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

Career and Education Advice For Medical Transcription - WannaBMT

Posted: Nov 14, 2009

Hello,

I am looking for advice from some of the seasoned MT's and those who have been in the field for about a year now.

I am looking into medical transcription; initially for part-time supplemental income and down-the-road as a full-time career.

Here are the questions that I have:

Which schools, particularly online courses, are well known for developing successful MT's; more specifically which programs are good at helping their graduates land jobs?
For someone who hold's a Bachelor's degree in a different filed would I have to get an Associate's degree in Medical Transcription (full 2 years of schooling) or is a 4-6 month MT certificate course good enough?
How hard or easy is it to find a job once I complete the MT curriculum and pass the required test (s)?

Any constructive advise and input will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

My advice.. You WannaBMT, move to India - sound advice

[ In Reply To ..]
Also, you could go read Kimberlina's post from the other day, good advice there also!

lol, haha......nm - dk

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

This is not a money making field, full time people are - having to work 2-3 jobs to make a living

[ In Reply To ..]
I do not know about the schools as trained inhouse. The pay has gone down, most seasoned cannot make a living now on 1 job. You might have a few that say they make $$$$ but those are really few and far between. Having a degree even in transcription does not count for much. You have to be able to do the work, not just have a degree as most MTSOs do not pay that much attention to those. I have heard on here that not only seasoned people having a tough time finding a job but people with no experience in transcription have a really difficult time. The MTSOs say they want at least 2 years experience in the transcription field. By the way when you say part-time supplemental income, what did you think you would be making?

part time supplemental income - WannaBMT

[ In Reply To ..]
By part-time supplemental income I meant around 25 hours per week @ of approximately $25,000/year.

Oh dear, that is what I make full time and went to school, and have - 10 years experience. GOOD LUCK

[ In Reply To ..]
Where do people come up with this stuff?

I gotta bridge I wanna sell, any takers?

Like the post below, full time people making - around that much now with

[ In Reply To ..]
more than 1 job, 10-12 hours per day. Most cannot make $25 thou on their full time anymore. You should have been in this field when you could make some money. Did someone tell you you could make that or did you see an ad for that?

I work full-time, 6 days a week, with 30 years' experience - and I only made $20,000 last year.

[ In Reply To ..]
Why? Because of my ability to do tough reports, that's what they send me. Do I get paid extra for them? No. Between that, as well as the standard problems of sometimes no work, company software that slows me down immensely, and a high minimum daily line rate, I can never seem to get ahead - I'm barely treading water here. Add to that the fact that MT wages have taken a nosedive in the past decade, and especially last year, and now I only WISH I could've made $25,000 last year! (Not to mention that in years past, I averaged around $35-40,000/year.

It's a good living in India, but here it's nothing but a bad joke.

devalued MTs - enigma

[ In Reply To ..]
Me too. I work full time, 20 years' experience, can do all kinds of reports and all kinds of doctors. I got shuffled around to where the most difficult dictation was because I could do it. My income has gone down by 20% over the last 5 years. I love this type of work, but it does not make ends meet! It has been my career and I loved working at home but it has become impossible to manage without another family member to help pay the bills.

We're all in the same boat. - Not to many $50,000/yr that I know

[ In Reply To ..]
I can't get over some of the post on MQ Forum claiming they make well over $50,000 a year. Might be true, but all I ever get is 100% ESL dictators, not the same ones EVER!!!, or I get Standard American English dictators that is 100% crap. The dictation I generally get is just awful, should not even be put throught to transcribe. MQ will take anything to make a dollar and at our expense. I find it hard to believe that people are at MQ making $50,000. Or, working part-time as an MT making $25,000. I just don't believe it and will need some concerte proof other than just a post on a blog. If QA and CCM pay is less, how can the MTs be more given the low rate for ASR? Just doesn't add up.

but now that you said that, will probably get replies - about it.

[ In Reply To ..]
..

