general transcribing is about 3 times as long as dictation, - sometimes 2 or 4 times, depending on the report. n

My opinion - Janie

Just curious.  Are you talking about the ad on MTStars Job Seekers Board:  TRANSCRIPTIONIST/EDITOR NEEDED – Debbie.  Did you contact them and has she responded back to you?

I was trying to figure out who that is.   As far as I am concerned, her ad is vague.  She does not even say “Medical Transcriptionist” or what type – acute, clinic, doctor’s office, radiology?  Plus, they do not give their Email address for sending a resume.  The Moderators have given many “heads up” regarding small companies and that you really have to research them before sending personal information or testing with them.  I looked at Debbie’s Words R' Us Transcription website and it is not even finished, even though they claim to have been in the business since 1993, and they list a lot more than just doing medical transcription, such as legal, etc. 

As far as your question, in my opinion, it is the company that should give you more information than just “Pay is competitive and by the minute of transcription/editing.  Please send resume and your necessary compensation by pay-by-the-minute rate for both editing and transcription.” 

There are just too many variables.  It sounds like all she is looking for is the lowest bidder.  Without knowing what types of reports, if there are any SLE dictators, are there extensive templates/expanders available, it is hard to know what a livable rate is.  The only one who knows the answers to these questions is the person hiring.  That is why the majority of employers tell the IC or employee what their pay range is, instead of the other way around. 

For example, just to give you an idea of how much difference a minute of dictation can be: 

Average transcriptionist: 

Transcribes three 65-character lines per minute

Working a full 60 minutes per hour = 3 lines typed times 60 minutes = 180 lines per hour

Transcriptionist is paid $0.08 cpl

180 lines per hour times $0.08 cpl = $14.40 per hour

1 minute of dictation takes 3 minutes to transcribe

Working a full 60 minutes per hour  = 60 divided by 3 = 20 minutes of dictation takes 1 hour to transcribe  

To make $14.40 per hour, transcriptionist must charge $0.72 per minute of dictation ($0.72 x 20 minutes = $14.40)

You are given two 20-minute dictations to transcribe.  Both are 65-character line documents. 

Tape 1:  20 minutes, Discharge Summary, well-seasoned dictator, no formatting oddities, no demographic lookup, no copies. 

Final report:  200 lines total in one hour. 

If you were being paid $0.08 cpl, you would have earned:  200 x 0.08 = $16.00 per hour

If you were being paid $0.75 per minute, you would have earned:  20 minutes x $0.75 = $15.00 per hour

Tape 2:  20 minutes, Consultation, ESL dictator dictating faster than normal, bold and underline headers, demographics need to be looked up, copies sent to physicians, addresses need to be looked up

Final report:  300 lines total in 1.5 hours

If you were being paid $0.08 cpl, you would have earned:  300 x 0.08 = $24.00 per 1.5 hour = $16.00 per hour

If you were being paid $0.75 per minute, you would have earned:  20 minutes x $0.75 = $15.00 per 1.5 hour = $10.00 per hour

I cannot even imagine Editing rates.  Why does she ask?  Are you doing straight transcription or editing someone else’s work?  Her ad is just too odd to me. 

Just my opinion. 

Please let us know how the process goes when you interview with her. 

 GOOD LUCK