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

What happened to the days when MTing was an - just passing through

Posted: Nov 16, 2010

enjoyable job instead of just a day-in-day-out headache listening to idiots blabber on?

Good ole days - time to leave

[ In Reply To ..]
The MT profession is dying... and cheapened... wonder what would happen if all the Editors for ASR and all the MTs just stopped working for about a week? Or even just 2 days????

I am off to try something new.. not sure what.. but there is much better pay out there than this for 16-hour days and weekends and no paid vacation and, and and.......

i loved this work/job until about a year ago. ):

I did, too, and then I changed companies that I - just passing through

[ In Reply To ..]
work for. I'm thinking that was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. Very little work was better than what I have to endure these days.

Just passing through.... - BTDT

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CHANGE AGAIN. And again if you have to. If you are a good MT, there is a company/job/account out there for you somewhere. I have never been one to job hop because I was with a company for 10 years, had good benefits, overtime pay, and 4 weeks PTO. The company was bought by a much larger MTSO and we started losing accounts left and right. Much of what remained was sent to the Philippines. Clients that objected were told to take their business elsewhere!!!! I was laid off.

The next company I worked for was a nightmare!! I was making a net of $800-$900 every 2 weeks. I kept looking while I did it. Now I bring home an average of $1,300 to $1,400 every 2 weeks and I absolutely love my account. It will go to VR shortly I am sure, and I may not be able to stay with it. I will remain here and see what it brings me. If it is a 50% pay cut, I will do it while I am still looking.

If you are very experienced, can ace the tests, and can land a good paying job, why not? Companies are hiring every day - maybe not as much as they used to and it may take longer to find the perfect fit, but you will never know until you try. I have to keep doing this because I am nearing retirement and most firms do not hire when you are pushing 60, but I will not remain with a company/account that wastes my talents and cheats me out of the income I know I am capable of.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

Care to share where you work? nm - just passing through

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nm

I've changed companies. It didn't help - Just 2 cents

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I have changed companies FIVE times in the last two years. None of them have worked out. I have worked for numerous companies throughout my 18 years in transcription. Each time I change, I think I've changed for the better, but start running out of work usually within 4 to 5 months.

I was like you making a net of $800 to $900 and then went to $1250 to $1300 net only to have them go to VR at 3 cpl. I told myself that I was going to make this work come hell or high water and that I was going to become as good a VR editor as an MT. After 6 pay periods of only making $400 to $450 NET, I moved on...and on...and on... and on. I've tried large companies, small companies, getting my own clients. It isn't feasible anymore.

This is my last shot. I just started at a new company that finally pays good line rates for both VR and MT. Unfortunately, after 3 weeks I started running out of work. They keep telling me to hang on because I'm going on a big account that's going to VR in a couple months. In the meantime, now that I'm eligible for benefits after 90 days, I have no work. So I don't qualify for benefits anyway. I have to wait until next year for the next open enrollment now because I don't make quota because I don't have enough work. That's pretty bad when you have 4 accounts and still can't do it. I was told I need to be flexible and work at midnight or 2:00 a.m. if I have to.

I have tried your suggestion and the only thing that I've found is that I'm continually job hopping.

Everybody! Read the last line of BTDT's post! - clunybrown

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"but I will not remain with a company/account that wastes my talents and cheats me out of the income that I know I am capable of."

Very eloquent post. The above line really struck a chord with me. This is my new mantra. Thanks, BTDT, for posting this.

clunybrown, glad to inspire you - BTDT

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If there is one thing I have learned is "To Thine Own Self Be True." I was loyal to a company, very dedictated, reliable, 98-100% on audits, and gave them 2000 lines day in and day out. Where did it get me? LAID OFF!

Yes, the next company I worked for had very nice people but I was not going to sacrifice my talents and income for someone to talk nice to me. Now my loyalties lie with me. You have to help yourself and do what is best for you. If you are a good MT and all that that entails, don't cheat yourself just to have "a job." Do the crap that is dished out to you until you find what is perfect for you. Don't give up.

Actually her last sentence said good luck. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Skill and experience do not count for anything anymore. Luck is exactly what is needed because finding these "good" companies is few and far between as there are fewer and fewer good companies existing.

And when you give up, you have wasted yourself. - No message

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x

It's not a matter of giving up. - sm

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I'm in the same situation as the poster below with 5 jobs in 2 years. I didn't give up, I kept moving to different companies. But it has been the same wherever I go in this industry. Other than leaving this field, the prospects of finding a good company have pretty much dried up, especially at my age of almost 60. The original post was about how much this field has changed, not about the problem being pinned on our unwillingness to change companies.

So if you are not giving up you have 2 choices - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
I am also in a golden handcuff situation. It is hard - very hard. So you have 2 choices here. Get out of the business, which I can not seem to do, or take more time in your job selection. Five jobs in 2 years sounds like you may have taken a job just to have a job. Keep the crappy job that you want to leave for a while - waiting for the perfect situation. Don't guess or hope. Again, keep the crappy job. You will know it when the perfect fit comes along. Maybe a smaller company. Maybe you are an expert in cardiology, orthopedics, etc. and not in all specialties or acute care. If so, wait. It will come along. I might add that people of our age frown on 7-8 cpl, but with our experience we can easily turn that into $35,000 or $40,000 a year if it is the right account. You have to keep trying to find these even though it seems they are slowly drying up, the reason being that the smarter, older MTs are certainly looking for them and holding onto them.