Read your post and had to laugh - just another MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Because it could have been ME who wrote it! I also have 30 years of acute care experience and my reward for working 60 hours a week on the hardest ESL accounts around, was that I grossed 25K last year. Compared to 30K in 1985 working part time.

Soon they can send ALL of their work to India because there won't be any of us left here. I know I'm finished.

Pay - Stephanie

[ In Reply To ..]
Something to keep in mind is that our pay has gone down so have a lot of others pay in more traditional go out to work and clock in kind of jobs. You have people who have Bachelors and Masters degrees who are out of work and are unable to find work either because jobs in their field are very competitive and/or few OR they go to look for another job only to be told they are over qualified for the position. Truthfully, I have always have had 2 part-time jobs to protect myself against running into an issue of running out of work and it has worked beautifully. I have even been thinking about perhaps picking up a third part-time job. I am thinking about it because outside of extra money coming in, I am very concerned about the state of the economy. If unemployment continues to go up and if they are right about any effects from the stimulus pooping out towards the end of 2010, you cannot tell me that you will not have fewer people coming in for medical care as an effect of both.

I have always worked TWO jobs in transcription... - MT80

[ In Reply To ..]
And it works great for me. I have never been without work and I make a VERY good living. I realize that wages have gone down, BUT wages have gone down on MOST jobs with the economy today. There are A LOT of people with a good education that are laid off of work and looking for work. I feel BLESSED that I am able to make a good living at my home as a transcriptionist and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a couple of degrees myself that I could fall back on if necessary, but hope it never gets to that point. I LOVE my job:)

2 jobs - Stephanie

[ In Reply To ..]
It's the truth. It is the best thing to do, working 2 different places. You have more work to pull from and as much as people think no it cannot happen, a place you do work for can lose work and it is always good to have a backup just in case. I think for a lot of people they are used to only working for 1 place and it can be hard for some to do work for 2 places. They may not be able to manage their time well. I feel the same as you, MT80, I very much enjoy what I do and am happy to have a rather comfortable life.

I have to wonder - gourdpainter

[ In Reply To ..]
One of the first requirements for being a good MT is the ability to research. People continue to post these questions when all that is necessary is to READ previous posts on this board. That should give you all the information you need to make a decision.

I have to wonder why anyone who holds a B.S. degree in ANYTHING would even consider getting into this dead-end job! You want to make $25,000/year for part time work? My suggestion would be go to McDonalds, your chances of making that would be much better.

its called a Rile Up post; people, don't feed the trolls. - N/M

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Consider only M-TEC - Polly

[ In Reply To ..]

I will answer this seriously for you and others that may have the same questions.

Part-time work is very hard to come by. Full-time work is equally as difficult to come by even if you have lots of experience (read: decades). Decent-paying work is virtually unheard of anymore.

Which schools? If you absolutely have to/want to join this profession, then seriously consider only two online schools, one being M-TEC and the other being Andrews. Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems with Andrews (and there has been for a very long time and worsening every year) regarding their skimping on curriculum and books to save them money; willy-nilly, rapidly changing rules and philosophy, often on a week-to-week basis; and other job-critical issues. Also, it is really not self-paced as advertised, and you will be hounded and repeatedly threatened to get through the course as quickly as possible, and at the same time, you will be chastised and penalized because you did not spend enough time learning, reviewing, etc. There really is little-to-no help with landing your first job other than maybe a cursory look-see at your resume and some often long-outdated (by years) listings of job announcements usually aimed toward graduates with years of experience. In fact, there are questions posted often on the graduate board by the owner asking us grads if we know anything about such-and-such company; no help whatsoever, but, there is a lot of lip service on making it seem "helpful and caring." (Not.) So, I would only really recommend M-TEC. They do have a far superior curriculum, by the way, and you will be much better prepared.

(Check out http://www.complaintsboard.com/ and put Andrews School in the search box. I've read through those postings and agree with just about all that was mentioned except for Andrews School being a scam. I don't agree that Andrews is a scam, but I do think that it is far overpriced, maybe being really worth about $1800 to maybe $2000 tops in terms of its curriculum.)

