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

Legal exploitation - Lee

Posted: Jul 19, 2011

Isn't it disgusting to know that so many MTs are victims of legal exploitaton. Need I say more?

You've hit the nail squarely on the head. Just because - its "legal", doesnt mean its not exploitation.

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm sick of it all. Thats why every time I hear of some big-shot corporation getting caught cheating, it doesn't matter whether it's the employee, the clients, or the tax man they're cheating. I just LOVE to see them outed, embarrassed, and brought down. That's why, economic repercussions be d@mned... I wanted SO very badly to see the stock market and the banks, instead of getting bailed out at our expense, being reduced to nothing but rubble.

Legal expoitation - JJ

[ In Reply To ..]
There are no victims, there are only volunteers.

I guess it depends on who you talk to. Some seem to feel we should bend over, say thanks, - and ask for another. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

JJ Volunteer - Lee

[ In Reply To ..]
Some people want to feed their children without begging from the tax-payer system to do it for them. They are willing to work and should be paid for their work. Did the slaves volunteer, did the American Indians volunteer, do the oppressed of the world volunteer, do you volunteer to pay your taxes?

Oh for pity's sake - mt2

[ In Reply To ..]
The thing is, you didn't sign an indentured clause when you started with an MT service. If you feel exploited, if you feel unhappy, if you don't have enough work--- FIND ANOTHER JOB. Comparing yourself to a slave, an American Indian, or as being oppressed is LUDICROUS!

The only way companies could be successful in so-called victimizing MTs is if the MT ALLOWS THEMSELVES TO BE VICTIMIZED. There *are* jobs out there that aren't the large companies with their issues.

Instead, it's easier to come on a message board and rail at the injustice of the job YOU CHOSE. Build a bridge and get over yourself.

If you lived in a house that was falling down, would you stay and just kvetch about the landlord? Yes, you probably would.

Being a victim is where all that passivity and apathy keep you. Stand up and go make your life better instead of constant whining.

If your company doesn't have enough work, find one who does (and they are out there). Start CHOOSING better for yourself instead of constantly berating others for your current choices.

Agree 100% - LK

[ In Reply To ..]
I am constantly amazed by the victim mentality that finds its way onto this board. If you don't like your situation, CHANGE IT! I guess it's easier to play victim than to pick yourself up and move on to something that suits you better. When I read certain posts on this board, I am always reminded of wives who stay in abusive situations. It's really not much different. MOVE ON and quit b****ing!

Y'all need to get your acts synchronized. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
In the thread below this one, people are told it's a great job, sit down, shut up, and type. And now you say quit being a victim. Which is we should do? Fight the exploitation or go lay down by our bowls?

Victims - mt2

[ In Reply To ..]
You didn't hear ME say sit down, shut up and type. I don't believe in giving up my voice. But I also don't believe you stay unhappy and just complain about it.

I also see another comment "like finding another job is so easy to do." Well IF (and this is a big IF) you have the skills, finding a job is not that difficult. I've been given offers by 10 companies this year alone (part of an ongoing project I'm working on). But my resume says I know what I'm doing, can do whatever kind of work type, and can back up my resume with the talent.

I'm not criticizing anyone in particular, but having been on the hiring end of things, there's a HUGE gap between MTs who THINK they got it and MTs who DO have it. As we move forward, MTs with the "kinda" skills are going to find themselves without choices except to BE the victim-- unless they simply say, I'd rather go work at Walmart for my steady pay whether there's shoppers or not, than to sit here and feel all this stress and emotional upheaval.

I feel for those of you who constantly post about how horrible your work day is. Just don't get why you ACCEPT it.

Because not all of us are as outstanding and perfect as you. - -sigh-

[ In Reply To ..]
Some of us are mere dregs of society, hideous of countenance and lacking in meaningful skills, forced into a life of wretched servitude toiling for reviled task masters.

Oh, if only, I could be the beacon of perfection that you are, that I could display a resume that showed something more than 30 years of doing transcription. Alas, that I spent my years locked in bitter solitude so that I could raise the children and now, whilst you have gone on to blaze trails of glory across the ebony sky, I sit, defeated and downtrodden, trying to eke out even money to buy the gruel for the week as I beg my overseers for the privilege of typing of typing one more job this hour, and settle back onto my atrophied, pale limbs to wait until the clock strikes again, with the unspoken prayer that they will bestow another job upon me.

