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

Occupation as an at home transcriptionist - Sodunwthit!

Posted: Feb 16, 2013

I paid big money to get college education for medical transcription, what a waste of time. When they cut my pay in half to 4 cents a line for VR was the an unlivable wage! I keep coming on here from time to time to see if things have gotten better for mt's and it has not I switched careers in 2009 so in 4 years it is all still the same and will not change unless you all quit and force change in this industry!

lemee understand you correctly - Miltons Red Stapler

[ In Reply To ..]
You left. The industry did not change (if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?)

Four years later, you check in to see nothing has changed, so you care enough to encourage all of us to leave so we can effect change (because your leaving did not effect any change).

The only thing that would change would be which country the work is outsourced to. Why? Because there would be no workers left in the US to hire! (remember, we all quit!)

Doh!

Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler...

switch - Sodunwthit!

[ In Reply To ..]
The work is already being done in other countries that is why it is so horrible here and why US mt's are treated like they are 3rd world employees I am just saying it is the same old song and you all could be happier doing something else, that is all, I did and I am happier for it. I thought if thing had changed I would try again but I can see it is worse than ever in thia field!

um, you are happier for having left, but - Miltons Red Stapler

[ In Reply To ..]
but you keep checking back from time to time to see if things have gotten better because you want to try again. Why would you want to leave employment where you are happy to go anywhere, MT or not MT? Me thinks thou just wants to stir a pot to get thee jollies.

Excuse me, I don't want to move to the basement...

Why would you want to come back? - you went through the

[ In Reply To ..]
efforts to leave, found a better job and now your happy...but being an MT made you unhappy. Would'nt that be like a dog returning to its own vomit? I encourage all unhappy folks to get out and stay out. Once you are out why return?

maybe they want to - ....

[ In Reply To ..]
maybe they want to eat the vomit? ;-)

sorry... couldn't resist.

its that work at home thing keeps her going. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
,

Agree. Work from home - Magic Words

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Do you think this industry would have any US workers left at all if it weren't for the lure of working from home? Working from home is a huge carrot, almost irresistible.

Magic Words - Old Pro

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That is why so many people who have no business being in MT want to do it.

Repy: Lemme understand..... - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I DO Totally "GET" why she keeps coming back to check on the industry. If you spent a lot of money to LEARN a NEW JOB and found out the SCHOOL gave you FALSE HOPE, wouldn't you still try to recoup your losses by continuing to see if there was a way you could work in the industry you invested a lot of money in? So I totally get it.

I personally would cut my losses and move on. - I have had 2 jobs in my

[ In Reply To ..]
working years that I didn't like and made me absolutely miserable. The first one, I woke up one morning and just decided - Thats it, Im not going back. I called and told them I wouldn't be back and I quit. No other job lined up or anything, but I knew that I could not go back there and absolutely refused. I left and never looked back.

With the other job - I stuck it out for a longtime, I couldn't leave that one as easily because I needed the money, but eventually something better came along and I was able to get out of there too, never looking back and to this day you cant pay me enough to go back to either of those jobs.

I had time and money invested in those jobs as well and one of them I had a great deal of senority on, but the fact that they made me absolutely miserable -I felt that my mental health and well being were more important.

Bottom line, if you are in a job you dont like, cut your losses and move on. Life is too short to wallow in misery. If you are not in a position to leave right away, then start working on a plan to get out and do what you gotta do. Thats just me and the way I view the situation.

that is what I'm talking about - Miltons Red Stapler

[ In Reply To ..]
It's kinda like being in an abusive relationship. You invest a lot of yourself in it and you don't want to give up, but you can't see the damage it is doing to you. We are little worker bees and offshoring is not going away. Reduction in pay is not going away. The industry - the economy - is changing and those changes are not going away. Make the best deal for yourself in a job doing whatever makes you the happiness and provides a mean of living.

To keep checking in with the abuser to see if it has changed shows an unbalanced approach to life.

