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

Getting started - alshaw06

Posted: Dec 22, 2014

I am a stay at home mom and I would like to get into MT. I am having a hard time sorting through the abundance of information out there. I have found programs that range from$400 to $5000. Can anyone give me advise about how to properly get schooling and procure a career? Thanks!

Save your money - The MT train has

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sadly left the station.

no jobs? - alshaw06

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Job market decline?

No jobs? Honey, read the board. See all the complaints - about the whole MT biz everywhere??? sm

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Read the nuance and modal boards. That says it all. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to sort through that information and make a wise decision.

You wont make squat working for barely minimum wage, that is, if there are any jobs by the time you'd finish school if you're foolish enough to throw your money down the drain to some matchbook school. As a noob, you'd be lucky to get hired by the worst of the worst because all the wise MTs have seen what the career has become and have left.

What you read here is true.

bummer - alshaw06

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I read that jobs were being phased out. I was hoping that was wrong. Back to the drawing board.

Sorry Charlie - see msg

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It's worse than not getting a job---sad, but true, if you do get a job you will be treated like a slave for slave wages. You will be harrassed, threatened with getting fired, and all sorts of good stuff. They expect you to produce a certain amount, but don't provide enough work for you to meet production requirements.

And the quality requirements--good grief.

Anyway, thanks for paying attention to us. Sooo many don't believe us, then come back crying saying they should have listened.

I was in the biz for 14 years and got out 2 years ago. Best of luck to you. With the way technology is these days, it's not all that hard to find a job working from home.

I've been an MT for 35+ years. Got laid off - this year & cant find work anywhere.

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The only saving grace is that I'll be old enough next year to collect social security. Otherwise, I'd starve.

PS: Thank-you to CF- the MT who emailed - me and gave me some leads! :)

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Merry Christmas to you, too!

I don't mean to butt in or take anything away from anyone, but - sm

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I am so close to desperate, I could use some leads, too, please. I appreciate any and all!

you're not back to the drawing board - anon

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Study medical billing instead. The demand is increasing for home-based billers.

That's gone offshore, too. As will coding. - Working at home is its own ball & chain -

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and doesn't pay squat, unless you're writing the next great American novel and they turn it into a movie. Otherwise, it's better to get out of the house and look for a real job. More job security to become a plumber, vet tech, electrician, dental assistant or trucker these days.

Medical transcription has become obsolete. - nm

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*

No jobs? - Nick

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Asking if there are no jobs in MT is like asking if the pope is Catholic. Please, please, please do some serious research about what has happened to MT before you spend one thin dime on an MT education. I was happy as an MT for quite a few years; I am now looking forward to a career in law. Good luck!

STAY AT HOME MOM - MUZZY

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The first thing you need to learn - small children will never let you work on the computer doing dictation. Once they figure out your attention is not on them at their will they will make your work time a living hell. You will need a babysitter for small children, even if you are working at home. I imagine older children are much the same about the attention-not-on me routine. Small children - NB to preschool age. Next age group, preschool to 3rd grade (thereabouts). Just because you are in the house does not mean the kids will let you work. Very important thing to know before you attempt working from home with small children.

This is not a good time to "get into MT." Can't make any money anymore and unless you are lucky to get with the right company they will demoralize you mentally and ruin you physically trying to keep up with the idiotic demands made on us today. Find something else to do at home - not worth it anymore. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

My "advise" - sm

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Don't do it. So many of us are getting out. Please research MT further and then make a decision. Of course, this is just my opinion. Good luck!

thanks - alshaw06

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I really appreciate every ones responses. I read alot about electronic dictation and how they are doing away with transcription. I worked retail in management for 14 years up until my third baby was born this year and I do not want to go back into retail. I have been home for 8 months now and I love it but would like to make some money! The only other thing I have found is call center positions and I an not real keen on that idea.

