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

Not an MT anymore!! - and loving it

Posted: Apr 25, 2011

Working at .075 cpl for ScribeRight I made a whopping 12K in 2009. Wow - let's all run out and take MT classes to jump on that bandwagon. Anyway, I quit my MTSO pimp and went to work for a well-known Italian restaurant chain in 2010. I work in the kitchen 6 hours a day for 5 days a week (Mon-Fri lunch shift with no nighttime or weekend shifts) and make about 15% more than I did as an MT. I am not an IC anymore but rather an employee, so I saved a bunch on my social security tax.

Another perk - I have lost about 20 pounds gradually over this past year and feel so much healthier earning a living with physical labor rather than tedious mental work. Everyone says my new job is beneath me. I just tell them I'm "going Galt," which basically means I'm not selling my intelect cheap anymore. Maybe if more MT's told the MTSO's we're tired of being pimped out cheap, things would improve. Really, .075 cpl is a freaking joke - .09 is a joke too. It would take .12 cpl on a GROSS line count (not a 65 character line) to make me want to come back to transcription. That will never happen, so I'll say.... see ya, wouldn't want to be ya!!!

Kudos! What sort of work are you doing? - I may be right behind ya! MT Wordz

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where I'm working - by not an MT

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I don't want to name any names here, but I'll give you a big hint. It's an Italian restaurant chain with the initials OG. I work in the kitchen as an alley coordinator, but some OG's will call this position salad/alley. I prepare the deserts and salads. I expidite the hot dishes and sometimes do breadsticks. The position generally starts at 9 an hour with raises of .35 cents every 6 months. Insurance, vacation. For more hours, I come in early and clean the dining room before opening. My hours are 7:30 to 2 pm. Sometimes I'll work till 3 if we're busy. If you want days at any restaurant, just say you want to work the lunch shift. I make more than the servers on the average. They have good days and bad days, I have steady income. If you're good, you'll get the hours you want. Check into it. I found it to be a wonderful change. It's very fast paced and very physical. My eye for detail and perfection with the MT industry did prepare me for the stress of the kitchen at a busy restaurant. Really, I'd do it all again.

I keep saying being a greeter at Walmart sounds pretty good too. - Right behind ya.

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l was at Walmart yesterday. I think I'd like to work - outside in their garden section! nm

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ABC/XYZ

Yes but that is seasonal work - What will you do in winter?

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In CA, that's pretty close to year-round. But I - could probably stand stocking

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shelves indoors for 2 or 3 months a year. At least I'd have a steady paycheck.

Not an MT Anymore - Annabelle Lee

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Glad you did what was right for yourself and got a gig you like. However, please don't dis MT in general. I love MT and last year earned nearly 50K part-time. I am very, very fast and very, very good. Some of us actually still love our jobs. Glad you found one you love. Different strokes for different folks.

Very fast? - 50K part time

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I don't believe it. 50K part-time. Most of us are making half of what we made in the past and I too am very, very fast. No work means no money. I am sure we would all love our jobs if we had work and did not have to sit and wait for the work.

I don't care if you believe it or not - AnnaBelle Lee

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I don't care whether you believe it or not. My banker believes it and that's all that matters.

If I can make most of that working less than 40 - a week (I do), I am sure other

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faster people out there are doing even better. Remember, part time means less than 40, not 20 or less.

OP, good for you for making a move that is clearly a happy new beginning for you. Lots of cooks make very satisfactory incomes, often very, very satisfactory. I personally never made such good money, even now, as I did as a server long ago, but that'd be a step down from the artists in the kitchen, of course. :)

You do understand you are the exception not the rule. - A lot of MTs are struggling with no work and low p

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xx

Sure, but "a lot of MTs" really NEED to know probably a good - 15% are doing quite nicely and

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another hefty chunk are also doing well. That's the point. How helpful would it be if only people who weren't earning enough to pay the electric bill posted their experiences here?

Yep, I am calling her out on that one also. - Been doing this forever

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plus a year and I am super-duper fast and smart as most of the docs (certainly smarter than any of the nurses dictating), and I made 28k last year working my behind off. Why would any company pay $50k anymore when they can get the same for half price?

