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

New MT is it worth it? - Losing hope.

Posted: Aug 18, 2012

I graduated a year and a half ago from a very good MT school. I graduated with high honors and felt ready to tackle this profession. I wanted to do this because it has always been my dream to be a stay at home mom and with this profession I felt like I got the best of both worlds. When I researched MT are suposed to make 30K or more. So I figured as a newbie maybe 20K or even 18K. Wow was I wrong. I got hired about 2 months out of school which was a huge relief but things rapidly went down hill. For the first 2 weeks I was on QA I was only allowed to do 10 reports a day. Which is like $60??? then even when I got off QA I struggled to make min req. I finally got there after 3 months of working but I still was makeing barely 350 a week. After 6 months it didnt get much better and they let go of like 20 ppl because of lack of work including me. After a month of frantic searching I found a nonMT job as a DMT. For the first time I was making killer money. I started getting myself out of the debt I had from the MT job because I wasnt making enough to cover bills then. Sooo happy! Then work started getting sparse and they let us go due to lack of work. Starting to see a frightening trend with this! So after 2 months of frantic searching I found 2 jobs. I have a weekend MT job and Im doing medical summarizing during the week. I have been doing this for a month now. Yesterday I worked 14 hours and made 50 total with both jobs. I read on here that some of you make a good living. I do like what I do but I cant live on 200 every 2 weeks. Does anyone make atleast 2K or 2500 a month? I could atleast live on that! How long did it take you to get there? I dont think I am bad at this job. I graduated with honors and have always had stellar QA no matter what company im at. Im at my wits end. So any help or advice or sharing of stories would help me. Thank you.

Losing hope - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I make more than 2K a month but I'm currently paid hourly and have been doing this for 35 years. If it's any consolation, when I started working as an MT I made barely more than minimum wage as an hourly worker and worked my way up the ladder. Those are the positive things. On the downside, our department of 12 just learned that our services are no longer going to be needed at the end of September, the work is going off shore. I'm too young to retire so I'm trying to find another MT job at what I know will be a huge reduction in pay. I might try and get 2 jobs, one MT and one non-MT. I love what I do and it sounds as if you do too, but the situation we're in now stinks. I really don't have any advice to offer, maybe sharing my story will show that we're all in the same boat, older and younger MTs alike.

Wow your hospital is sending work overseas? You said they - were off-shoring not outsourcing.

[ In Reply To ..]
Just when I thought I had heard it all. I could see sending to a service here in the US, but sending it overseas?

Yes - On site MT

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They chose a company that sends everything to India, to my knowledge they employ no domestic MTs. Some of us were hoping to be hired by the new provider but that is not possible now. We had a great department; I've been there 18 years and I'm one of the newer hires, our quality was top notch, but money talks these days. Here's the kicker - now they're asking us to work overtime because we're in a backlog situation, go figure. I need the $$ but I doubt if very many people are too enthusiastic about working very hard just now. Unfortunately, that is a true story.

Same thing happened at our hospital right before - the outsource, they got back-logged and

[ In Reply To ..]
Was sending out panic emails asking us to get the que cleaned out before the outsource.

Of course I couldn't because I was too busy seeking out other employment and had landed a part-time IC gig that I was thinking about going full-time with once the outsource took effect.

What till they reach the end, they are going to really be after you all to get the work cleaned out, as they will have to have it down to as few jobs as possible before they switch over. There were 17 of us in my dept and I had been there 10yrs before the outsource our newest hire had been there maybe 3yrs.

You have that totally backward. Offshoring is when they - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
send work overseas. Outsourcing is what allows us to work at home.

If you want to work at home for this company - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
You'd better get your passport renewed and make sure you're up to date on your vaccinations.

On site MT - instead of rushing out and trying to - SomethingToThinkAbout

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find a pitiful paying job, file for unemployment. I was working for a company that way overhired and filed for partial unemployment and some weeks got full unemployment benefits when there was no work. I thought I should be working (a strong work ethic I found is not what it is cracked up to be) and looked into other MT jobs and took the first one I could find. I made much more on unemployment and was sorry I had not looked around more. Found another MT job soon afterward and it was better but I still made more on EU.

Thank you - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Thanks for sharing the information. I have been told that I can get partial UE if I have to take a job that pays less. Yes, I was pretty panicky at first, worrying that I would not have money to pay my bills, be a homeless person and all of that. I immediately began applying for jobs and so far the first 2 that have been offered were not good fits for me at all. I've applied and tested everywhere and now that I realize there are jobs to be had it is not quite so scary. We get 3 months' severance and I will also get paid for my unused PTO so I'll be okay for a while. I'll probably need to do COBRA, though, and that will be expensive. My employer said they'd try and help place us in jobs within the organization and I just applied for something that I hope I get so right now there are a few choices. I haven't had a chance to explore the UE options yet as I'm still recovering from the shock, maybe next week will be a little calmer and I can get my head wrapped around this. You and my sister had the same advice, and I always trust her judgment. Thanks again, hopefully everything is going to be okay. I guess I need to change my nickname, though.

