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

CHANGING JOBS/CHANGING EMPLOYEES - Porphyry

Posted: Feb 23, 2011

I have been applying and studying the "online transcription world" for about 2 months, so I realize I have am a neophyte. BUT-it seems to me that what is happening here is a huge waste of time and money. If the companies paid enough, ACTUALLY had work when they hire, were able to ACTUALLY pay the employees at all, and treated employees well, then the transcriptionists wouldn't go looking for another job and leave. THEN the companies wouldn't have to maintain recruiters, post jobs, test people, interview people, hire people, train people, have train wrecks with those people and start the whole process over again in a week or a month, which is how often they seem to do that. WOW..that seems really dumb.

MQ sell-out - cr

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I've been offered a job with them. Would you advise against it?

Be careful! Don't believe most of what you - read on these forums. This field

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has a lot of low-functioners, also a lot of people doing well who don't post here because of all the complaints. Some of the low-functioners flooded in when the work went home, thinking they'd be able to replace getting up and going to work with a sort of part-time potato chip and TV thing. I've personally known a few, was even a bit of a one myself some time ago. I shaped up when it was required; many of those who complain bitterly of being treated badly by employers did not.

Others just slid into this work from other clerical and then slid along for years until the change to being paid for actual production--a nasty slap they have not recovered themselves from. Today we hear from people here wondering why with 20 years in the field they can't make a decent living, or even get a job in some cases, and are badly treated by their employers. Way too many refuse to accept their problems mostly stem from being too slow. Some used to be good, some never were, but if they can't make a middle-class income they're all inadequately skilled at this point.

Others are still making a living but blaming modest rate decreases for a far more serious loss of income that mostly stems from not retraining as much as needed. Some are good and genuinely being screwed over by their employers, but how to sort them from all the others?

Sure, the changes came from outside and genuine pay decreases for SR especially came from outside, but a very large part of the problem of people who aren't still making middle-class income lies squarely with themselves for failing to change with the times and/or from making bad choices. A skilled MT languishing in a $12/hour job? Come on!

Remove these miserable, misdirected "advisors," and newbies would actually have a pool of people whose complaints and advice you could listen to without doing yourself real harm. In the meantime, beware.

I'll second that! - sm

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IMO -- too many MS just want to focus on how poorly they are treated, how unfair pay is, how evil employers are. If you want to be taken seriously and treated as a professional (rather than "just a typist") -- then act the part! Educate yourself, stay on top of your field with regard to technology, and meet your end of the employment contract (i.e., work the hours you said you would, actually work when you are on the clock -- working from home requires a LOT of discipline. Don't try to also take care of your small children - you wouldn't take them to work with you in an office would you? Don't get up 15 times an hour to feed the dog, do a load of laundry, load the dishwasher, check the mailbox, etc. Treat the job like a job.) Other than pay cuts for going from straight typing to SR - I haven't seen pay cuts. (not to say they haven't happened, but I honestly haven't seen anyone say their straight typing line count has been cut.) No pay raises - sure, but we are not the only field experiencing that one. But, if your paycheck has fallen - is it because of SR or is it because you don't produce as much?? If your production is falling off, that's on you. If it's SR - are you doing everything in your power to learn SR and improve your production or are you just balking at the new technology/changes in your job? JMO

Well said! - NM

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I get sick and tired sm - CrispyCritterMT

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of being told I'm "unskilled" because I'm not a "fast typist." I happened to be a highly skilled MT whom is highly valued by my employers because of my knowledge, professionalism, reliability, etc. I have more than enough work and make a high cpl. I don't know what you consider a "middle class income", but I'm guessing the 20K I make isn't considered enough for you. I never was a "fast typist" but I've slowed down considerably mainly due to physical problems. I can no longer type or sit for prolonged periods of time. I need frequent breaks. 35 years of pounding a keyboard and prolonged sitting takes its toll. I highly resent being pigeon-holed as being "unskilled" because I'm not fast. There is more to MT than being a "fast typist." I'm happy right now with my current position. Yes I wish I could make more money, but its not because I'm lazy or unskilled. Please don't generalize. You don't know me nor do the many others who generalize about this matter.

Crispy Critter, my comments were about complainers - doing poorly. You with your good job and clear

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understanding of your own abilities are certainly not among that unfortunate group.

New MTs really need to be warned to sift inputs here for value. Swallowing the prevailing mood whole, including the self-excusing viewpoint that all MT companies abuse and exploit their employees into poverty, would be very harmful.

I second that emotion!!! - nm

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nm

I disagree with some of your post - Backwards Typist

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Sure, there are some who have the attitude you stated in your first paragraph, but mainly, it's been a change from straight transcribing to SR/VR, whatever you want to call it.

I would not call wages "modest decreases" when, in reality, wages have been cut in half. If the training for VR, whichever one it may be, is only given in a half hour phone call, how is the MT expected to become more productive, especially if there are NO help screens to access to learn on your own AND answers to questions to trainers go unanswered?

