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

I applied for financial aid at my local community college yesterday - anon

Posted: Jun 22, 2012

I'm taking my first steps to get out of this field - I'm 48 years old, I've dedicated myself to Medquist/MModal for 16 years of my life and I am making less today than my 15-year-old son who just got his very first job. In my lifetime, I never thought I would be 48 years old, on Food Stamps and barely making minimum wage in a field I gave nearly half my life to. It is a complete insult.

I've been going around and around in my head how to get out of this field. The trouble is, since I have been doing this so long I don't know how to do anything else. The only thing I'm good at is cooking. All my friends and family have told me my whole life I missed my calling and that cooking is my true gift.

SO, I applied for financial aid at my local community college to get into their Culinary Arts program in the fall. The financial aid advisor took a look at my income from my tax return and was in disbelief. Her very first question was, how do you support yourself on that ?! I told her if it wasn't for Food Stamps every month my son and I would literally go hungry. I am on a regular payment plan with my apartment complex manager every month but if I miss a payment, "out" we will go.

The financial aid person said based on my income I would likely qualify for a full Pell Grant which would give me $5500 a year for school expenses. I wouldn't pay anything out of pocket. I will find out in a few days what I qualify for. I suppose if there is one little blessing in the nightmare of working for MModal it's that the crumbs that they pay will give me the opportunity to go to school for something better. Maybe this is the "education tuition" benefit they say is coming soon? "We are going to pay you so little that it enables you to qualify for every type of financial aid in existence". Knowing MModal, they will call this a "raise".

Anyway, there is hope for us ... consider contacting your local colleges and schools about financial aid. Chances are you will qualify for full financial aid too.

"What would you do today if you knew you couldn't fail?"

thinking about school also, but - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
How will you go to school, work and take care of your son? That is where I am stuck. I am exhausted after just work, dont know how I could fit in school and some resemblance of a life in the meantime. I guess I am just going to have to bite the bullet. I just dont know what to do either. I have always wanted to go into nursing, but then I think I dont wanna work that hard anymore. My brain is so fried, so I am leaning towards medical assistant. Less schooling and although low pay, it is still guaranteed pay.

You are in the same boat I've been in - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I thought about nursing too ... or something else in the medical field since I have a transcription foundation but since I'm 48 (not old, but not that young anymore) my MAIN priority for a new career for me is "Whatever I get into, I HAVE to be passionate about because it will likely be my very last career of my life".

I see it like, I've spent HALF my working life in this God-forsaken dead-end job with MModal/Medquist. The career move I make out of this field HAS to something I love.

As far as when will I have time to spend with my son, etc ... he is starting high school next year, I'm thinking his social life will pick up (dates, friends, etc) plus he spends every weekend at his dad's so I'll probably have to switch my work schedule around to work on the weekends. I haven't figured out those finer points yet but the truth is that if I put too much thought into it I will probably talk myself out of it ... again. I think all the answers will come to me as I move forward.

You can do it too. The very first step I took was picking up the community college catalog (it was on a stand at the grocery store - the ones with all the free apartment guides and penny saver stuff) and took it home and took some time to leaf through it and allowed myself to "dream" for a few minutes. I even made a short list in a notebook of all the activities that give me joy and make me happy (cooking, growing veggies, hiking, photography) to help me figure out my passion.

We could ALL do this. We deserve much, much better than what we are getting. This company will never, ever be loyal to us ... it's a matter of deciding I don't want my life to come and go and never know what it's like to feel rewarded for my work - and I don't mean in the way of a $50 gift certificate for "most improved" employee of the month.

You can do it.-sm - On My Way Out

[ In Reply To ..]
I work for MModal full-time, go to school full-time and am starting a part-time business. My sister is doing the same thing. You can do it.

So happy you are finally getting out! I think you should - MTforNow

[ In Reply To ..]
send a copy of this post in its entirety to the CEO and all VPs of M*Modal, as well as every MT blog and journal out there.

Last day - School also-sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Today is my last day. I, too, have gone back to school. This is my third semester on track to apply to either PA school or a genetic counseling program next year.

I want to point out that I am now 49 years old, and I have worked for this company since 1995 and done transcription since 1983. It is frightening to return to school at this age. Like the original poster, this is all I have ever done.

I sent an e-mail to my CCM outlining the reasons I am leaving, and it ended up being escalated to the Vice President of Operations for M-Modal. They are beginning to see that they are losing good, loyal employees due to the pay cuts and the direction the company is going.

I encourage everyone to look in a different direction for your future, but if you can't (and I fully understand this), I hope that my e-mail and frank discussion with my CCM will help someone out there.

THANK YOU for your post ... - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm really proud of you for getting out and I LOVE that you're my age, having set your plan in motion to move on. Hopefully I will be "you" in a few months, passing hope on to other people.

I seriously wish you good luck on your journey. I hope your email helps other employees down the road get what they deserve.

We can ALL do this - if I qualify for full financial aid at minimum wage, more of you might too. If I receive what the financial aid rep says I will, I literally will pay for nothing for my classes.

You are most welcome...best of luck in your journey as well - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

You made a good choice - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
You made a good choice in deciding to go back to school.

A year ago I was where you are now, knowing that I had to get out of MT after 20 years and into something that could pay the bills. I too am 45 years old and had been doing transcription for so long. I started looking into pell grants and even student loans.

