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

TIRED OF MY CHAIN BEING YANKED. - deadpetals

Posted: Apr 22, 2014

I am all but ready to give up on this "career". I have two years under my belt of schooling (which I still owe student loans to), and 10+ years of working from home experience. I have worked for Nuance (constantly out of work *THANKS INDIA*, watched like a hawk and don't even get me started on their silly crap called "Fiesa") I have worked for SilentType...Good luck with that one. The owner talks to her employees like crap and constantly runs out of work. I am damn good at what I do, highly educated...I just don't know what to do with this education anymore.

Since being out of work from Silent Type I have applied and tested for hmmm lets see...InScribe, SoftScript, TransTech Medical, and Precyse. Now you know when taking a test if you have done well or not. After taking today's test with Precyse, I felt I NAILED it. I felt really good. They got right back to me only to say "we have concluded that this particular opportunity is not a direct match with your background."

WTF?! In the beginning I was making such good money. I think these companies who advertise jobs here should be banned. All they do is give us false hope. I have one more interview this week with one of the companies mentioned above...if it doesn't work I'm going back to waiting tables. I'm over this crap.

in regards to the yanked chain - deadpetals

[ In Reply To ..]
please forgive me you guys, I was in desperate need of a vent and no one in my real life understands how frustrating this career field is anymore. It's breaking my heart that it held such promise and it's just being handed off to another country most times anymore.

Leave now while you still can - Depressed

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT for over 35 years now. Wishing I was closer to retirement, but another 10 years to go. Now I find no one outside the MT industry will hire me - no other experience (and possibly my age). If I was younger, I'd go back to school for ANYTHING other than medical transcription.

Don't give up - crn

[ In Reply To ..]
Keep looking and don't give up! I have been doing transcription for over 20 years and was afraid of the same thing happening, but I was actually offered clerical jobs at 2 different hospitals a few months ago. I didn't take them at the time because I wasn't ready to leave, but am beyond ready to go now. Medical transcription has become a dead end job with no perks at all. It's a hard job that not just anyone can do, but none of the big companies care about that. They think they can just keep hiring new people over and over, but that will eventually come to an end. I really believe their days are numbered. I remember when the doctor I worked for dreaded me going on vacation because someone else would be doing his transcription. Those were the days you felt valued. Don't give up!

@ responders - deadpetals

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks you guys and at "depressed" I fear feeling that way in the future. And yes crn you are right...I keep hanging on because I feel as long as there are still jobs out there, I gotta keep trying. Plus it's sooo challenging going back out into the workforce when I've worked from home for so very long. Thanks for listening to me vent. I have lurked on this site for YEARS and never posted :)

^ Exactly my experience, too. I'm a little closer - to retirement age, but cant afford - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
to retire! I'm healthy, not particularly dumb, and trainable! But no one will hire me, either.

And there are only a few jobs left I can even apply to. Most want you to speak Spanish or Chinese fluently. All want 2-3 years' experience in that exact same industry. Or their exact same (but obscure) software that you never heard of, and that they don't teach in the schools, anyway.

The job I did as a medical secretary back in my early days of transcribing was pretty close to what is now called an "administrative assistant", except that these days they want you to be all that and then some. Perky, go-getter (code language for "young"), an urgent, results-driven individual (i.e., a corporate a__hole), and a multi-tasking people-person.

Then you get to the bottom of the ad, where they mention pay (if they have the courage to even do so at all), and it's $10 per hour. That doesn't even cover my gas to commute to work, let alone living in an area where you have no hope of ever owning your own home/condo/studio/etc. if you don't make at least $250K per year. And where you can't even rent that studio apartment if you make less than $4800/month.

Amen to that! - nn

[ In Reply To ..]
My thoughts exactly!

To sm: Check your SSI papers next time you get them - Depressed

[ In Reply To ..]
I saw on mine that I would get more in SSI than I'm actually making right now, lol. I also know you can work while getting SSI - you're just limited on what you can earn. So, retirement plus a little part-time work sounds good to me, lol. ;)

You can look up your amounts online - Sm

[ In Reply To ..]
You don't have to wait to receive your statement in the mail. It is SSA.gov

Thanks! I didn't know that. - Depressed

[ In Reply To ..]
:)

You are not limited on SS if you reach full - retirement age, well worth it

[ In Reply To ..]
You can draw full retirement funds and work as much as you want and no money is taken back. Should you retire before full though SS will take back a dollar for each 3, I believe, over a certain amount you are able to make each month. Being as I am not good with math, decided to wait until full retirement so I did not have to keep up with if I owed them money or not.

I did look at them, and you have to remember - that you dont get all of that. (SM)

[ In Reply To ..]
You'll have to pay taxes on that "income". You also have to factor in that it's a FIXED income. It will never go up. Then think about how much the price of EVERYTHING has gone up in the past 5 years, and then apply that to how long you expect to live after you retire. I did that, and considering I won't be getting that much SS money anyway, the tax, the cost of living, especially in my area, and the fact that many of my family members lived into their 100's, and it's pretty much a given that I'll outlive my SS money. I wanted to delay taking SS until I was 70, but now may be forced to take it at 65 if I don't find a job that I can make a living at. I now make more on unemployment than I did during this past year as an MT, but it won't last forever. Then if I'm not employed by then, I'll be forced to retire. Think of how many boomer-age people are being forced into that, and you have to wonder why this country is so WASTEFUL as to ignore perfectly capable, older American workers.

