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

Annual salary - Julia

Posted: Jun 08, 2010

I am currently making $34,000 a year as an MT. I am a single mom raising 2 kids on my own. I am curious if anyone is making more than that as an MT. I want to set a goal for myself to make more in the range of $40,000 to $45,000. Am I being unrealistic? Can it be done?

yes, but not sure for how much longer - memyselfandi

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From 2003-2008 I made between $50,000 and $60,000 each year. Last year I made just a little under $50,000. I have no idea what it will be this year, but I don't think I'll crack $50,000 again. Just the nature of the business these days I think, which means I am not a happy camper.

Almost all my non-MT friends are also making less every year - The economy stinks

[ In Reply To ..]
Everyone I know is having to cut back on expenses. Every year things cost more and people make less, no matter what you do for a living. The bad thing is when friends lose jobs and 2 years later still haven't found one. Is the whole country just hanging on by their (our) fingertips and hoping the economy will somehow improve? I don't have much confidence that it will, ever.

Where I live they have just laid off hundreds of teachers - It is bad everywhere for everyone

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I'm not sure how the schools are going to operate because they have laid off so many.

IMHO, anything over $28K will be exceptional in the next - year or so. Hope I am wrong. nm

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nm

I am already there. Pay down 25-30% from years past. - sick and tired

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nm

I work full-time and make almost 60K. --however no VR, - all straight transcription. NM

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x

That's nearly 28/hour! As an MT? - sm

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Most RNs would be overjoyed to make that working graveyard and/or weekends. How did you snag that gig?

She must be LIVING RIGHT! - anon

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...

I really got lucky. I left the Q 2-1/2 years ago and just - sm

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happened upon this job. Benefits are not that great, but they rarely run out of work, there is no turnover, flexible hours (as in we set our own schedule weekly) and we all have basically just 2 accounts, so you know your dictators very well.

60K??????? - pollyanna

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You must be getting 20 or 30 CPL! I've never heard of such an income in this industry! where do I apply?

Maybe she meant RUPEES..... nm - Rocky Raccoon

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I know MTs who make $60,000 but that is rare and I don't know any who make more than that - except those who have people working for them

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$60,000 isn't shocking. I've known more than a few MTs making that much. That's probably about the top though unless you have accounts and other MTs working for you. I may be wrong. There may be people making more than that, but $60,000 is about as high as I've personally seen.

I know a couple of MTs who make that kind of money, but they are - ICs with long-time accounts and they work very lon

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nm

salary - mtme

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I work for a big hospital, but I work at home. Between the benefits and the salary and the job itself, I do very well. I think 40 to 45 is possible depending on who you work for.

agreed - outthedoor

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I also work from home for a large hospital and make about $52K. While making $50-60K used to be very doable, the industry has changed and it's getting harder and harder to make a decent middle class living.

It was a realistic goal back in 1980-85. Now, in 2010, - a more realistic goal is unemployment benefits. n

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XX

I miss 1980 to late 1990s the good old days in MTing - StartrekMT

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Those days were the golden days for our profession. We were out of manual and selectric typewriters, but we were finally sent home late in the 80s and we went from Wordperfect and tapes to VDIs, then finally Lanier or C-phone and programs which would download demographics. We were worth our weight in gold in those days. Incentive always was more than possible and benefits were never ever thought to be lost! Job security was a certainty. Earning over 50K was a definite and you could afford to be "middle class" and have a nice car, home, even be the only breadwinner in the family. Then, with Y2K Transnet came along. This was good too, and getting voice off the net okay, but the warning from supervisors at the hospitals that speech recognition would make us "begging" to them made us half laugh, half worry. This was in early 2000. This attitude from a hospital supervisor who said prior we were worth our weight in gold was surprising and a turn of events. Since, the first service which was local here sent work to India (surprising to us, we did not believe it), then it went fast. The MTSOs to which the hospitals sent us no longer respected, communicated, and even paid for an honest day's work. Bill collectors did not understand. By 2008 bill collectors did and by last year we were nothing. No pay, no respect, speech recognition came and we were paid half when we should be paid double. Many of us lost our homes, our cars, respect for ourselves. Sorry such a long reply. I did not expect to go through it because we all know what happened. But you know what? When it was happening I thought I was the only one! This year is the first year I see we all are in it together and for that I am really sorry. Somehow it would be nice to turn back time and not only keep the respect but somehow let those who make decisions on patient care that our minds are what help the doctors keep the records accurate and the patient alive. We are forgotten. Thanks for listening to the trip down memory lane!

Unrealistic at MQ - anonymous

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Tier 3, 25 years experience, and I didn't break $30k last year. I cried. I have never worked so hard for so little, even when I worked as a teenager at a burger joint.

agreed - I work

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20 hours a week, and I made 10K last year.

You brought back bad memories for me this year - Not working as an MT

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It's the world we live in, unfortunately.

When I looked at what I made this year compared to what I made last year, which was less than the year before, which was less than the year before that, I thought about just sitting down and crying.

I didn't cry though because my friends are in worse shape. Some of them have had income and benefits cut drastically and other have lost their jobs entirely. I didn't sit down and cry for myself because compared to them I don't have anything to complain about. I sure don't like the fact that jobs are disappearing everywhere in our country. I know a few jobs (political) that deserve to be lost because of what they've done to the rest of us, across the board, in every segment of our economy. Now I think I will go cry after all.

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