A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Let's talk about the pay we deserve, shall we? - What kind of MT are you? sm
Posted: Dec 01, 2011
Just for the sake of simplification, let's say there are 3 kinds of MTs:
1. The MT who does absolutely any work type; operative notes, radiology, hematology, cardiology, neurology, and all the hard stuff, including difficult ESLs. Good audits and production. Good at VR. This MT is also certified.
2. The MT who is not certified but has at least 10 years experience, many specialties, ESLs, good audits, VR, and excellent production.
3. The newbie who is or is not certified. Sends much to QA, but within reason, good audits, and meets minimum line requirements while struggling with VR a little.
In my opinion, #1 should make 9 to 11 cpll typing, 7 cpl VR. #2 should make 8 to 10 cpl typing, and 6 cpl for VR. And #3 should make 7 to 8 cpl typing, with 5-6 cpl VR. Does this sound within reason?
I am #2. I make 9 cpl and turn that into $40,000 a year. When I was #3, I made 7 cpl and turned that into $30,000 to $36,000 a year. I believe that any MT working for less than 7 cpl is going to be looking for another job soon. Same with less than 5 cpl VR. As they become experienced, they can make more $$.
Which MT are you? What do you think you should make? Not what you would like to make, or used to make, but what you consider a fair wage at this point in time.
Great topic! I will think about it - nm
[ In Reply To ..]nm
Does it matter if I have special circumstances? - What Kind Of MT
[ In Reply To ..]Let's say I think I'm a good MT, but there are reasons why I can't be pinned down to specific hours. Some weeks there are sporting events that take precedance. Obviously I want to make as much money as I can for the hours that I have to work.
Depends on what your company thinks, IC? but I would think - reliability counts. sm
[ In Reply To ..]I would say we all have different skill levels and should be paid accordingly. I would also think that reliability and good production is within the realm of good work ethic.
Not being pinned down to certain work hours would make you an IC, right? Still being a good MT would mean getting in more than the minimum required by your company contract. Only you can answer that.
With all the complaining by all MTs about pay, I would think this is an excellent topic to find some common ground on. Your pay should speak volumes about your skill level. It should matter to companies. It should not be "the pay is what it is" no matter what. I would not want that job.
RE What kind of MT are you? - kstw
[ In Reply To ..]This sounds good, but honestly I think fair pay for MTs is a thing of the past. I have been an MT for 15 years, and there was a time I told myself I would no work for less than 12 cents a line, that was about 6 years ago and I have just seen my pay steadily decrease. It is very disturbing to me. I keep thinking if I am flexible and switch from acct to acct, doing a variety of reports by mostly ESL that eventually it will matter. I have been with my current company 2 years and all I have seen is a decrease in pay. :(
You still did not say what you think you should make. - Not what you used to make. NM
[ In Reply To ..]X
The only MTs I know who ever make 12 cpl are MTSOs - sm
[ In Reply To ..]I don't think I've ever known anyone who made 12 cpl unless they had their own business and just charged that much. If I had ever said I wouldn't work for less than 12 cpl, I would have worked. Also, what kind of work are we talking about? length of lines, paid spaces and/or expander text, ESL? What kind of equipment? All of that matters too.
I used to get paid 12 cpl for weekends - up until 2006
[ In Reply To ..]I get 10 cpl for transcription, and for every line I typed on weekends, I used to get a 2 cpl bonus. Boss never had to ask for help either!
This is an excellent rule of thumb. Thank you. - WithYouOnThis
[ In Reply To ..]I am a #2 MT. This is definitive and fair. I can't speak for everyone, but working remotely has a certain isolation to it, and it is really difficult to put information - facts - together.
I think these figures would have been laughed at as unacceptable to companies if this scale had been configured sooner. However, now that everyone, clinicians, facilities, MTs, and MTSO's know just how poor the OS is, and that U.S. QA is absolutely necessary between OS and the clients, and the fact that VR is not working for all physicians, makes this a fair and equal reflection for everyone across the board. This is just my opinion; can't argue with an opinion.
I think it should depend on years of loyalty - and
[ In Reply To ..]I have been a loyal, hard-working, dedicated employee to my company for 15 years next month. I received 3 pay increases in the first 2 years I worked there. Since then, I have received 3 pay cuts (2006 to current). I feel that my giving my employer 15 years of loyal service should count for something. I am not a slacker, I go above and beyond, I work on holidays even when not scheduled so that others can enjoy time off, and all of my service has given me 3 pay cuts.
