A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry
Minimum Wage With Overhead? - Meh
Posted: Feb 25, 2013
I graduated last year from MTEC. I've been working since November at a national company and am earning minimum wage of $8.00. Many recommend that you earn a certificate--starting with the RMT and later the CMT. According to my research, each test costs about $200. In addition, it is recommended that one keep up with the field by attending conferences and the like occasionally, which also tends to cost some money.
Now, I can understand the "overhead" if being a medical transcriptionist were a job that paid a "professional" amount of money. bit the amount an MT makes is like that of an unskilled laborer.
At the national company I work for (I'll keep it anonymous), I can only make up to about $12.00/hour at most as an MT.
You make minimum because you are new - sm
[ In Reply To ..]Granted, there are well-trained MTs who make minimum, however, there are MTs who make quite a bit more than that.
I average $16 at a national, but I dont really try that hard anymore.
I do not believe in getting certified for this job, however, and would never donate money to that organization. I would rather give it to a homeless person.
OVERHEAD - Effie
[ In Reply To ..]I cannot imagine why you would waste money on certification or anything else. You need experience and then you need to find a better company to work for.
The profession might not be around that much longer... - RB
[ In Reply To ..]While I love transcription and I am not a "bitter employee" I just cannot see transcription being around long enough to justify getting certified. With the electronic records and speech recognition and sending jobs overseas, I think this career is on the way outs. I think getting some education in editing and QA would be beneficial as that seems to be where most of the jobs are going. If you do get to type, nowadays its only about 30% type, 70% editing for the nationals. I have worked at two local hospitals about 150 miles apart from eachother and within the last 3 years, each hospital has slowly eliminated transcription.
Transcriptoin - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]By "transcription", you seem to mean only regular transcription. By "profession", you seem to mean transcribing in regular way with speech recognition. You are correct. I am currently working at a national and about 99% of reports I get is for editing and not regular transcription. So do you think speech recognition is here to stay for a long time?
I Think You're Right - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]I like your concise and straightforward advice. It hits the nail on the head. And I think I have very or nothing else left to say. I have written many posts since this morning, mainly the gist of it is griping about the lowly pay, albeit it is at least still a very dignified job where one can utilize the brain as well as the hands.
weigh your options - anon
[ In Reply To ..]I've been an MT for over 10 years and and lucky to make 12 bucks an hour. My goal for 2012 was to take the CMT exam. I began studying for it, but so much changed within a few months.
I went from preparing for the CMT test to opting to go back to school to prepare for another line of work to get out of MT.
I'm not going to pour over the negatives of the MT field, and I am not a bitter poster on this board. However, I do think you need to consider what is happening to MT before you decide to put money into certification.
There may be companies that offer better pay than others, but I feel I have exhausted my options. I have worked for several, and they all end up the same. I am nowhere near retirement age and my years of experience as an MT have not led me to anything better than when I started in this field.
I can't justify spending that much money when I felt it would result in very little in the long run.
Agreed - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]I too have removed taking and passing CMT test off my goals list for this year. It doesn't make sense to bother. Although MTEC is a superb school and my instructor at MTEC was superb and it was very easy to get a job (albeit a low-paying one, I disagree with their recommendationt to go for the RMT certification as soon as possible, especially now that I already have a job. After all, what good would a certificate be anyway other than perhaps "personal satisfaction"? There is no practical or monetary gain from it. It is not require to have a certificate or license to practice as an MT. So the only reason to get a certificate in order to appear more qualified would be if I were looking for a job, which I am not, since I already have one. I may try to get a better job at a place that pays a bit more later on, but then that means I should go for the RMT certification later down the line when I'm about to look for a job. (According to my research, the certification expires after, I think, 3 or 5 years and you have to take the test again. I wonder if MTs are being bamboozled in this respect--in order to dole out more money to take the test periodically?)
Spend the Money Elsewhere - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]Right, instead of spending about $200 on certification this year, I would rather use it on a course that informs one how to get general transcription work, which I can perhaps do in addition as moonlight work. (Mind you, I know the course is legitimate.) The problem is I'm pretty sure general transcription is just as low-paying as medical transcription. I'm also thinking about taking a course in copywriting, and maybe doing that in addition on the side. Being an MT would just be my stable minimum wage basic bread and butter.
don't bother with CMT - OHMT
[ In Reply To ..]There used to be a few companies that paid a little more, 1/2 penny per line, if you had the CMT. I don't know if any of them do anymore, but if you should happen to get a job with a company that does, find out first if they pay for part or all of the testing (some used to, I have no idea if any of them do anymore).
I also graduated from MTEC 13 years ago, but I've never had to retake any tests to remain an MT. Once you get a year or two of experience under your belt, then you'll be in a better position to look for a better-paying job. MTEC should help you with that, but you can also search the job boards on your own.
Get experience in as many work types as possible, particularly operative notes. Then it might help you to find a "specialty" that you like. I rather fell into hem/onc and found a really good job doing strictly clinic notes.
Now, about raises... they are nonexistent in this field anymore. I've worked for a company for many years and saw my line rate go up, and then go down. I'm now making only 1/2 penny more than I was when I started! So now I only do that job part time to keep my Basic 4 knowledge current.
The only way to get a raise is to set up lots of templates and shortcuts so that you can type faster, or find a job that pays better elsewhere, but that is getting harder to do, since most of the bigger companies keep lowing their line rates instead of raising them.
I wish you luck and hope you eventually find a great job, whether as an MT or something else.
I see pay only going DOWN. I've been with curren - co. 6 yrs & pay dropped 6 cpl. (nm)-Meerkat
[ In Reply To ..]
Meh is right - Old Pro
[ In Reply To ..]There are many better things you can do with your money than joining the sorority. Take some good course, treat yourself in some way, give it to charity.
My experience, doesn't matter. We are all being paid around the same - with CMT or without, low wages, sm
[ In Reply To ..]and a lot of compainies are paying 7 or 8 cents a line for independent contractors, so CMT as an independent contractor at that rate, I wouldn't worry about having it. It's just a piece of paper, doesn't get you anything more than what they are willing to pay (which seems like it is as little as they can get away with).
CMT - MT
[ In Reply To ..]I've seen many jobs advertised where they are specifically looking for a CMT and offer higher pay because of it. With as many people on here who moan and groan about how 8 cpl is the average, but refuse to work for 7 cpl, that 1 or 2 cpl difference that companies offer for the CMT apparently should make a huge difference for those people in particular. So to answer your question, yes, it can be to your benefit at some point in time when looking for a job in the future.
I See - Meh
[ In Reply To ..]Bottom line is that a CMT is useful if you're looking for a job because not all but some companies may be looking for a CMT and offer a bit more pay. But it is a waste of money to take the test unless you are looking for a job soon because a CMT certification has an expiration date and one has to take the test again in a number of years.
CMT - MT - Old Pro
[ In Reply To ..]I am NOT a CMT (I refuse to have anything to do with the organization). When I would send my resume and potential employers saw my experience, they waved the CMT. I was paid 9 cpl, BTW.
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