't see things getting better any time soon; in fact, I see them getting even worse. Right now I work like my hair is on fire, and I average maybe $10.50 an hour. I used to be able to goof off half the day and make that much! With just working my MT job like I'd work a "regular" job, with actual coffee breaks and pee breaks, I could always count on averaging closer to $16. This has gone from a relaxing and mentally challenging career to a grueling treadmill marathon. I'm like a factory worker whose job is to insert commas and put things in list format as rapidly as possible. I very rarely do anything that requires problem solving or use of specialized knowledge anymore. So I need to decide whether it's worth it to fry myself out every single shift for $10.50 an hour vs. just dealing with the BS of an "outside" job.

$$ Your pay, your hard work! - whistlingdixie

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Nobody is questioning where you are working and I agree working at home has its own rewards, but honestly working $10/hour is like running a marathon daily! We just deserve more for how hard we work and for how much the companies are making off of us! Come on, how complacent can you be.

I have to agree. - mt2

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I hate what MT has become, but when I look at what jobs are out there, by the time you pay for gas, lunch, clothes, I'd break even. Might has well sit here in comfy clothes and bust my butt for 1/2 of what I used to make as a MT. I will prob ride this out awhile longer, unless they cut our pay even lower.

you've shown your hand - me2

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You don't really care what anyone is making, this is prelude to a rah-rah and when you are so "supportive" as to call us complacent? Well, are you sure you're not WMJ, cause you sound a lot like her.

$$ Your pay, your hard work! - me2

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I work about 35 hours a week as a IC for a company. I earn about $4k a month.

And the field has changed. If you're pining for the "good old days," you're doing yourself a disservice. I think the position will change and in five years, it will still be a viable (and profitable for those MTs who can and do make it work for them) profession.

If this is supposed to be a rah-rah let's band together and not work a day post, then I regret replying to it

$$ Your pay, your hard work! - whistlingdixie

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I am just trying to be fair. Good for you, but not good for most of the MT's I know. Good for me last year until my hospital decided to outsource - better for the transcription company - they are makes ton loads while the work force, us, are struggling at $0.045 cpl with researching drugs, figuring what the doctor is saying, looking up patient names when they are not put in properly and struggling for every penny, I can earn. So good for you, but not good for everyone. Yes transcription will be around in 5 years but probably mostly overseas and if not, at that time $0.045 will stay if those of us in the ranks don't do something. Unfortunately, I honestly don't know what. I just wished to share my frustration. The newbies also ought to know there is no future in this any longer - not the way it is now!

WHERE and HOW do you clear $4k monthly? - sm

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HELLO? What company are you IC'g for to clear that compensation? Spread the wealth of that info. PLEASE since some of us experienced MTs are starving at slave labor wages.

where and how - me2

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I work for a company in the midwest. Why would I share the name? When they are hiring, they advertise on the other mt job site. They don't hire often, but have had ads in the last couple of months. They hire when they need staff not for the sake of hiring. So monitor the job sites.

I kissed a lot of frogs before I found this company, and unfortunately, that's the way it has to be done much of the time.

I totally agree with your post - Diligence pays off

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I found a marvelous little MTSO on the east coast that I applied to and, since they rarely hire, waiting two full years for them contact me (checking in about every 3-4 months to see if there was an opening). My perseverance paid off and I was hired this past summer. Let me just say, it was well worth all of my research and diligence in pursuing a position with them, and I keep their name to myself.

The reasons for my stance are that they are not overstaffed, there is plenty of work with the current staffing for everyone (and sometimes bonuses when it is backed up), they very rarely hire as they keep their MTs happy, and, with everyone here presumably being an MT with the same research capabilities as I have at my disposal, I figure if I could find my "ideal fit", pursue a position, and ultimately be hired, then any other industrious MT has the same ability *if* they are motivated enough to invest the time to do so.

To me, it's tantamount to giving someone an answer to a test question; why would I so willingly give up the name of a company to a random stranger on an internet forum, whose skills, work ethics, etc., I know nothing about, a company which I invested many, many hours researching and pursuing?