You have it wrong if you say SS never goes up - because mine has now

[ In Reply To ..]
twice that I know of, perhaps not paying attention that much and could have gone up before. Unlike our pay in MTing which has not changed in like forever, SS gives a percentage increase and I just got one. My increase was $30.00 more per check from 2013 to now, an extra $360.00 a year.

You are right - and

[ In Reply To ..]
not only does your SS benefit usually increase each year, if your income (including SS) is below a certain level, only part of it is taxed, not all of it.

SS goes go up - AJ

[ In Reply To ..]
and if you keep working while on SS, it goes up even more. And you do not pay tax on your entire amount of SS, only on half of it.

They told me it's "fixed income", and what you - get when you take it is permanent.

[ In Reply To ..]
-

My job as a MTer is fixed income but SS - goes up as cost of living raises

[ In Reply To ..]
So really don't know what they mean by fixed because mine is not, $30.00 more month since last year so not what I called fixed. Now my MT salary, different story.

Well, I sure hope you're right. Meanwhile, since - Ive been an MT for most of my life,

[ In Reply To ..]
that means I didn't get the chance to put much aside for social security or a retirement account. The most money in my 401K came when I had a good MT job 15 years ago. But then 9/11 happened, wiped out my 401K, and then I ended up working for a national MTSO. I haven't put a dime in my 401K since, and haven't even bothered to look at it, since it probably has less than $30K in it anyway. And I already know what I get for SS will be less than what I was making working for the crummy MTSO. Oh, well. It's too late to do anything about it now. Whatever happens, happens I guess.

Either you were given bad information - or

[ In Reply To ..]
you did not understand what you were told. Most years, SS recipients receive a cost-of-living increase, which in some years has boosted benefits substantially while in other years not so much. Also, if you continue to work after you start receiving SS, you may find that your benefits increase if a year of earnings from a post-SS job exceeds earnings for one of the years used to calculate your benefits. The higher earnings will replace the lower earnings, and your benefits will be adjusted accordingly.

There is a lot of good information on the Social Security website. It's easy to set up an account and get answers to any questions you might have.

SS rules different for whether an IC or employee - Alice

[ In Reply To ..]
Regarding social security income--
In addition to there being a limit to how much you can earn before you begin to lose SS benefits,(and this only applied until you reach full retirement age which for me is 66) if you are an IC, you can only work 45 hours per month. Yes, that's right, per month. This is what I was told by the rep at the local SS office, and it was also printed in a brochure that I received from them, which I subsequently tossed out in a fit of anger.

If it is an employee position, there is no limit to the number of hours you are allowed to work.

For both categories, I think the current limit on income is something like 15,100 per year. After that, for every $2 you earn over the limit, you lose $1 in SS benefits.

I suppose if you have a set schedule as an IC, you aren't really an IC, but that's a totally other issue. Otherwise, I'm not sure how Social Security can determine the number of hours you worked as an IC when you are paid on production and number of hours aren't usually counted (unless, of course, you have a set schedule, which doesn't apply to all IC's).

Shocked on what you said about ICs income as far as - SS, thought it was the amount only

[ In Reply To ..]
that determined (before full retirement age SS) if you owed money back, never heard about IC playing any part in how many hours you could work, thought only how much money you were allowed to make (if not full retirement age). What in the world would it matter whether IC or fulltime employee? Makes no sense to me. I am so, so thankful that I waited until full retirement so I don't have to worry about if I owe back money and don't have to worry about working X amount of hours.

A loophole - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
If you take your SS the year BEFORE you reach full retirement age, you can work more than just the small amount you can work other years without a penalty. I know someone who was eligible for full SS at age 66, but she took it at age 65, and she was able to make $38,000 without a penalty. This amount changes every year and likely has gone up since. You need to contact your CPA and ask him/her about this loophole.

Rule explained and why it almost certainly does not apply to you - SM - YD

[ In Reply To ..]
Go to the link below for a good explanation for why self-employed are treated differently (logic makes a lot of sense) and why an IC transcriptionist with no subcontractors or employees probably would not be limited by the 45-hour rule.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/reduction-social-security-early-retirement-the-self-employed.html

wow, keystrokes - deadpetals

[ In Reply To ..]
I was sent a test from this company but now I am second guessing even taking it. I do believe it's time to get out of transcription...sigh....Do any of you ever check out the companies on glassdoor.com? here is Keystrokes reviews from transcriptionists

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Keystrokes-RVW3618364.htm

Try other companies what are low key on advertising but have been in business for years - sufferingservant

[ In Reply To ..]
I suggest you look for a company that does not have the "glitz" advertisement like Silent Type, etc. Avoid the companies who do off-shore (especially in India). Don't even look into a company that does not specifically state that they do not send their work off-shore. There are good companies in Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Ohio, Maine. I think MT.Jobs is a good site to keep a watch on and trying hunting for companies that are not just voice recognition but maybe have a mixture of straight typing and voice recognition. You are not going to make a bundle of money working at home as a medical transcriptionist even after you have paid your dues, but the good thing about being an at-home MT is that you can set your schedule and if you have a family and particularly young children, you can put your family priorities in order and be there for your children. Even with older children, just being able to work at home, if there is an emergency at school or the child is sick, etc., you can be the "go-to" parent that is always on "stand-by" and to me that was worth a lot! I'm sorry that you still have debt for the medical transcription education you received. Unfortunately, the industry has preyed on a largely female population for too long (especially ones with families) in terms of under-payment and inaccurately promoting income levels that simply are not true. Search for smaller to medium size companies who have been in business for at least a decade and have a employees who (from their comments) have been there for years. That will give you a good indication that it is a reputable service to apply to. I hope this helps.

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