Realistically, figure on spending about $4-5K on your schooling, having to study full time, and taking approximately 1-1/2 to 2 years to complete that schooling to get yourself to a very minimally qualified level of expertise. This is not a profession where you can become minimally qualified for an entry-level job by taking a 4-5 month "course" and then expect to pick up a decent-paying part-time job. It doesn't matter what educational degrees you have behind you. This is an entirely different skill set that is fairly difficult to learn, takes literally decades to master, and requires unrelenting, often tedious, attention to detail all the time. Therefore, it will take a considerable amount of time to learn and develop that skill set.

By the way, I am a full-time IC and an Andrews graduate, working 7 days a week, transcribing acute care approximately 10-12 hours per day every day, and I will be lucky to clear $12,000 this year. I do not even make minimum wage. Of note, I have only been doing this one year, so I am virtually a "newbie" in this field.

Even with M-TEC or even Andrews on a resume, a fresh graduate without any job experience can count on having a very difficult time finding anyone to hire them. It took me almost 4 months to find a job, and I was given "consideration" and allowed to test by various companies (passed all the acute care testing without problem) because I did have Andrews listed on my resume.

If you are a stay-at-home mom wannabe and your children are young and need regular supervision, this profession would be agonizingly difficult--placing not only the patients' lives in jeopardy, but your childrens' lives as well--and, it is extremely low paying.

Best advice I can give you regarding supplemental income? Get a part-time job at McDonalds or Wal-Mart or some other place locally. You'll make a whole lot more money, honey.

More on M-Tec - viola33

[ In Reply To ..]
I agree wholeheartedly with Polly, except for 1 thing.

M-Tec DID have a better curriculum, certainly better tech support.

It has recently been bought by Webmedx, and there are numerous changes. I can't speak on this in much detail, as I didn't attend there and don't know how to compare; but among other things, they, too, are now putting strict time limits on instruction, charging more for students who take longer. No longer run by an MT, M-Tec is now run by a "manager" with no practical knowledge of the field.

While what Polly says of M-Tec WAS true, it may not be much longer.

Okay, I have to ask - Destinyisntfree

[ In Reply To ..]
How exactly would working at home as an MT endanger her children's lives? Sorry, but I am not getting that one.

I have worked at home as an MT for almost 10 years, and have two children, ages 6 and 3. They have never had to have mommy working outside the home and had to spend all of their time in daycare, so I just don't get it.
And both of my children are healthy, happy, and have never had a broken bone.

I really have to wonder about some things that I see people post on here. I really miss when MTs were about helping each other and learning and growing as a transcriptionist.

I will not see here and lie and say that any of it is easy, because it is not. It takes a great deal of dedication and flexibility to be able to work at home with children, or to make a decent living in this field in general.

I have always had at least 2 jobs, and currently have a full time and 2 part time positions. I am not getting rich but my bills are paid.

25 grand a year part time may not necessarily be a realistic goal, especially not right out of school. In the beginning, you will be slow and have to spend countless amounts of time looking up unfamiliar terms regardless of where you got your education.

MT as a career - Just me

[ In Reply To ..]
My advice to you is DON'T DO IT...

Mine too - Elizabeth

[ In Reply To ..]
Don't do it.

The better you get, the worse your work will be.

When you can understand things like, "Dollya Pea Dollya," and know they mean WPW, and know that "Coreg 325 milligrams," is a dosage that would kill a small elephant; get out of the business. At that point, you'll only pull work from the cesspool.

When the older MTs retire all MT jobs will be outsourced to India.

becoming an MT - iasdwas

[ In Reply To ..]
Here is my story: I went to Andrews, which took 2 years instead of the 1 as advertised, and graduated in September 08. I was only offered 1 job in 4 months of applying, and I took it. I worked there 8 months and made $2000. I spent $3800 on tuition and another $1000 on a new computer and software. The industry has changed and only the best of the best make it at all, and "make it" means making $20K/year. I was btw, a merit scholar honorable mention, on the honor roll in HS and the dean's list in college.