I worked very hard and put in many hours to get on with this little gem. Giving up their name and having them innundated with resumes is not something I care to do. As I said, any industrious MT can do the same thing I did and find their own "ideal fit."

lower pay, harder work - medtranusa

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I'm sure I will get attacked for this, but the future is dark for MTs. Meaningful use will include more pick lists for doctors to use, no more long narratives so the data can be tracked and analyzed. Doctors are not happy with it either.

I'm killing myself for $6.50 an hour. :( - nm - Meerkat

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nm

Some doctors at $100 per hour, some a lot less - luckyladyinca

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With some doctors I make over $100 per hour, and with others I make a lot less but at least $20 per hour on the very worst. I do work several accounts, as my cost of doing business is high. I do not type fast at all. and edit even slower.

Don't know about $100 but maybe $20? LOL - JustMe

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I consider myself lucky with all these horror stories. I work in a hospital and have a base hourly rate of 10.07. I get 4 cpl for anything over 1050 lines per shift so I usually end up making 18-20 an hour. That's very good money where I love. But with the way things are now, they could walk in at any second and tell us we are being outsourced and it can all come to a quick halt! There's just no security anymore anywhere.

$100 per hour, some not - luckyladyinca

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I was making considerably more per month, but their office accounts went EMR. I did not just start out at this pay but spent a significant amount of unpaid time creating templates and shortcuts to arrive at this pay and hard work. No, trust me, I know no job is forever. It took me years to build business back up after the majority of my work went EMR. I now focus on physicians who have already gone EMR and transcribe what they are not inputting themselves and never want to.

Same boat here - Sue

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I start working at 6:30 am and work through the day and sometimes at night and make an average of $8 to $10 an hour depending on the doc. (Some ESL docs I make about $4.00 an hour. I average about 10 hours a day working, and my yearly income last year was $20,000. That is VERY sad!! I push to get my paycheck up to $900.00 every 2 weeks, but that means working some Saturdays too. And I type about 85 to 90 wpm. ~ I think it might be time to change companies...maybe I need a different platform.
When I do SR for my company, they are so bad, sometimes the machine kicks them back out because it can't recognize any of it or it will try and transcribe and make such a mess of it that I almost have to retype it from scratch. The docs don't know and might not even care because they get the nice report all typed up. I say hand them the notes straight from the machine for a week and let them see the garbage that comes from them.
Okay, got that off my chest. I must say though, I LOVE working for home and have done this for 18 years.

same boat here - whistlingdixie

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I will tell you one thing as it seems that the Department of Labor as you probably already know is only interested if you don't make minimum wage and if you are truly making that little bit, I would contact the DOL for your state - just a thought! This kind of stuff has to stop already. I think migrant workers make more than some of us.

It all depends on the VR engine for high production - sm

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...HAS to be a good VR engine to gain the production speed necessary to make up for the low cpl rates that most companies are paying. That means an excellent quality draft with minimal editing needed by the MT. This is what enables double/triple the line volume/production needed to make up for the slave cpl rate. And that is just the minimum to make a fair and decent wage. If you're struggling to make minimum wage on VR it's because the VR engine sucks wind & MTs suffer a low-paying job. MT retention is at an all-time low and MT turnover at an all-time high right now...for more than 98% of the MTSOs out there because of it. Something's gotta give...

I love the ability of being able to pick up and move virtually anywhere - Auntie Anxiety

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I love working remotely, in that it affords me the ability to pick and move anywhere my heart desires as long as there's internet. Right now I'm contemplating a cross-country move next year and what a relief it is not to worry about finding a new job; all I have to do is take a few days of PTO and set myself up in my new digs.

I've found I generally make the same working from home as I did from working in-house, thanks to being fortunate enough to work for two really great companies (one FTE, one IC). Although I do get dressed, do my makeup, etc., every morning just as if I were going to an office...that just makes me feel more professional and puts me into "work mode." I really love that, working from home, I rarely need to take a sick day as, unless I'm violently ill, I can just take a few steps and be "at the office," runny nose, sneezing, sniffling, etc., and no one is any the wiser, lol!

