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

People who will stay in this industry. - PAMT

Posted: Jul 01, 2012

I think as things go forward the people that will stay in this industry are those with their own benefits either through husbands or retirement age or buying their own that dont need to support themselves or anyone else fully and have other income again either through a significant other, husband, etc. or are retired and collecting pensions and SS and what have you. This will help fill in retirement as far as financial, keeping the mind active and help with keeping in the job market. Just my opinion. It is getting too crazy to rely on anymore for most people that need to have income to support themselves and possibly a family.

I tend to agree - Leaving MT

[ In Reply To ..]
It certainly is very tough to make a living in this field unless you happen to be an MTSO owner or a "true" IC with good, reliable accounts. I think for the worker bee MTs, though, it is very, very tough to make a living doing this.

Some people have mentioned that it is like this for most fields these days, but I am not so sure. I have a friend who works for Nabisco as a machinist, and he is making a killing right now (union, though). He makes close to $50 an hour on Sundays when they call him in. They do more with less employees, but they certainly compensate very well for OT. Also, although my husband works longer hours now at AT&T, he has continued to get raises and bonuses there. They have taken some things away and insurance for managers has changed some, but he still makes a good living there. Again, they do more with less employees, but the employees they have are well compensated. Not the case with MT. In MT, especially with so many positions being "IC," MTSOs tend to over hire to meet tight TATs. They do more with more MTs making a lot less.

blanket statements - disagree

[ In Reply To ..]
OR how about those of us who are doing well, are single, provide our own benefits, self-supporting, no pension, no support from anyone but what we earn? Are we chopped liver? We aren't going anywhere, believe me.

Absolutely agree...SM - Old Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I was close to the "collecting SS category" when my in-house job was outsourced and am now making half what I used to make, so I took early SS which brings me back to where I was salary-wise. I do have to be careful not to make much over $16,400, but that's not too hard due to the pitiful line rates.

To the poster above, no one was implying you were chopped liver. I was in your positioned 6 months ago, making great money, 100% paid health insurance, vacation, sick time, holidays, etc., etc. I'm very happy for you. You are a credit to the profession.

Question for OldAnon. sm. - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
sorry to go off topic. I have been looking into early SS, and I thought $14,400 was the limit for earnings? Thanks.

Question for OldAnon - Early Retirement

[ In Reply To ..]
You are correct as I did the same thing and it was $14,400. Anything over that and they deduct the difference the following year. I had to take early SS, as I was drowning working for Medquist and figured I would be better off taking early SS and working part time and making the same money. I was averaging about $25,000 a year working FT for MQ, which was highway robbery on their part.

No, not chopped liver at all - Leaving MT

[ In Reply To ..]
That is downright inspiring. Personally, I feel like I need to be able to support myself and/or my husband if I need to, but I have not been able to achieve that with MT (at least not while working for an MTSO), and I feel too insecure in the profession to stay - even though I am not the primary breadwinner in our family. I don't have it in me to strike out on my own and procure my own accounts.

As an aside, I used to work for a group of surgeons in the 1990s (not transcription). I recently had lunch with some of the ladies in the office including the office manager I used to work for, who is still there managing. She told me that her transcription costs have gone from about $130,000 a year to about $35,000 a year. She is still using the same transcriptionist that did the transcription back in the 1990s when I worked there. That is quite a drop for the transcriptionist. This drop resulted when she implemented an EMR. She really cracked the whip against the doctors dictating when the EMR got implemented. It is saving the practice almost $100,000 a year, though.

Looking at this profession that used to be a good profession - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I recently read a book of memoirs of a madam on Clay Street by Pauline Tabor.

She was a madam and she took care of her employees, albeit an illicit profession.

However, if we look at her profession, she had a high class act, but there were still others who choice to work for whatever and bring a bad name to the trade.

I look at good MTSOs (high class madams) as caring for their employees and treating with the utmost respect and pay scale.

Then there are the not so good MTSOs (nothing but pimps) that solicit the people willing to work for nothing and these employees do not get treated with respect and are if fact beaten down in some respects.

Now for the employees who feel respectful of themselves and will no doubt leave this profession and move on to a more respectable place for themselves.

Isn't that most of us already? - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I would have never been able to stay working as an MT this long if my husband didn't have benefits and a good job.

The last really good MT job I had was approximately 6 years ago. I think there will always be MT work, as VR has not lived up to its original hype, but I don't really see a rebound in wages or benefits any time soon.

Nope until I find something better, I have to eak a living out of this all by myself - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
xx

Same here. - Planning on getting out.

[ In Reply To ..]
On my own with no one to help with income, benefits, and/or bills.

I do have a husband drawing SS, but I'm making enough to - support myself at 35 hpw and would

[ In Reply To ..]
just work more hours if I had to. I live in the country and would not choose to leave my home to find a different work when this one is still available to me.

True - Just Me

[ In Reply To ..]
It would be hard if this were their only source of income.

That's exactly what I am thinking... - Cant wait to NOT be an MT

[ In Reply To ..]
This whole industry has gone so far down over the last 5 years or so. I have been in the industry for 15 years, and it used to be a great, hourly job with great benefits! Now, you can't find any hourly positions, and they want to pay you slave wages - I bet they make more in India!

what? - support myself at 58

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been supporting myself for the last 12 years. No "hubby" to bail me out, not old enough for retirement, not disabled, no "significant other" either. Those who stay, love what they do and are willing to educate themselves and adapt to the current technology.

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