I do every work type, I rarely type the same account twice in a row, I work my schedule and then some.
My husband, at his 15 year anniversary for his job, got 5 weeks paid vacation! He also gets bonuses, and not measley either, last year he got a $1500.00 Christmas bonus, and over the summer he got a $500 bonus. Why? Because the boss feels if his employees are happy, his customers are happy and IT IS WORKING!
I personally feel that editing should be paid 1 cpl less than typing, because it takes darn-near as as much time to complete.
Loyalty stops when the quality of the work goes downhill - Fair is fair
[ In Reply To ..]There is no business out there that cares about "loyalty" when the employee's work slacks off. Loyalty amounts to nothing. Everybody should be judged on their work. Those that have been doing great work for the longest should obviously be treated well. If there are any layoffs, the people who do the best work should be kept, in my opinion.
who said my quality slacked off? - unfair is unfair
[ In Reply To ..]Why would a company keep me around for 15 years if my quality was so bad?
I believe I am judged on my work, I am held to 99% accuracy.
I am just not paid accordingly, and loyalty should count for something. If you can depend on me, my quality is top notch, I have been here 15 years, I deserve more than a person who has only been here a year!
Didn't you know? If you're an MT - PassingThru
[ In Reply To ..]Haven't you heard?
If you're an MT with ANY gripes whatsoever, then your work automatically sucks.
Just ask the "experts" on here. They all "know," even though none has seen your work.
AND, to be valued by loyalty you need to be hard to - replace. Working remote did not
[ In Reply To ..]just mean we can work from home, it means we are in competition with all other MTs across the country and offshore in Canada and other English-speaking countries.
Before that, though, we became a mobile society, both geographically and technologically, with frequent job changes as a result of both those factors and others.
This means the value of loyalty, i.e., willingness and need for workers to stay in place, dropped like a rock. That's just the way it is.
not if the new person produces more (quality) work than you do - Going by the numbers
[ In Reply To ..]How many MTs do you know that have been doing it for years but the new people make more money than they do? Don't assume that their quality is less either. Of course they will keep you because they are making money on you, but they are making more money on the person who also does quality work, but does it faster. It's production work.
I think you need more numbers - not just 3
[ In Reply To ..]#1: CMT who does everything, minimum of 11 cpl.
#2: MTs with over 15 years, 10-11 cpl.
#3: MTs with over 10 years, 9-10 cpl.
#4: MTs with over 5 years, 8-9 cpl.
#5: Brand new up to 5 years, 7-8 cpl.
#6: Any offshore MT: 0 cpl.
Trying to keep it simple. Complaints about pay, but no one says - what they think they should make. nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
I did state what I think I should make - read the list
[ In Reply To ..]I happen to have 18 years experience. I feel I should make 10 to 11 cpl for typing. As far as ASR/VR, I think it should be paid the same rate or very slightly lower because it is my same skills to get the report the way it needs to me. ASR is not as smart as I am.
#2 - Rainy
[ In Reply To ..]As I was reading your post, my first thought was, for a #2 like me, 9 cpl. Perhaps 8-8.5 to start with a company, then increased after a reasonable number of months, then another increase after a reasonable time after that. VR pay is a toughie. If there is a good platform (little editing needed), I would go as low as 5 cpl. With the garbage VR I work with now, I agree with the poster that said it should be 1 cpl less than transcribing, or, unrealistically, the same cpl.
I would consider myself between #1 & #2 - kstw
[ In Reply To ..]I think there are a lot of #1 MTs out there but are not certified. I at one time was going to do it, but I found very few companies paid more for certification. I work all shifts when asked including weekends, help out on accts that are behind (therefore need to learn new acct specs for short periods of time), do Ops notes and accts with high ESL but am not certified and have been a MT for 15 years. When I first started as an MT, I worked for 12 cents a line in house a new MT (no experience) Wasn't until 7 years ago that I went home and took a pay cut to 10 cents. Then time off for the birth of my son to come back from maternity to crappier accts and a cut in pay. Slowly decreased over the last 5 years with SR.
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