More ADVICE - kringle

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This is not a job you can do around a crying baby. This is a real job with a time clock and you have minimum line counts and insane accuracy requirements to obtain hourly. Take in a few kids as an at home day care, or get into selling things on ebay.

thanks - alshaw06

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Thanks for the response. My son isn't a crying newborn, but I understand your response. I have a full time sitter available from when I worked before. I am not under the understanding that it is an easy job that can be taken lightly. I am looking for something from home because my husband works on call 6 days a week and I like the flexibility of being home to see him when he happens to be home. I run a daycare out of my home currently but I miss adult conversation and pressing myself to achieve goals, besides how fast I can change diapers!

getting started - patricia

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It's a shame everybody has to discourage you, but I have to say the last few years have been just absolute you know what for me, the last 3-4 years and it has mentally wore me down and drained me. You really can't hardly make very good money anymore, and it is true that many companies do kind of harrass you about your line counts, QA, etc. It's just very, very stressful sometimes and it ruins the joy of the job, the constant monitoring, major errors, minor errors, critical errors. You've oftentimes got so much stress hanging over your head. There are a few, not too many, companies that don't do this but oftentimes it just is the case.

Well - See Msg

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You won't have adult conversation doing MT. You don't talk to anybody, except your supervisor once in a blue moon. If you are talking to your supervisor more than that, then it's usually not a good conversation, LOL.

Good luck.

I agree with the above poster - momMT

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One of the things I miss as an MT is adult conversation. You will not get it doing this. I find it lonely and isolating.

As for having a babysitter, I can't imagine that you would have any actual income from an MT job if you had to pay a sitter.

I also became an MT years ago so that I could be home for my kids, and I have always worked late nights or very early mornings while they are sleeping. Now that they are a little older and in school I can get a few hours in the afternoons. This is exhausting!

Sorry this isn't very encouraging, but it's the truth. I would never recommend MT to anyone the way it is now.

Try medical coding or medical billing - depressed

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There is never enough work to go around and the pay is at or below minimum wage. MT will soon become extinct (at least I this country).

Unfortunately, coding and billing can be done - offshore and/or automated, too.

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Healthcare in general is enterin a very dark phase right now. I would look for a different industry altogether.

You can make a living if you intend to move to India sm - acuteMLS

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but if you need to live here, then you will work your fingers to the bone, your children will need to be out of the house while you're working, and you will make NO money doing it. Find something else to do.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING IS TRUE.. - THE PROBLEM IS...

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The problem is India and the Philippines are doing a LOT of the work. They speak fair to good English and their wages are SO LOW compared to ours that it is very lucrative for the MT companies to send the work overseas. The big MT companies pretend to want USA workers (and the big companies are the only ones that will hire "newbies") That way they can get out of being penalized for outsourcing all the work.

What they leave the US workers are the dredges that the Indians can't hear. In other words, the ESL doctors...especially the INDIAN doctors. Ha ha. Funny, huh? The Indians can't understand the "English" that the Indian doctors speak !! So that is what we get (mostly).

The big companies even have a clause in their employee handbook now that USA workers can not transcribe out of country. I suppose a few actually moved to India and got American wages. Wow...that would be good money in India no matter how little it translates in US money.

There are a few small companies still out there but they are in jeopardy of being gobbled up by the BIG TWO. That happened to me.

I got in 10 years ago and it was already too late...have never made much money.

What they said about the kids is true. No matter if they have halos, they will not let you work. The big companies now require a time clock and will not let you multi-task and work around the kids and housework. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Working From - Home

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I think some parents get it confused that if they have a work-at-home job, they can watch their kids. Nope, not going to happen. Especially if your activity is being monitored. A parent working from home would still would have to put his/her kid(s) into daycare just to get the job done.

Try another field. - cindy

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This field is dead. There are no jobs and no future for this. You will be wasting your money.

Try something else.

Advice - McFeist

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Go to Andrews for training if they still offer training for MT. My school (MTEC) finally shut it down due to industry changes. I am starting a new non-MT job in January. I have been limping along doing MT as a side job for the last few years, went back to school, and I finally landed a really good job!