Portable Sat Dish - Whatever

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There's a lady in Tucson AZ who can set you up with a portable dish on a tripod. I've been working on one for years now. Mine's kind of big cause I take it to my fishing camp in the Canadian wilderness, 200 miles from the nearest town, 15 miles down a logging road, 10 miles in a canoe. Need a bigger transmitter and bigger dish for that far north (about 40 miles from the tundra). I set the dish up here in Texas and use the same one. I use a Canadian provider because years ago this was the only system I could find. It's a little more expensive per month than the US systems, but will work in Canada, US, Mexico. Need to find out if it will work in Australia. But going to retire in a few years and then I won't need to worry about sat dishes, MTing, MTSOs, etc. Won't that be heaven? Just me 60 acres of cactus mesquite trees, and rattlers, 60 nanny goats, 45 goat kids since Christmas and more always on the way. God help us all.

Too old to learn new tricks. A few years and I retire - at 62 and probably starve

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But have enough extra weight that it will take a while. Maybe the drought in Texas will end & I can grow enough food. Have 60 acres, 60 nanny goats, 45 kids since Christmas, more nannies looking pregnant every day. God is good. Have a fishing camp in the Canadian wilderness 200 miles from the nearest town where I can spend my summers, unless the world gets much nuttier, may end up there sooner permanently. BRRR. So Lord willing in 3 or 4 years I can retire and won't lose much income, and can find something more enjoyable that being an MT for a big MTSO. Just pray my hands, wrists,eyes and ears last that much longer, but it's gonna be close to say the least. God bless ya all. Maybe things will get turned around, but it sure doesn't look that way. Oh Maybe I'll just occupy something.

interesting thread - love more info

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What a variety of hourly wages listed here $6.50, $4, $10.50, $100 an hour (one afternoon I made $55 an hour and that clinic never showed up in my queue again, and $26 an hour clinic disappeared too!), $18 an hour, and clearing $4,000 a month. I am curious how many days a week/hours per day clearly $4,000 a works. The disparity in pay is just outrageous. Is there any other industry like this?

I average about $12 or $13 an hour - McFeist

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I do straight typing. I averaged $16 yesterday, but I got several great dictators all in a row. I have to fill in 2 headers for each report that we do not get paid for, and I think that starts to add up over the course of a work day.

Once, at a job I had that had an account that paid by the gross line with incentive holiday pay, I made $30 an hour for the day on Thanksgiving. It was awesome, but when I mentioned that to a friend (a non-MT friend), he was outraged and grumbled about no wonder the cost of health care is so high. Is it really feasible for MTs to make $100 per hour? Or even $30? I agree, the pay disparity seems a little crazy in this industry. And, for the most part, this doesn't even account for how much the healthcare facilities pay for medical transcription. If we are making 8 cpl (straight typing), the facility is probably paying more like 12 or 14 cpl, right?

I average about $12 or $13 an hour - whistlingdixie

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You are right this whole thing is crazy! I was the last transcriptionist of a group of hospitals who decided to outsource and I saw how much the hospitals were paying which though it was 2006 and I don't think there was editing but they were paying $13.50 per report 1 page or 2! No benefits, no nothing and this was good for them and bad for us naturally, but at least no more 401K for hospitals, health insurance, pension plans, etc. Apparently it was worth it to them and to the agency but not to us!

that's illegal - wheres_my_job

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I have to fill in 2 headers for each report that we do not get paid for

so, it's legal not to compensate employees for work they do for an employer? No, it isn't legal. Who's willing to fight this battle though? Good question.

I am leaving MT instead of fighting... - McFeist

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I knew about the headers when I was hired and accepted it because the job otherwise is good comparatively speaking, and I love the people I "work with." I just do not make enough money doing MT. It was originally going to be a stepping stone to a better MT job, but after going through the ringer with 3 other jobs, I came back to this one even though the pay is low. I am back in school now, though, and find that MT is a great job to have while in school. I am so excited to be getting out of the MT field I can't stand it. Ha!