Don't do COBRA! (sm) - OHMT

[ In Reply To ..]
COBRA is really expensive. I wouldn't recommend it. Instead, look into getting your own insurance. I got my insurance through a health-related organization (Health Advocates Alliance). I paid a very minimal membership fee and was able to get health insurance I could afford.

Another good reason to go this route is that if you end up with an IC job, you don't have to worry about insurance. Last year I got an employee-status MT job, but their insurance was way more expensive than what I was paying, so I kept my own. Glad I did because that job didn't work out. I'm back to being IC for another company, and still have my own insurance.

Just keep looking and eventually you will find your niche. I spent three months looking for my current job, been here a little over a month and so far I love it.

Good luck and I wish you success!

COBRA pluses and minuses - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes it's expensive but I have excellent coverage with only a $400 deductible which I have met for the year, I'd be starting over with a new plan and facing at least a $2500 deductible for the same coverage, our plan also includes dental. I will look into Health Advocates Alliance and see what they have to offer. Keep some happy thoughts for me that I get the job I am trying for and I'll get to keep my benefits.

I want to thank everyone for their support and suggestions, I'll post again to let you know where I land!

HAA - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I went to Health Advocates Alliance to get an insurance quote. It is not health insurance, maybe you misunderstood what I was looking for.

I have health insurance thru them - OHMT

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I have my health insurance with them. You have to join the association to get it. I think the membership fee was like $5.00. I'm pretty healthy so I chose a high deductible, but they have different plans based on what you want & what you want to pay. They also have other perks, like college scholarships for kids going into the medical profession, etc.

Thanks - On site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I think their coverage is through Asuris which is available in my state. I'm doing some research and probably want/need different coverage than what you have. To include dental and drug coverage, the premiums are higher, some of those higher deductible/low cost plans don't have drug coverage. I don't need the perks. I'll keep shopping around but right now my current employer's plan is the best coverage even though it costs a bit more for the premium.

I would definitely go for unemployment in your situation - sm

[ In Reply To ..]

It might be a blessing that the new company does not want to hire you. When my hospital outsourced the new company took us with a huge pay cut so UE was not an option for us. Also if there is something else in the hospital for hire I would go for that maybe as transcription is a dying art.

Not quite - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been an MT for 15 years and I currently work 40 hours a week at one of the Big 2 and anticipate a year end total of 24K for 2012.

I used to average about $20/hr but I am now lucky to get $8-$10/hr.

I actually spent 5 years or so doing QA and can do any specialty, any work type and ESL so my skills are not the problem.

IMO the issues at play here are that the pay is just too low, the platforms too cumbersome and the work load too sporadic to actually consistently make a good living.

When I made good money it was working as an IC part-time and at an MTSO part-time. I then lost my great IC job due to them going to the point and click (I got zero notice from them after 12 years of service).

I really don't see the biz getting better. There are still some MTs who do well but I have a feeling they are the minority and probably a dying breed.

IC - Elssa

[ In Reply To ..]
After I lost my long-time private cardiology account to EMR (no notice), I sent out professional MT cards to local doctors and groups, but got no response. Don't know what the answer is, but I agree with others that trying to get your own private accounts somehow is the best hope.

Unless you find an hourly job or a company willing to - pay decent line rates...

[ In Reply To ..]
I dont know what to tell you. I barely make over $2000 a month, but I use to gross like $1700 to $1800 and bring home a little over $1200 every two weeks before being outsourced.

Now, I bring in about $1020 to $1050 after taxes. My gross is about $1200 to $1300. I can deal with it because it could be a lot worse. I dont think I could survive if it ever dropped below $900 take home.

I dont have a lot of bills, just the basics and my care is paid for. My husband has been gone a while, but luckily he will be home soon and going back to work so there will be two incomes.

And I honestly have to work 9hr shifts to bring in $1000 after taxes every two weeks so thats 90hrs a pay period where as before I got outsourced I only worked 72 hours a pay period and brought home over $1200 after taxes.

I feel for you - aged MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been doing this 35+ years. I do make more than 2000/month, and that is working less than 40 hr weeks. However, I just picked up a non MT part-time job too. Why? Because I am no longer confident in the direction the industry is going and cannot just have all my eggs in one basket anymore. If you like doing voice recognition, maybe there's hope for you. I hate it and find it insulting to be paid have of piddly wages to do it. You probably are doing well for your experience level. But personally, I would advise a plan B, that you either act on or have in mind for the near future, just for a safety net if nothing else. God bless.

My story is the same as yours - Sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I was an MT for 4 years before taking a DMT job at ScribeRight but was recently let go due to work. Now I summarize medical records (probably at the same company as you) and have another job as an IC as an MT. I'm making about 65 bucks a day working two jobs. It's awful. I'm so upset with myself for believing that this would be a great career move for me (becoming a transcriptionist). I've never made more than 30k in a year doing this work. The only good decision I've made was to go back to school and finally get my bachelors degree. I'm sorry you're in this situation, but I don't think things will get better in this field.

Due to "lack of work" - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
Nm

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