Doing this forever - Nick

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But if she is is producing twice as much as the 28K a year person, they are not paying more. If you think you are as smart as a doc, you are clearly delusional. Come on. Transcriptionists are NOT docs.

LOL. No matter how much you want her to be - lying, it will not affect her income

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I find nothing to be skeptical about since I, too, am doing well. You are certainly welcome to wish me ill, too, but it won't affect my income, either. Don't you think you would do yourself more good putting that energy to work improving your own income rather than trying to tear down others? Especially since all the bad will in the world won't change anyone's income for the worse, no matter how hard you wish, and will only make you crankier.

Thank you I agree with you - NM - Bettie_Bgood

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Skepticism is in order.

If anyone believes this - there is a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you.

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I dunno - mt2

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Depends on what they are calling "part time" and how long they've had their accounts.

I work about 30 hours a week and I made $46,275 last year.

I also still love MT. No way in Hades, you'd be putting me in a kitchen every single day!

Not an MT anymore - me

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So you 2 who are making all the big money, what do you make a line, and what companies do you work for? Some of us need help out here.

mt2 - AnnaBelle Lee

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I call 6 hours a day (which I work) part-time. I have been an MT for 41 years. I am always faintly amused by people who say "I don't believe it!" When I worked full-time I exceeded 90K a year and one person I know did not believe it. She had occasion to come to my house and I showed her my tax return. That silenced her.

Yup - same here with high $$$, part-time. - anon

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I work 2 8-hr days, take one day off, work abut 7 hrs on another day and 6 hr on the fourth, occasional weekends. I've been transcribing since '87 and have never been paid per line, always by report. When W finally transitions, I'll be done with MTing. I'm burned out.

who you work for - cough up a name

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so we all can get in on that action. You are the exception and my advice is to not get too comfortable. MTSO's love to steal accounts from other MTSO's. That's why the going rate for us MT's is so low.

Why the exception? - mt2

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I gave as much info on the company as I'm going to give. Find them the same way I did :) Research, apply, test, get hired.

And I'm definitely NOT the exception. A large percentage of the MTs at our company make nice paychecks. Most of the ones who do not, it's because they don't want to.

And I've done this gig (MT) for a long, long time, and I've NEVER worked a job where I had to sit and wait for work, was told to log in and only got paid for what I keyed in (if I was an employee) or any of the other complaints. Or if I did find myself at one of those types of companies, I was usually gone before the contractural ink was dry.

My company's solid but thanks for worrying about me :)

Cough up a name - ABL

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They love to steal good MTs, too. That is why I have always been recruited.

It can be done, tho the jobs are few and far - anon

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between. I made about $48k part-time in 2009, was trending that way in 2010 until WMX took over dept late in the year. The first pay cut wasn't TOO bad even tho they were paying per report during the transition. Then they reduced the rate another $.65 per report and soon will go to their crummy cpl. The biggest problems are the over-staffing (not enough work), computer issues, having to look up hand-written tech notes that are scanned into PACS and then type the values into another field. PACS is slow and/or freezes with so many people on the system, incessant emails, mostly duplicates and/or emls which should go to the person making errors, not the entire group. MTing was good while it lasted.

yes Ima dissing MT work in general - by - cooking in the kitchen

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that's IN GENERAL. You OBVIOUSLY are the exception as well as exceptional (speedy fingers). My point is that .075 cpl is disgustingly low, and IC status is a joke, especially when I was expected to be available via instant messaging. The MTSO's hire too many MT's for too little work. Accounts are going to "scribing" (the shadow person that follows the doc around instantly inputing the patient record), voice recognition, and of course our 3rd world pimps in India. I use the term pimping because everyone wants to make their .02 cpl off the work. It's a JOKE, JOKE, JOKE. Maybe you have your own account which is why you're making the "big bucks." You sure are not working for any of the industry leaders! Don't get too comfortable with your situation, there is always another pimp (MTSO) waiting to steal your John (account) with girls (MT's)ready to work cheap. I'll stick with my "going Galt" work in the kitchen!

That's telling them... - you go girl - get that steady check.