Oh, to the heavens above, I but wish I could been so perfect and foreseeing as to prepare myself 30 years ago as you apparently were. Then I would not have to cast my lot in with these other wastrels.

Well, yeah - MT2

[ In Reply To ..]
I am good. I'm not ashamed of that or embarrassed by it. Your sarcasm well, you're good at that. All I know is that I'm doing something differently than you are because I'm not miserable, make nearly $70k a year and don't kill myself doing it. So yeah, I could see you wanting to be me. (BTW, this is *my* version of sarcasm in response to yours.)

Outstanding - MC

[ In Reply To ..]
Wow.. you really are great at sarcasm! Made me smile.

Love how people say "find another job" like it's - just SOOOOOO easy to do.

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Most of us who are being taken advantage of ARE looking for other work. Get off your pedestal, get over YOURself, and quit being so judgemental.

Other jobs - mt1347

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OK, fellow MTs - if you are truly miserable at your job, you are harming yourself and those around you. A miserable work situation makes for a miserable person. We all know that stress leads to illness, both physical and mental. When it comes to finding another job, think out of the box - it doesn't necessarily mean working for a company or a business of any kind. What about working for yourself? I understand that if you live in a rural area, your options may be limited. But, there are lots of legitimate opportunities on the internet that would allow you to still work from job. There is a job called Virtual Assistant and most MTs would find it a snap - you basically do secretarial or clerical work for small business people. Also, there was an article in our newspaper yesterday about a lady who started a business 11 years ago braiding little girls' hair - yes! Her daughter's school mates loved the braiding in her hair and asked this woman to braid their hair - she does spectacular things with hair - the little girls look like princesses. She is fully booked. You can run errands for people, take folks to medical and other appointments. What are you good at? How can you make money at it? Spend 10 minutes a day thinking about that and change your life. Or, do nothing and continue to be miserable.

Pie in the Sky - Not possible for most

[ In Reply To ..]
A) Virtual Assistant jobs are like bigfoot. I am on several different bulletin boards for stay at home moms, work from home moms, self-employed people, etc., and no one has ever been able to confirm that these jobs actually exist.

B) What should I feed the family while I'm sitting beside the phone waiting for the other people who don't have money to waste to call me to run their errands? Or for that matter, how did I talk someone into paying me $100 to go pick up their sugar and toilet paper from the store and their dry cleaning?

C) Again, how do I feed my family while I wait for all 30 girls who might want to braid their hair to find their way to me (as opposed to their mother, sister, auntie, cousin, etc.). And it is going to take a good long while before anyone gets to the point where they can do anything extraordinary, and even French braids are beyond the skill set of most people (even those with daughters).

If you are fortunate and were working for a company that paid you enough to have good money set aside, this might be feasible. But considering that we have to stay at our desk 12-14 hours a day just to make enough to provide the family with the bare essentials (despite the belief of some, most of us are not working for pin money). When exactly am I going to find the time to run someone else's errands, squeeze in any clients I might have while working?

About the only way your plan would work would be if we actually got laid off and were able to collect unemployment so we had some income coming in. Otherwise, we're stuck with trying to make the industry better because we can't get out.

"We" are not all working for peanuts - or long hours

[ In Reply To ..]
"We" do not all have to stay at our desks 12-14 hours to just provide the bare essentials. If I were in that boat, I'd get out of it. I work 6-7 hours a day and make a reasonably decent income. I could work another 2 or 3 hours a day and make a fair bit more. If I needed to make even more money than that, I would get out of MT and do something else. That simple. And that's NOT pie in the sky.

And again with the get out of MT. Into what? - sm

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And, frankly, I call BS on all the people that claim that they're working 6 hours a day and rolling in the dough. Unless you've got a husband providing the bulk of the income, you are not making a living or supporting a family doing MT.

And again with the assumptions. We are not all as gifted as some of you. Not all of us have college degrees enabling us to just quit the job we've done for 10, 20, 30 years. Going back to school is one of those things that costs money; or am I misunderstanding and you're offering to pay my way through college so I can quit being an MT?

That's what I thought.

IOW - working mt

[ In Reply To ..]
you'd rather be a victim. What I hear is you want someone to fix it for you. It really and honestly and truly is a very simple equation. If you are happy and making what you need to make, stay. If you are not, leave. I wonder if you would be unhappy no matter what you are doing? I surely hope not.