...The ratio of people to cake is too big.

reply to sodunwthit - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Such a simple solution to a problem we have all been going thru over the past 4-5 years. First off, many of us are not in the position to just "QUIT" and let them sink or swim. I am unmarried, have been doing transcription for 23 years now and have no other means of income. Plus I'm over 60 years old (another strike against me although I have never had a problem finding work based on my age unlike other industries-They tend to like older MTs because they know we have lots of experience). What we really need to do is REJECT low-paying job opportunities for the sake of "having a job". I saw one job listed on MTjobs.com that was paying $0.04/line for Transcription! By accepting these lousy wages, all we are doing is making it BAD for everyone else. We need to "HOLD OUT" for what we are really worth...Nothing less than $0.09/line for transcription, and even more when its a job that requires working on a "Bulky" user-UNfriendly platform!! I'm Sorry you had to spend all your money for nothing. These "SCHOOLS" are never going to tell you the truth..That Medical Transcription "AIN'T" what it used to be. But if they did, they would never sell their product. We all just need to turn down lousy paying jobs and hold out for what our TRUE WORTH IS!! Good luck to you.

Working with technology - TechnoGirl

[ In Reply To ..]
Our jobs are easier now because of the SR technology and sadly we are making much less money. Everyone seems to be making less money these days in all sectors of the job market. It is just not our industry. A few here claim to be making $40K as MTs but those jobs are not the norm. We are medical editors now for the most part. No matter where you go these days in the job market, wages are down and benefits costs are up. Even people highly educated are struggling. Just sayin ......

Working with technology - Thats true. - Now a days most jobs are

[ In Reply To ..]
starting anywhere from $10 to $14 an hour depending on your educational level and even at $14 an hour thats less than $30,000 a year. For some of us, it actually balances out to just stay put. I was offered a job in medical records for $13 and hour and declined because Im making that now doing transcription. Not to mention, I use to work for that same hospital before they outsourced and so I know that raises are far and few between.

It use to be we got decent raises every year, but then as the economy took a hit, so did our wages. The last raise I got from them before we were outsourced was like a 5 cent increase to my hourly wage. I guess if you are not getting enough work to average at least $10 to $14 an hour on a regular, steady basis, then yeah I could see the point in getting out and getting out quick. But if are one of the ones still able to average a reasonable hourly wage that suits your lifestyle and you still like your job, then no sense in leaving. If it aint broke dont fix it.

if we "quit and force change in this industry!" - should we keep checking back to

[ In Reply To ..]
see if things have changed and then come back?

Have no idea why people keep thinking it'll get better. - just does not make sense to me. NM

[ In Reply To ..]
SHOULDER SHRUG.

Force change? - TechnoGirl

[ In Reply To ..]
The only change that is going to be "forced" is on the MTs themselves, not the industry. Technology rules, it makes things cheaper for the client, easier for the worker (MTs)and the MTSOs are making huge profits off of it. The ultimate goal in the long range scheme of things in the industry is to eventually get rid of the worker altogether. That will not happen any time soon as the technology is not there yet but eventually it will be. So if you leave thinking things will improve for the MT down the road sometime, it will be a cool day in you know where. Just saying.....

you don't have to quit MT - Snow Bunny (the original)

[ In Reply To ..]
Try to get a position in a hospital or perhaps a doctor's office. Make sure you "design" your resume to suit each job you apply to.

Wtih respect to "and will not change unless you all quit and force change in this industry" ... you've got a 60's mentality.

The only chance this industry has for any sort of recovery is if American MTs stop doing VR.

If American MTs stop doing VR, then more of it will just go to India. NM - Maggie May

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x

I would check also - x

[ In Reply To ..]
Congrats for leaving the MT world and making a better living doing something else. I, too, am leaving and have no regrets. I only wish I had left 5-7 years ago when things started spiraling downward. I will also check the MT boards from time to time, as I will still be working PT. I am still keeping some MT work on the side for extra money. Now I will really appreciate my meager checks because it will be extra money and not money that I depend on for my house note, car note, or food. Yes, there are still some good MT jobs out there, but they are becoming few and far between with doc offices converting to EMR, hospitals outsourcing, putting MTs out of the hospital, and sending work overseas. It's just a fact. If you are unhappy being a MT and are not ready to leave the industry, I highly recommend working PT for 2 people. That is how I made it work while I was going back to school. It was not so bad. I could only laugh when the last week of my notice, I was told time and time again to "get off the system" because there was no work for the hospital employees. Work in a downward spiral right now, and I am SO HAPPY that I left FT, and will just have my PT play money.

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