How is the MT expected to make the middle class income you speak of when the work is not there because of SR/VR or when the company over-hires? I have seen my wages go from $50K to $25K because of SR/VR, low work, no work, and no amount of flexing helped. A schedule is a schedule. Flexing is fine, but when hired for certain hours and the work is not there, do you sit at your computer 12-14 hours a day? Do YOU work nights and weekends, taking work away from the regularly scheduled MTs that, in turn, will force those MTs to run out of work? It is a vicious circle. Do you have to lie on your time sheet because you are flexing and really working 60 hours a week when you are only allowed to work 40 because the company won't pay OT?

Do YOU sit at the computer without getting up and taking a bathroom break or a lunch break? You do know that federal law states employees are allowed two 10-minute breaks and at least a half hour for lunch every day, don't you? If you work through those hours without breaks, you are breaking the law and putting your company in jeopardy for doing so.

You seem to be lumping ALL MTs into your post and you are being very unfair to those who have done all you stated in your post and still cannot make a decent living because of what I stated above.

Lastly, newbies need mentoring when starting out. Most companies don't want newbies. Why is that? Because they NEED experienced MTs. Time doesn't allow hand-holding or mentoring by companies. We were all there at one time or don't you remember that? Newbies also need to know that accepting low wages or working for free (as I have seen on this board) only harms those MTs who have paid their dues and worked hard to get where they are and harm themselves in the long run by accepting those low wages.

BackwardTypist, when (and IF) a 50% wage cut is - in response to a 100% increase

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in production, wages stay the same. That IS what has happened with SR for many people. Wage statistics show this. Unfortunately, not all companies, some deliberately, others at least part mistakenly, have not calibrated their rate decreases equitably, as I did point out. This has happened to me. I now make less editing at my company than transcribing.

I also mentioned that some MTs simply may not be able to become as good at ME as MT, a very painful suspicion for an on-line friend who really seems to be doing everything she can to get up to speed on today's job.

After reading these boards for years now, though, I strongly suspect that the number of people who cannot do well are vastly outnumbered by those who have convinced themselves they cannot do well--without bothering to try. Or try enough. My own current speed has required, not just significant time investment every workday, thinking, developing, practicing, practicing, practicing getting better, but lost income while doing so. I have been making this investment for the past several years and, though a relatively slowish, klunky typist, am able to produce very nicely as a result. By nicely, I mean my income has hardly been cut at all compared to 5 years ago.

No, I have no problems with breaks. To the contrary, like CrispyCritter, I need more breaks than I used to and take them on the clock to make my 40-hour week. You can do that when you produce a lot while you are hammering the keyboard. I also haven't needed to work more than full-time in years, since I was a newbie. Am I among the fastest, BTW? No, and I never will be because others're doing the same things I am.

Do I do work any time I can find it? If necessary because it's allowed and expected, although I never empty a queue if it's not my shift. At my company, even in the bad times, people who wanted to get their lines could almost always find work by searching outside the usual 9-2 period crowded with others.

Some at some companies do seem to be unable to find enough work, but as I mentioned once before, if this continues--and this exact thing also happened to me a few years ago--being good requires insisting on changing this situation, NOT sitting around complaining. If a company will not accommodate, it should be suspected they're taking this way of accepting your resignation in advance and acted on one way or another. Although a few companies are genuinely dysfunctional and abusive, for the most part companies take care of those who are making them good money and causing no problems.

In my case, at that time I was getting health insurance and other benefits but regarded it as part-time work and only put in about 4 to 6 erratic and undependable hours a day, whichever days I chose. It seemed to work for them for a long while, and then it didn't, not that they told me. During a period of low work anyway, work available to me just got less and less so it took me a long time to catch on. My fix was to put in more time on a more regular schedule so they'd want to keep me, but it took several weeks to get reassigned to regular work on a good account. I also wasn't as fast and productive in those days, lots of better people around. That very company was also eventually caught cheating line counts on my main account, but I never mistook that situation as explanation for why the company was giving "my" work to more valuable employees. Same old message: 90% of my problem was self-generated. BTW, fix #2 for the additional 10% was to take myself and my improved work habits to a better company.

I agree with your first sentence, but it has - Backwards Typist

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become a dream/wishful thinking at most companies nowadays. It has been almost of year of NJA during my shift with only 2-3 hours of work in the beginning of the shift. Weekends are the same because others are also scrambling to make their counts and hours and now I hear the other shifts are also having NJA problems because of it. The only time there is plenty of work is when a new account comes on board and the MTs have to go slower until they get the specs and voices down pat, which leads to over-hiring again. After that, it's the same old, same old. It really gets old after a while.

If I were younger, I'd jump ship and find another line of work, but I'm stuck in no man's land for the next few years and having to put up with it or totally starve. It certainly is not my chosen way to diet.

Hard times. I assume looking for another job isn't - practical right now. Good luck. NM

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Well stated {s} - digiti minimi

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I tend not to believe people coming on here saying everything is perfectly fine with their income, ect. The only reason I got on this site after 10 years is that my job was offshored, I started working for a national company and wanted to see what was going on in Transcriptionland. I got just what I expected. I think anyone coming on bragging about how much money they make now are not truthful because why would a decent person come on here and (try) to make everyone else feel like crap when 99% of people on here are saying there IS NO WORK. If I was still making what I made before all this mess, I sure wouldn't throw it in someone's face because there is a thing called karma.... and I loveeee karma!!

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