And there's money to be found to go back to school- be motivated. Look for it. Find it. And there are certificate or 2-year degree programs of many, MANY types that would not cost an arm and a leg to complete.

Calling BS on someone because they are happy and making a living doing MT really isn't productive at all, is it? I work 7 hours a day, could work more but I like playing with the grandbabies at night, so I stop early. I'm self-supporting. I also have an advanced degree but I make more money doing MT so for now, don't use the degree. Just because you find yourself in a bad position, doesn't mean everyone is there or would accept being there.

Life is really too short to be so miserable. Look for the fun in life and go after it, you might surprise yourself and find yourself smiling and doing something you never imagined yourself doing before -- Stop blaming and stop being so sad. Find the happy :) (And I know that sounds all pollyannish but we really are responsible for our own bliss.)

Into what? - Allergic to whiners

[ In Reply To ..]
Any career you like. I worked my way through college and I am disabled. Why should I offer to pay your or anyone else's way through? Is this part of the new entitlement stance so many people are taking? You want to go to college, take out college loans like the rest of us did and hie thee to the university. You want to be a chef? Put yourself through culinary school. Whatever, but your bitterness can only hurt you. If you don't like the MT world, why stay?

As long as the work is there, I can straight type 300+/hour BUT - Hayseed

[ In Reply To ..]
I have tweeked my expander like crazy, actually studied my shortcuts and have sticky notes with new shortcuts, and the platform my company uses is pretty darned sweet compared to some others out there.

Like everything else, there are variables, and it also takes hard work and self-discipline to pull a decent paycheck but, yes, it is possible. I still love my job but I'm fairly new with about 10 years under my tuckas.

No college degree here either. I just used to do manual labor, like really hard work on my feet outside in all kinds of New England weather from sunup to sunset that also had nonexistent benefits (actually having work was considered a benefit), so this job seems especially sweet after coming from that type of lifestyle.

:-)

Ever hear the expression fire-hosing? - working MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Translation of what I hear:

I'm miserable in my job. Nothing will ever change. There are no options, no matter what positives are put in my way, I am determined to pout and kick my feet and just keep on status quo because it takes less effort and so there and just because and so on and so on.

Nothing changes if nothing changes. The MT business is not going to go backwards to what it used to be. If the new normal isn't working for you, then you need to either accept you feel obliged to sit for 12-14 hours a day to feed your family, or find a way to do so in fewer hours. But the change is up to you.

Pie in the sky - mt1347

[ In Reply To ..]
I did put out a "plan." I said THINK OUT OF THE BOX - spend a few mins. a day thinking about how you can make money at what you're going at. I gave examples - but obviously you are determined to wallow, whine and weep - maybe you can find a way to make money doing that. You keep doing MT while you get established in something else, obviously. If you're working that many hours and barely making it, you need to buck up your MT skills. Bottom line, as many other posters have said - each person needs to take responsibility for their own life. I suggested a change in mind set and look how you react - no, no, no. Stay miserable - that's what you choose if you don't make some changes. If that is YOUR choice, then you have no right to complain.

Other job opportunities - Cathy

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you might be surprised if you spend some time looking at classified ads, online job ads, etc. There are many secretary, data entry, receptionist, administrative assistant, office clerk, etc., jobs out there that pay the same or more than I am now making as an MT.

I know that some of us have to find something to do from home (myself included) and can't go for those jobs, but if you are able to get outside of the house one of those jobs could be a better option for you.

There are also other legitimate jobs that you can do from home in the sales, insurance, data entry, etc., fields.

Starting your own business isn't a crazy idea either. About 5 years ago I decided to start working at home selling jewelry on eBay and worked my up to Powerseller status. I only quit that because I had to start providing insurance for my family and couldn't qualify to get insurance on my own (medical problems in the family). Anyway, it is possible. I takes a lot of research, time, and dedication (which I know is scarce when all of your time and energy is going into MT).

It may get harder before it gets easier or better, but if you hate MT then you need to believe in yourself and value yourself enough to find something else that you love to do instead. You only get one chance at this life. Don't let MT ruin it by making you miserable all of the time.

Just trying to be helpful and give some suggestions. Not trying to label anyone as whining or victimizing themselves here. I certainly know where everyone is coming from here.

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