I make a good wage. I am autistic, - anonymous

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so working from home is perfect for me. I don't drive, and I cannot deal with the stress of being around people all day. I can write very well, but I have trouble talking to people, so in office situations, I often become the outsider who is talked about by the coworkers because I am so "strange," I am the one they do not want to eat with at lunch time, the brunt of their jokes, etc.

I have worked at in-house office settings in the past and did not do well at all. My production suffered because of the stress of being at the office, so the first chance I got, I started working from home and my production went up about threefold.

For those on this thread who have criticized the ones who work from home, you do not know what a godsend working from home has been for me. My only other option would be going on social security disability, but I would much rather work and let those who really need the disability coverage receive it.

I make about $15 to $20 per hour, and I love the work I do. Although my autism socially isolates me, it does provide a lot of advantages in being an MT. Those of us who are autistic have hypersensitive senses, so I hear everything and can usually help my colleagues fill in the blanks when there is background noise and they cannot hear what the doctor is saying. I can not only hear what the doctor is saying, but I can catch every word of the conversation the nurses are having about their weekend plans in the background, and, at the same time, when I am working at my parents' house, I can tell you what my mother is saying on the phone downstairs and what my dad is talking about with my brother downstairs. :) I hear everything and say nothing.

So, as I said, I am very good at the job I do because it involves my hyper sense of hearing, and I can easily comply with HIPAA law because I don't socially interact. Autistic people do well with repetition and routine, so being an MT works well for me and the pay is enough for me to make a living on my own without going on disability.

Before people criticize those who work from home, they should please keep in mind that some of us would not be able to work were it not for a job like this that we can do from home.

Thanks for posting this, me too! - mmt

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Thanks for posting! So good to know I'm not alone in having autism and doing this job. I can so relate to what you said, having been bullied and not fitting in. I couldn't get out of the office fast enough, counted down the days. So many older MTs were so vicious because I was as productive as they were and I was just starting. I am so happy working at home, but am living in poverty, so I will need to make some changes soon. I did not think I could get disability, I am high functioning enough that I could get an office job, but it is just so stressful. Happy to know you're here, you're not alone.

Oh my gosh! Me, too! Yes, thanks for posting this! - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I actually thought the first post was an April Fool's joke until the second post appeared.

I have actually written nearly identical stuff about bullying, not fitting in, and the HEARING. The hearing was the reason I was so good as an MT, I'm sure. I have always thought that.

Your enhanced abilities are a very good fit for coding. Enhanced reading ability, categorizing and organizing, analytical thinking, very literal thinking, focus. The field is, I think, more accepting of differences. Physicians definitely are.

Happy to know both of you are here. Very happy!

Questions for Coder - mmt

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi Coder,

I'm actually in Andrews right now and loving the course, love to analyze. I know I can pass the course and get my credentials, my only concern is the working conditions in a hospital. Are you saying the field of coding is more understanding about our needs as autistics? I am very happy to sit in a cubicle and code, but its the social aspects of working in an office that concern me. You know, the birthday parties, socializing. When I was an in-house MT before going home, I would have lunch alone in my car, just needing to decompress after smothering in that office. I realize all office settings are different, and I am not the same person I was back then, but I am not looking forward to that stress again. Thanks for your help, and good to know I'm not alone.

I think coding has better working conditions . . . - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm delighted to hear you are doing well with Andrews! You'll learn everything you need from them.

Yes, I believe coding has somewhat better working conditions for us. In general, coders are valued more for their smarts than their social skills.

You know how it's ok to be geeky if you are a computer programmer? "Oh, Aspergers! Just like Bill Gates!" And how Sheldon on Big Bang Theory is very cool? While it is not ok to be a geeky MT, it is more ok to be a geeky coder.

Your intelligence and focus on detail, and all those other positive things, will probably enable you to be a really very good coder. With EHRs, it is becoming more and more feasible to get sent home to code. For inpatient coders, this is great.