No, DON'T go to Andrews or anywhere else - Jane

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Andrews is and always has been the finest MT school in the world. I am not knocking Andrews; I respect it and admire its owner for her integrity, kindness, and intelligence. But having a certificate from Andrews will not help you if there are no jobs to be had. That is not the fault of Andrews--they did everything right. It is the fault of corporate greed in the world, over which Andrews has no control. So, yes, Andrews is a fine school, but the problem is, there are no jobs.

Some ADVICE from an Old Pro - Old Pro

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Dear Friend, Up until the time of my retirement two years ago, I had been in the MT world since 1968. During that time I worked as both an MT and as an MTSO. I have taught MT, have had many profitable clients, and, although I am far from "rich," I was able to retire comfortably. I have to live on a budget, but we do get by. (We live modestly and simply.) That said, I urge you to listen to the younger people on here (I'm 70) who are still in the trenches. They are absolutely spot-on when they tell you to seek something else. As an example, when I left my last full-time MT gig two years ago, we received 500 applications for every opening posted. Please keep in mind that these applications came from people with anywhere from 1-25 years in the field, people who knew the business inside-out, and whose command of the English language was flawless. The work has largely been offshored. Huge companies have come in and eaten the little ones. (I should know--it happened to me.) The care and kindness that many individuals (and I count myself among them) had for MTs is not evident in corporate America, not at all. In our golden years, the most experienced MTs were paid 11 cpl, or in a rare case for truly problem accounts, 12 cpl. I seriously doubt that anybody is getting that today. Between the advent of speech recognition and the corporate takeovers/offshoring, the MT world as I knew (and loved) it no longer exists. It is merely a fond memory of what once was. Several years ago, a niece of mine wanted my help in becoming an MT. Like you, she is a mother who wanted to work from home. I told her that I would be happy to help her with college, and even with law school or medical school if she chose that route, or any other kind of trade or professional education she chose, but I could not in good conscience support her in getting into MT in this day and time. She has four little ones and I do not want to see them starve! I would not want it on my conscience that I led someone down the mythical path to "making lots of money working from home." It is not only cruel but also unethical to give people false hope. For many years in the Sixties and Seventies, I did just that--worked from home--and I made good money doing it. But that was then, and this is now, and I fear for the people who, in good faith, get sucker-punched into paying some school tuition for an education that will not help them. Truly, my friend, you could invest your money (and it IS an investment) in a much better career opportunity. This is just the opinion of one older lady, but this old gal has been around the block and seen a few things, and I have tangled with the big boys (and some girls as well, but not so much) who ruined our profession all in the name of greed. Please go over to the Nuance and M*Modal boards and read the posts there. Do you see anyone posting who is truly glad to have the job they have? Do they feel they are being treated well? Or do they feel like machines? Chances are they have a mortgage to pay and children to support, so they stay. I do not know you, but I truly do wish you the best. I will say to you the same thing I said to my niece: Of course, it is your right to choose any career you wish. But I hope you chose well and get something that will sustain you--and that is why I cannot recommend an MT career in 2014, almost 2015. Whatever you choose, I do hope that you find something that meets your needs. Best of luck to you.

mt - alshaw06

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Thank you, all of you, for taking time to respond. You have made it very clear that this is a dying field with jobs becoming obsolete. I had read articles that stated the same thing but I wanted to find real people and get their opinions, which I did. I appreciate it so very much and I wish you all the best! Thanks again!

Agree w/many others - see message

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Go to school for something else - coder, medical records technician (RHIT/RHIA), - anything but MT. More companies are offering coders the choice to work from home. Also, there are companies that offer work at home customer service representative jobs. Go to Indeed dot com or Google and see what you can find. Court reporters still seem to be in demand (though you obviously can't work from home), and the wages are very good. Coming from an experienced MT, get out of the field! Good luck.

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