Since my income was so low and I had just gotten a divorce I was able to qualify for a $5500 pell grant. I finished school in May and this is my last day at MQ. I start my new job on Monday! I am so excited. Good pay, excellent benefits and a relaxed working environment.

Best of luck to you and don't give up because it is possible!

I wish I could HUG you both right now ... - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
You have *no idea* how encouraged I feel about my decision after reading both your experiences and your decision. I just KNOW there have to be other employees reading this right now who might just take one little step into a new future because of your posts. For me the hardest part was figuring out what could/would I possibly do in this last half of my career life and in the end the decision was very simple - it was to pursue something that I *wanted* to do, instead of getting myself stuck again in something I *had* to do. I just can't go back to being stuck again after feeling stuck with MModal/Medquist for so long.

You sound like you were in the *exact* same income bracket and situation I'm in. It helps more than I can say to know there is someone in my exact situation out there. Hopefully someone else will follow our path in taking some time to really think about what speaks to them as a career move and find a new direction toward something that adds joy to their life.

Congratulations - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
What is your new job going to be? Just wondering what you studied. Best of luck to you.

Job - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I studied medical coding at my local community college. It was a year long program and I loved it. This particular program is very highly regarded in my area as the instructor is a coder herself and has a lot of connections.

Since I am not credentialed yet, I will be working as a denials specialist, which involves some coding. I am hoping to get my credentials at the end of summer/beginning of fall. The gentleman I interviewed with knows I want to be a coder and said they would let me help out in that capacity and start gearing me towards that position.

The best thing is...no weekends, holidays off with pay, excellent medical and dental benefits, 23 days of PTO in my first year, not including holidays, and a salary that I can actually pay my bills with and have a little left over for fun.

I hope that anyone who is not happy in their current situation will consider going back to school and learning a new trade. I too love transcription, but I hate what it has become. If you are considering a career change, fill out the fafsa form by going to fafsa.gov and see what you can get to help with tuition, you just may be surprised!

Awesome - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
That sounds great. I'm very happy for you. Maybe someday soon I will take the plunge myself because this MT situation is draining the life and hope out of me.

Me too! - Going to school

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I'm 47, been a transcriptionist since 1984, and with this company with various names since 1990. I went from full time to part time and in the last year have had to go on food stamps to make ends meet. I have a son in college and a daughter in high school. I've been in school full time for a year now, and I love it! I have another year to go before I can actually think about leaving MQ. I never thought I would do anything else for a living. I used to love being an MT.

For those who are in school ... - MME

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm sooo happy to read this exchange. This is exactly what I needed to hear, and to know that some of us have the courage to put even one toe out of the MModal cesspool fuels me to do the same.

For those of you in school full time, can you give some tips on how you balanced your schedule with work and family in addition to full-time school work? If I go back I'd go full time too, but just curious about how difficult it is/was to earn the income you needed while you went to school.

in school - advice--sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I have to say that my situation probably doesn't apply to most of you. My girls have graduated from college and are on their own. My husband makes enough money to support us, although it will be tight without my meager contribution; however, I did take out student loans to pay tuition, hoping that I will earn enough once finished to easily pay it back. The biggest and most important thing for me though is that my dear husband is the cook in our family, and he does all of the cooking and grocery shopping (things which I abhor). In exchange for that, I do the yard work and clean house, both of which are pretty basic.

Advice: look for scholarships, especially those for women pursuing a career change. Also, apply for student loans and grants. And buy used books on line, never at the college bookstore!

Advice - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I just finished school in May. I did work full-time at MM, but I switched my hours around to be able to accommodate my school schedule. I took some morning classes and some evening classes on varying days. I went to school Monday-Thursday with Fridays off so that gave me the weekend to study and get my homework done. Remember, that with college courses you are not in school all day, maybe 4 hours. Also, you do not necessarily have to take a full-time load, which is 12 hours. You can go part-time at first to see how you like it and what you can handle.

My kids are older, 18 and 13, so they thought it was pretty funny that I had to study right along with them!

I am not saying it is easy, but it can be done. Just keep your eye on the prize at the end and know that it is only 1 or 2 years out of your life (depending on what you go into). I always said I can put up with anything for that amount of time as long as something good comes out of it in the end.

Best of luck to you and you will not regret it!

Good for you!!!! I did the same thing when-sm - On My Way Out

[ In Reply To ..]
I was 50 years old. Because of my extremely low wages with MModal, I've been able to get numerous grants, scholarships, and financial aid over the past 4 years. I'm graduating in 1 semester. I'm really starting to get some good hits on my resume. It's just a matter of time. I applied for a great job yesterday in my new field. I had some very good advances today in my new company.

If I can answer any questions for you at all just ask. Returning to school is not easy, but it's sooooo exciting. At 50, I found that I learned so much faster and retained so much more. In 4 years I haven't had to pay a dime for my education. I will at some point, but I will be well equipped at that point.

Sorry, but I get so excited to hear about MT's going back to school.

As long as - anonna

[ In Reply To ..]
It needs to be pointed out that you rarely have to pay grants back. Usually this only occurs if you withdraw from all your classes in the middle of a semester. If you don't make good enough grades the school will put you on 'Financial Aid Probation" and give you one semester to raise your GPA to the minimum. If you do not, then they stop giving you any kind of financial aid (grants and loans).

Look at your schools fin aid webpage and read their rules on SAP Satisfactory Academic Progress

Do you have to pay Pell grants back? - Meerkat - nm

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