At our age, we have to be smart. It is not hard for us to get a job but that is not the point, the point is the RIGHT job. I have spent many sleepless nights worrying over my income and my future. Pushing age 60 is scary because it is so hard to get out of the business (again, I have tried and can't)and you still need a decent income.

When my account dries up to VR, I will remain here. If it turns crappy, I will still remain here maybe for months until I find what is perfect for me. Clean up that resume. Make sure the emphasis is on all the different specialties you have done, and the types of reports in those specialties. Some of the recruiters are so dumb, they do not realize H&Ps, IMEs, Discharge Summaries, etc. are things that newbies can do easily. If you have cardiac lab experience, neurology tests such as EMG, EEG's, or radiology experience, SPELL it out for them. Take days to come up with a new resume by making a list and adding to it.

I have even thought about taking PT jobs or prn jobs if they were what suited me and made good money for me. This is what the business has become and it will probably be a continuous thing until we retire. Make the most of it because the days of us being valued employees for our skills, accuracy, knowledge, speed, and reliability are over. I do not expect to be in my current good money making position until my retirement does come, I just hope I don't have to do the crap too long until I find the next good money making position. In the golden handcuff position, we have no choice. I know it is discouraging, but don't get down on yourself. You are talented and there is still lots of money to be made for someone like you.

Good luck again.

I agree with part of what you said, but not all - See message

[ In Reply To ..]
It's a matter of having the right skills and education, or experience, when you find the right job. Too many MTs never were properly prepared to do medical transcription at the level required these days, so when they find the ideal job, they aren't ready for it. It's a lose/lose situation, because many of those jobs really do exist and can't find MTs who have the skills to do them.

Just Passing Through, it really sounds like the biggest - change is with you.

[ In Reply To ..]
Time to move on to something that suits today's you better, maybe?

Nope, the biggest change is not with me. The biggest - just passing through

[ In Reply To ..]
change is with MTSOs don't care about their transcriptionists any more.

Amen to that! We're a faceless number in a pool of numbers only - hired to meet TAT. nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Yes, MTing has changed drastically! - Need Advice

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What about when you are pushing retirement but still need a decent income. I have tried for 2 years to get out of this business but my age and the economy is certainly holding me back. For every job opening around here there are 25 applicants! Don't know what else to do.

There was a time when my knowledge, skills, accuracy, speed, and reliability meant something. Not so much anymore. MTing is all I have ever done, so that reduces my potential job changing. I feel washed up and scared of the future. I can't even afford further education at this point.

Word to the wise, if you are young enough to escape this industry now, do it.

You guys are whoever you always were in this - Anon.

[ In Reply To ..]
respect. Approve of yourselves. Cut yourselves loose from the need for approval and strokes from your companies. Maybe get a puppy? They love you no matter what.

I came from other fields and learned decades ago that a business relationship is a very shallow and undependable one at best. Since then I haven't asked for much more from my employer than work, sensible instructions, and a decent check, that last being the key to my happiness.

But maybe what some of you are really bothered by is uncertainty? It's in the wind blowing across whole continents and land masses these days, shivering employers and employees alike.

Wow, that was kind of rude. Get a puppy??? - sm

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I've never asked for approval or strokes. All I've asked for is work...preferably on the schedule they hired me to work, but I'll even flex. BUT JUST GIVE ME SOME WORK.

I don't ask for approval or strokes, I ask that the MTSOs stick with the prehire employee contract we all agreed upon. Don't hire me at full time, base my benefits upon my production, and then hire on 50 more people for the same account that has work for 10. That isn't asking for approval or strokes, it's asking for the terms we all agreed to when I signed the employment agreement. I understand there are times when work is low, but it shouldn't be low every single day for months on end and yet they are still hiring.

You're right, a business relationship is shallow, but why does it have to be undependable? It isn't asking for approval or any kind of ego stroking when expecting that the business relationship go both ways. If they want dependability, they should offer dependability. Plain and simple.

P.S. In fact, when most other business relationships are undependable - they get hauled into court.

[ In Reply To ..]
If I hire a painter or a contractor to do my roof and he is undependable and does not provide what was agreed upon in the contract, I take him to court.

Vice versa, if I contract with a painter and then hire on 10 more, the painter is still going to want the amount of money agreed upon or he's going to take me to court.

If they hire me full time, they should provide full-time work. That's not asking for approval or strokes.

Get a puppy my a$$.

Hmmmm, not one post about expecting strokes, only asking the same as you. - No message

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x

We used to do it just for fun and - nothing is fun anymore

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Life has changed.

I think I am going to specialize. See message - Fed Up

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I have a good pain management and orthopedic background. I think I will look on job sites every day until I see an ad for just that specialty (although I do not mind secondary accounts). That way, I will be transcribing for much fewer docs, and hopefully will be able to make more money with my background, speed, and macros. You can't really do that on acute care for 200 doctors.

I am going to make a list of companies I think I might like to apply for and cross them off as I do. I am going to redo my resume, making the MT part very verbose regarding procedure notes, etc. I will not make a move just because I am offered a job. If I have my doubts, I will not accept it. I will have my wish list and not waiver from it. This could take a year!! But I am doing it. I need to like my job and my income, I don't care how long it takes. Life is too short to have this kind of attitude about work, which I do every day.

Well, that's a plan, Fed Up. Good for you. And stretching - Fellow Traveller

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it out over as much as a year, it'll be like a little hobby. Maybe you could write a blog about it. I'll be a follower. :)

No, I did it for money then and do it for money now. Still make - decent, so still okay.

[ In Reply To ..]
I have lots of other stuff I do for fun. Maybe volunteering somewhere you find fascinating would add back in what you're missing?

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