Read and heed - A Caveat 2 MT Wannabes

[ In Reply To ..]

Polly is right, and I hope you will read and heed her wise words. If after doing so it is still your intent to go to school, then here are some pointers you should take into consideration:

1 Under no circumstance should you allow an online school to subscribe to a lower standard than you would a real "bricks and mortar" school.
By this I mean if you wouldn't be okay attending a school at its physical locale that had little or no legitimate accreditation or whose idea of career counseling and placement was a copy of the want ads and a bulletin board for graduates to post their ideas and experiences finding employment, or whose instructors are not credentialed in the area they teach, then don't attend one online.

2 Spend some time reading this and other MT forums.
Bear in mind that one particular website dedicates space to and allows proprietors of a couple of well-known schools to moderate their forums. Given those circumstances, consider the likelihood of any meaningfully negative post about those schools ever seeing the light of day. Certainly you will, from time to time, see the poorly styled, syntactically scary "Beware of This 'er Skool" replete with grammar and punctuation gaffes a third-grader likely wouldn't make, and why not? Posts such as these never reflect as poorly on the school as they do the person posting.

However . . .

3 As you search the internet, keep in mind that a very vocal, prolifically posting, mostly anonymous FEW posting the same thing dozens of times is not the same as DOZENS OF DIFFERENT people posting the same thing once.
MT schools, like the MT profession in general, are not without their ardent and vocal supporters. The longer a school has been in existence, the more graduates it should have, and should have no problem giving you lots and lots of names of former students and businesses who hire their graduates. Contact as many of those references as you can.

4 Medical transcription, like most other professions, is not for everyone. A good school will have some sort of prescreening assessment that gives the school an idea of your existing knowledge and skill set; such an assessment should also be sufficiently difficult to give you some idea of the school's expectations and style of grading.
You should receive specific feedback from your prescreening assessment and not a form letter or something very nearly a form letter. If the school doesn't have time to genuinely assess you, it likely won't take the time to genuinely instruct you.

5 Do not even consider a school that cannot or will not provide you with written documentation of the following:

(a) The percent of enrollees who go on to graduate.
Note: Documentation of this is a requirement by most legitimate bodies of accreditation for higher education. More importantly, a legitimate school with adequate screening should be able to graduate nearly all of its enrollees. One that does not graduate the majority of its enrollees may be more concerned with collecting tuition that actual training.

(b) The average amount of time it takes to complete the program.
This shouldn't be highly variable. One that is leaves itself the option of collecting more and more fees.

(c) The percent of graduates who are gainfully employed within 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.
A good school would want to know this for themselves, otherwise they have no real tool to assess the effectiveness of their own efforts at job placement.

(d) The curriculum vitae of each of its instructors.
Don't be dazzled by advanced degrees. PhD? from where AND IN WHAT? Laudable though it may be, an advanced degree in business does not automatically translate to capable instruction of medical transcription. Conversely years of experience as an MT does not guarantee one's ability to adequately teach it.

(e) Typical office hours of its instructors whereby you can reach them by phone if desired.
Repeating rule 1 here, but if it you would not be okay attending a "bricks and mortar" school and never being allowed to speak directly with your instructor, don't attend one online.

(f) The job placement assistance you can expect.
This is huge. Insist on specifics. Precisely how, to whom, and by whom will you be marketed. What formal agreements exist between the school and prospective employers? Does the school you are considering have one specific person who assists students with job placement? If so, how many hours a week will they be available to you, how (phone? email? bulletin board?), and for how long?

(g) The course outline, a sample syllabus, and book list.

(h) The business name, license number, and state in which the business is licensed.
This step is essential because these days anyone can have a website and claim to be a school. It goes without saying that once provided, you should then contact the Better Business Bureau and that state's regulatory body for schools for any information they might be able to provide.

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