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5 cents a line with templates - is this a good rate?

Posted: Jun 20, 2012

I'm wondering if 5 cents a line with 40% templates is a decent pay rate. This is all straight typing, no VR. Anybody else in this situation? I need to make a decision. Thanks for any info!

PAY RATE 5 cents - Debo

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I would love to have this rate. What company is it and do they need more help ;) TXS

NO! - are ya kidding

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Anyone who accepts 5 cpl to straight type (I donâ��t care how many templates they tout) is just crazy. It hurts ALL of us when ONE person accepts this kind of rate!

Problem is, someone always takes it. I be the company gets paid much more - than that 5 cpl. NM

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Of course it's not a good rate - Old Pro

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It is slave wages, and the MTSO should be ashamed of him or herself.

Yes, great pay - just me

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That is really good. I was only getting 1.5 cpl... I would at least check it out and give it a chance.

Just Me - You typed for 1.5 cpl? Really.....? - Gotta get out of this biz. NM

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x

yes, got that raised up though eventually - just me

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Yes.... demanded a raise and got it... eventually...

Templates--before you start, ask the following - just me

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Will the templates be provided for you and will you be required to update them on a regular basis, make changes, etc., or create these yourself? I have accounts with templates that were a huge setup, took over 5 years before my investment started to pay off and I am not paid for updating them continuously. I also had to invest in a quite expensive, powerful computer and have put over $7000 into my current computer, not including backup.... Training on these can also be quite time consuming and expensive.

good points, good advice - nm

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Sad - whatashame

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I thought this was surely about VR, and I am so sad to read it's about ST!! If I was new to the profession or where I am now, and I was offered these types of cpl, I would seriously go work at a fast food place. How can one even achieve minimum wage?? Who are these companies offering such low pay? IMO, they should be investigated.

Might not be sad - MT

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That is the problem with some of you MTs. You automatically assume that because it's 5 cpl it's horrible, horrible pay. If 40% of the work is templated and the other 60% are easy docs...they could EASILY make great money!! You have no clue as to the type of work so don't knock it unless you know. To the OP....if it is easy work, then yes, 5 cpl is a good rate and you can make a decent amount of money. If the work is for a difficult doctor, then no 5 cpl is terrible. However, it all depends on the dictator really. I've made 20+ an hour at 5 cpl with good doctors!

Just think what you'd make with 8 cents a line - which is the lowest we should take - sm

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This is the problem with some of you. You need to stop saying well I can make $20 to $40 an hour on 5 cents a line. Why in the heck are you settling? You can make a third more on the same work! I'm beginning to think all of the people who come on here and rah-rah for the lower pay is okay in either medical or general haven't been in this business long - less than 10 years. If you were, you surely wouldn't be accepting these atrocious rates!! It's those of you who do that are killing the rest of us who don't! You all are the reason why the pay is going down and not up. They aren't going to send this stuff all overseas!

Not settling - MT

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It's not "settling," it's being realistic. For your information, I've been at this for 11 years and I've seen a variety of rates and I've also lost many jobs due to the technologies. A person needs to realize that if you can make a decent wage, that being $20+ an hour, you can't be greedy. These facilities are paying you a good chunk of change that I might add would be way cheaper for them to switch to either a point and click system or switch to VR. I've had a couple of facilities switch to VR due to the fact that it would be a one-time large payment that would pay for itself over time. They were able to buy the software for the price that they were paying me to do the very same work in a two-week period. So is it really us low-pay takers that are killing the industry? No, it's the technology, and for those of us who want to keep working at home and want to keep doing what we do, sometimes you have to make sacrifices on the amount we get per line so long as we can make a decent wage. If I'm able to make $20 an hour on 5 cpl, how isn't that better than minimum wage or barely minimum wage on 10 cpl?? I don't give a darn what the cpl is...I care what my hourly rate ends up being! I never knock the rate until I try the work...which is probably why I am one of the more successful MTs on this board!

Not settling, my big toe - The Owl

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Yes, it is settling, and yes, you are mucking it up for the rest of the MTs. I still get 9 cpl for straight transcription. I insist on being paid what I am worth. I am very good, can do any kind of ESL and any work type. I am dependable, do not flake out, know my stuff and will not settle for pennies. Shame on those who do!

We'll see how that goes for ya when the dr purchases - Dragon to cut costs

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Then you'll know why some of us have to be happy for cheaper!

It will go just fine for me - The Owl

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I have other options. I will not get out of bed for 5 cpl, sorry.

$7000 investment in computer - sunshine

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My goodness gracious.....what in the world cost you $7000 and why did you need that much computer.....I have never heard of that.......

Sunshine - Old Pro

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My tech and I custom-designed my computer and he built it. It is very fast, very sophisticated (you could probably run a Third-World country from it), and fast as a Ferrari and I can guarandarntee that it did not cost anywhere near 7K!

$7,000 in computer - just me

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It ended up costing that much because everybody kept underestimating my needs. If I had purchased a great computer in the first place, one powerful enough and had enough memory, etc., it would have been cheaper... but no... I had to update up the ying yang. I have hundreds of thousands of these templates per facility, which takes a lot of power and hard drive space or you will crash all day.... trust me, been there. .Some chips can be as much as $5000. That is just the chip.

just me - Hundreds of Thousands - The Owl

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You have hundreds of thousands PER FACILITY? Methinks you exaggerate.

I wish I were... - just me

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No, not exaggerating...I have templates with combination procedures in every way, shape, and form for several physicians... all with different doses, different levels, sides, etc.

No idea what you are talking about - GamerChick

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I build high end gaming computers as a side job and you are speaking nonsense.

I can only assume you mean CPU when you say "chip" and I can assure you that there is not a CPU that costs 5 grand.

Even if "everybody" was underestimating your needs and ended up building you a home server instead of a desktop you still would be hard pressed to spend even close to that $ amount on multiple Terabytes of hard drives and networking hardware.

I am calling b*lls**t!

GamerChick - Nick

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I'm with you on this one.

templated accounts - just me

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Please find out what is involved prior to starting, whether these are completely provided, if they will need any updating in the future, and who is responsible for that. I would not want you to have to go through what I did. I have several binders of instructions and constant updates. I did not see the light of day the first 4 years and lived off $50 a paycheck until I picked up supplemental work... several other accounts on the side as well as a husband working. At another facility I had worked at, there were no updates or changes, so that worked out well. You should see my current list of "changes" I still have to make... several notebooks. You did not say if you would be working for an MTSO or this is a client of your own. It was a huge, expensive setup with my clients and too many instructions to train anybody (tried), so no vacations for me or a day off.. I have no coverage.

$7000 computer? - Runamok

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I can't get past the $7000 computer. My husband bought a very nice gaming computer for my son and he has a very nice computer that he had build especially for him. I have a nice computer. I don't think all 3 come near that $7000. WOW!!
But, my husband is pretty frugal and computer savvy and looks for deals. He would have used external hard drives, etc. for that extra space needed, put in extra memory cards, etc. For $7000 II would want that thing to do most of the typing and make my coffee for me! LOL Nothing against you having one or spending that $ on one, just that I couldn't and wouldn't.

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