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cooking in the kitchen - Old Pro

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Oh, I'm very comfortable. I have been with this company for four years, during which time we have lost and gained accounts. I have been flexible through it all and am still doing well.

so comfortable then - give us the name of who you work for

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really - tell everyone where we can go to get a real job.

So comfortable because - Old Pro

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I have a great rapport with the boss who has asked me not to name his company online, as too many newbies and wannabes flood us with apps, and we are only a medium-sized company. Find us the same way I did--do your homework.

Cooking in the kitchen - AnnaBelle Lee

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I am comfortable, too. I am a Transcend-merger ship-jumper and glad I jumped. Old Pro helped me and we know each other online. We laughed when you said "Don't get too comfortable." Lots of us old gals stay in touch and compare notes and are quite happy with our jobs. Glad you like yours, too. BTW, I love OG. If you are in California (LA area), we may eat at your place!

Not an MT - me

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I was very, very happy with my 5 years at my job before Nuance took it over. Be aware it can happen to anyone and everyone.

Beware - mt2

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This is what makes me laugh. (I probably know Old Pro and Anna Belle Lee but don't know I know them :))

But as we older (in job years) MTs know, companies change all the time. Do you really think we've never undergone a transition, a merger, a hostile take-over? Ask yourself how is it then we are STILL in positions where we're happy with MT?

No warnings are necessary. Savvy MTs stay employed.

Not an MT - me

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Ever been taken over by Nuance????

No, lived through a decade of The Squid - much worse

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Believe me, I've experienced the "beware" scenario and was either lucky or had the right contacts or had a resume that reflects a great MT because I've never had trouble finding a job and bailing when the picture became quite clear if I was in a situation that wouldn't work for me.

Maybe the reason is you have easy accounts - Bettie_Bgood

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Gosh you know I'm very fast and very good too! But it depends on the account! And I'm very confident that if we could put you in an actual testing situation, and we could give you some of our work, on our software, you might surprise yourself, and find you're not so fast yourself!

Really, there's no way to settle this on a message board. I think it's great if what you are saying is true, and you really are an MT, and not management, or a union buster, or teenagers in the back of a classroom, stirring the pot here just for fun - the Internet calls for a healthy dose of skepticism - at least in my opinion. And more power to the well-paid MT!

Well - I work on Meditech, Winscribe, and PACS - anon

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all of which freeze, slow down, and have all kinds of glitches. While the big MTSO tries to get their software hooked up with the hosp (going on for 6 months now), we've had all kinds of slowdowns, shutdowns, and then the MTSO overstaffs and we run out. Still doing well by power typing and using LOTS of shortcuts.

Your own credentials are what? - trash talking

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Since you keep throwing the teenager comment around, maybe that's who you are afterall? In fact, I read a Twitter post, I believe, where you actually bragged about coming here and using a different persona and email so you could keep posting.

Very interesting to try and delegitimize an MT who is doing well and doesn't need the assistance of a union or a pot-stirrer to do so.

I think I'll be applying my own heavy dose of skepticism to you and your posts, seeing that a search today of your efforts still indicates nothing legitimate. Oh except you want to go around the firewall to the health systems. Interesting phraseology. May I see YOUR credentials?

Not an MT anymore - Aly

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Lots of discussion on this topic, as always. I've been at it for 30+ years and I'm not sure I've every heard the "truth" from other MTs about how long they work, how much they make. :-) Trust the government to (finally) issue us a job description, and an average income for all parts of the US, all kinds of transcription. Follow the yellow brick link:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes319094.htm

intersting! thanks for the link, Aly. NM - bronxMT

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*

Here's an 2010-11 Occupational Outlook link with - more updated information.

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Never believed any of us? Really? ...huh!

That's NOT Updated! - earlymusicus

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That's not updated (except for the little blurb on certification)- it's the same thing I read in 2007, when I was researching the MT field before enrolling in college! (And I wish I'd never read it and believed it because my education has proven to be a waste of time and money.) That's even the same photograph they used in the older version of the handbook. And the outlook was the same in that older version, too!

Not an MT anymore - nina

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Do you have insurance benefits?

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