Very literal, concrete thinking? Great for coding! Other people have a lot of difficulty understanding the CPT code set. "I can see this five different ways depending on how I read it . . . " Well, read it the way it was written . . . :) This is a very valuable skill. I am used as a resource for this. (In MT, it was just aggravating, but in coding, you have a gift!)

You know that thing where you learn tons of stuff about a topic? Like dinosaurs? And you might have talked on and on about it to anyone who couldn't get away? :) Just replace "dinosaur" with "coding" and you have a "coding consultant." Very, very valuable person. And, let me tell you, they'll listen to anything you say!

Healthcare providers are not overly bothered by any of this. They seem to recognize it and accept it. After all, a lot of doctors and scientists have Asperger's themselves. It's just not a big deal. They've seen it before and do not associate it with "defective." The general public goes into "Uh oh! Different! Must kill!" mode, but doctors do not.

There is growing recognition and acceptance of this difference, too. What you experienced before might not happen again, particularly if you out yourself early on. People can't torture you effectively if the rest of the group won't cooperate, and they won't cooperate if you explain right up front. They will, in fact, look after you.

One lady said "Oh, my nephew is that way. He rocks. Do you rock?" (Yes) So, now when they catch me doing it, they'll say "Stressed out? No? Then just feeling goooood" and we'll all rock. It's a fun group activity, not something ominously weird.

Someone who tortured me for years said "Oh, my God! I had no idea!" And she stopped torturing me. Right then. She is a great ally now.

Once people know, they'll teach you all kinds of handy social stuff. They'll understand that you become exhausted from the strain of trying to figure out what to do. They won't expect you to stay at the birthday party, or chitchat, or join in the gossip. And when you start going on and on like I'm doing now, they'll just recognize that you can't tell when to stop and they'll help you. :)

What a wonderful reply! - Thank you

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you so much, you made my day. Laugh, smile, giggle. I've been there. Never considered outing myself, only recently within the past 5 years have I even realized I am an Aspie (45 years' young now). You have such a way with words, easing my fears and anxieties, thanks again!

Even coders have birthdays - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
We all need to leave our cubicles sometimes. If you're not able to participate in a birthday party or a little break to visit now and then, I hope you understand that the need is there for others. Where I work, we acknowledge each other's birthdys but it generally lasts a few minutes, getting a treat and getting back to work. Maybe your coworkers wher4e you worked before turned this into an all day party, but my fellow MTs alweys have work to do and are not able to spend much time socializing. However, as you say, all office settings are different.

You can't be the autistic "anonymous" from above . . . - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
The autistic "anonymous" above worked at home, but you appear to work in an office, so I don't think you're one and the same. I'm pretty sure you aren't autistic, either, because you didn't understand what the reference to "birthday parties and socializing" meant.

I feel obligated to address that, if only to do a little consciousness-raising.

If a blind coworker said she was stressed to the point of tears at the office birthday parties because she was ignored to the point that she wondered she hadn't been invited, or that nobody SAID she was invited so she couldn't tell if she was or not, and that people talked about her behind her back so much that she thought she might NOT be invited; and that she went without cake because she didn't know if it was for her and didn't know how to ask, didn't know how to approach the table to get a piece, couldn't figure out how to get past all the people crowding around the table, or couldn't manage the dish and the drink and the fork without spilling it and embarrassing herself, what would you say to her?

If she told you that socializing was a miserable experience because she did not know if people knew she was there, since she often tried to talk to people who just started talking to someone else in the middle or just walked away, or if they did listen it was often only long enough to complain that she stood too close, or didn't look them in the eye, and when she thought things were going ok, she would hear people talking about how stupid she was droning on and on with no one listening, what would you say?

Would you tell her that you hoped she understood that other people need birthday parties and socializing, even if she doesn't? Probably not--you would recognize that the blindness is the cause of this.

Now replace the word "blind" with "autistic" and read that again.

We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

well, now I know I'm not autistic - wheres_my_job

[ In Reply To ..]
Sorry, the repetition and routine, especially with VR now, to me is excruciating. Add in the abysmal pay (I'm happy for you in your situation), and the social isolation, and it is absolutely intolerable.

