A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Unsure of what to do next...needing kind advice. - MT24
Posted: Apr 18, 2012
Hi. I wanted to post this here because I need to get some feedback to my situation. I have been an MT over 20 years. About 2 years ago, I went through a divorce and became self-supporting. It took me until now to get a full-time job editing where I have enough work to keep me without NJA. The last 1-1/2 years I saw such poverty, I lost my car, my home and got lots of help from Salvation Army while working 2 MT jobs which barely kept me alive. I worked for one company which is mentioned here from time to time and I kept running out of work, the other was an IC job where I could never earn enough because it was an account where no one spoke English at all and I could not get the line counts up.
Long story short, I sold myself to one of the big companies on here. I am now doing ASR at 4 cpl and am frightened of losing what I now have... again... I work very very hard to produce but can't even get to the 2K lines a day I need to make 400.00 a week. My son is afraid I will lose everything again and get burnt out if I don't give up this business completely.
I did try to get out of this 6 months ago, but no one paid an hourly I could live on at the stores by me. I still do not have a car. As well, the office jobs all wanted me to know Spanish and English. I do not know what to do.
I am hoping my son is not right when he says that I will get sick and stressed over this 4cpl that I will go broke again. He did not mean it in a cruel way. He said he just wants his mother to be able to have a good income and he does not like to see me go through this.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
MT24, you do what you have to do. - sm
[ In Reply To ..]You say you are having trouble finding a job close to you, made more difficult by not having a car. You do not have to give up. Just keep your eyes and ears open continuously for positions near you if you want to get out of this business.
Again, you have an MT job. I would not care for the 4 cpl either, but you do what you have to do until something better comes along. Keep working, earning as much as you can. At the same time, check the job boards at least weekly, looking for a position you my be better suited for and where you can make more money. It is a long process these days, especially for MTs, so don't give up your position until you find something better.
You say you have been doing this 20 years. I don't know if what area of speciality, radiology, or acute care. I also do not know how old you are. I am of the age that I simply can not find a job in my rural town. For every position post, over 50 people apply. My age, and probably lack of a BS degree probably rules me out early. I am in my 50s, too young to retire, and too old to start over - Golden Handcuffs as they say. It is hard for us. I have not given up looking for a position outside of MT, I just don't count on it anymore (6 years looking, very small town). If I have to stay in MT, I am making good money at the moment, over $40,000/year, so I will stick where I am until I am forced to do something different.
Point being, try to make sure the grass is greener on the other side before you go grazing.
Good luck.
Thanks so much for your words of advice - MT24
[ In Reply To ..]Thanks for your well-grounded advice. I have been in this in acute care and am level 3 tier. I just turned 50. I have been going to graduate school on line for another field but won't graduate for 3 more years since I work and go to school. Thanks again for your words of advice, I will remember then and appreciate your kindness.
MT24, In Your Situation, It's Hard - My Thoughts
[ In Reply To ..]First, let me say I am so sorry for the situation in which you have found yourself. I have been in your shoes, and I know it is not a good place to be. However, please know that escaping from what currently feels like a vicious cycle is NOT impossible. It is hard but not impossible.
I agree with the other poster - keeping your eyes open and applying for anything and everything that looks promising will bring about a job when you least expect it. In the middle of my situation, I was applying to anything I found, and sometimes I applied to the same job 2 and 3 times, hoping they'd find my resume at the top of the pile that day. Also, at one point, I was working 3 jobs and using every bit of money I could to get myself on solid ground
It isn't easy when this is all you can do and you have no way to work outside the home. However, it sounds as though you have an incredible work ethic, an indominitable spirit, and a fight to survive. Congratulations on going to school to get a degree and better yourself. That is a great step in the right direction. That will help you out of this place and put you in a better place in the future.
Working for 4 cpl right now, I know, seems impossible. However, keep at it, improve your skills, keep looking for a better place to work, and you will get through this. Congratulations on your success so far and I look forward to reading about your continued success in the future!
Thoughts - Anonymous
[ In Reply To ..]Have you investigated any worker retraining programs through employment security or Skill Source? There is help available for misplaced workers, money for school, etc. (Pell grant?) Our local Skill Source offers a lot of free vocational classes. I don't know the laws in every state, but would partial unemployment be an option if your income falls below a certain level? It has to be tough for you being a single mom but I do think there's help out there. I wish I knew the answer, hope this helps.
Unsure of what to do next - May I email you?
[ In Reply To ..]I have a couple of suggestions but don't necessarily want to broadcast them here due to my distaste for "flame wars," LOL!
Wondering - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Wondering what kind of career or life advice would be so inflammatory that you could not post it in the light of day. The fact that you feel it is and that you would need direct access to the OP is a little worrisome.
You do not need permission here to reply by email--you can just do it. The OP does not need to give you her email address, open the email, read it, or reply to it. You will not know who the OP is unless she replies, but she could be at risk from malware in your email if she opens it.
Another suggestion ... - Dallas Ink
[ In Reply To ..]Hello! This is a place I just saw today and was wondering if there were any possibilities / options for work for you there:
http://transcriptionregistry.com/
It has listings of various kinds of transcription: Legal Transcription, Law Enforcement (Police) Transcription, General Transcription, Conference Call Transcription, Focus Group Transcription, Academic Transcription, and -- of course -- Medical Transcription. They also have a listing for Vendors (companies selling products/services to the transcription industry).
If I'm not mistaken, I think you can put "yourself" in a listing on that board also -- as an individual offering transcription services.
I can't offer much solid advice about this site, but I just saw it today and was wondering if it could help you. Maybe you could let us know how things are.
Please know, I will be praying for you, your son, and your situation. …
You're precisely the type of poster I was hoping to avoid - When hoping to help someone
[ In Reply To ..]Thanks for spouting off and validating my concern.
It's the Paranoid Patties and Debbie Downers as you have exhibited yourself to be with your assinine post that I wished to avoid by emailing a couple of potential job openings to the OP.
As far as REQUESTING to email prior to doing it, IMO, that is the courteous thing to do so that she would be expecting my email rather than just seeing something pop into her inbox from this site from a stranger.
Now, you should go off and totally misinterpret other posts on the board. The world is ending in 2013, so you're running out of time. *eye roll*
Bwahahahaha, true! - Lovin itlove the post
[ In Reply To ..]Spot on...some of these people really should have their own conspiracy theory shows, LOL!
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