Even going on interviews, how wonderful it is just to be interacting with POTENTIAL coworkers - you're not coworkers, you may never BE coworkers, but you can still have coworker banter and exchange pleasantries, and ain't that nice, and ain't that worth the price of admission?

Oh well happy for you in your situation. Hope the good pay lasts for you - but be prepared, it may not (just see all the messages on this board).

There's a lid for every pot. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
There is a lid for every pot, you know. Everyone is different. If we were all the same, how boring it would be!

When we refer to "repetition and routine," we don't generally mean boring. I would be bored doing VR, too. It is more along the lines of "not in constant turmoil."

As for this . . . "Even going on interviews, how wonderful it is just to be interacting with POTENTIAL coworkers - you're not coworkers, you may never BE coworkers, but you can still have coworker banter and exchange pleasantries, and ain't that nice, and ain't that worth the price of admission?" . . . umm, no, not really.

I can't speak for everyone, but "banter" and "exchange of pleasantries" has to be the most stressful thing imaginable. How do you know what to SAY? And, that's when they peg you as weird. Like they have some kind of detection system tuned to your frequency. Gah!

It takes me at least 3 weeks to get to the point of exchanging pleasantries, and that's just the old standby stuff like "Hello." Every time someone says "How are you today?" I have to stop myself from actually telling them. Why would people SAY something like that when they do not MEAN it? Worse, how did it happen that an entire society started doing it???

And how the devil do they all know who everyone else is so FAST? Takes me months to start seeing individual people instead of a faceless mob, but they get it all sorted out in about 30 seconds. Including all their children, the pets, and their vacation plans for the next 15 years.

And people wonder why we have lie down with a cold cloth on our forehead after the staff meeting.

Coder - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I know I've gotten way off the subject, I didn't want to share my salary. I do have to say, though, that the comment about going on interviews and interacting with potential coworkers is just wrong and something a person never wants to do. That gives the interviewer the wrong impression and makes them think you are there to socialize rather than work. Also that might be the office troublemaker you are trying to get chummy with. My office is very small, only 4 of us because everyone else works at home. There are larger departments in our building but we rarely see each other. I've worked in large offices, though, and it also takes me a while to connect names with faces, and a very long time to make friends. As far as the children, pets, etc., I've never had time to get involved in that. Our work place is very much a production environment and we work hard, so in some ways it's similar to being at home. I do like having people nearby though, when I need an "ear" or have to ask a question. It also gives me an opportunity to separate my home life from my office life. When I go home, I leave it behind, something I never did very well when I was home based. I also thank you for sharing your story.

Not criticizing - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I believe I said I understood why working at home was attractive and I'm not criticizing anyone's choice. However, I've done it a few times over the years as my employer gives us the choice of whether to work at home or on site. I know the pitfalls and for me it was not a good fit. I apologize that you did not understand my intent, I did not mean to offend anyone.

Thank you for sharing - McFeist

[ In Reply To ..]
I was just thinking about how working at home doing MT (one of the few legitimate work-at-home jobs) is also great for people in areas where there simply are no jobs or for military spouses who move around a lot.

I am on the introverted side myself, but I found out by working at home and then going back to school a few years later after being at home that I love getting out of the house every day. I would be horrible at sales and not so good at nursing, though, because of my introverted nature. It is not that I don't like people either. The worst for me is talking on the phone. I am just not that good at phone conversations.

I am also into conservation, and when I got into MT a few years ago, it was partly because of that - not having to drive and burn up gas. When I go back to work outside the home, I'll probably look into getting a hybrid or electric car. Unfortunately, there is very little useful public transportation where I live. It is just too bad that MT seems to be deteriorating. If a lot of people decide to leave like me, though, maybe that will leave the fewer good jobs for people who would not be able to work otherwise.

Satisfied still - Ann

[ In Reply To ..]
I now make roughtly $4800 a month. I am still satisfied although my pay has gone down somewhat in the past few years. I am still making a decent living doing MT work.

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