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

Considering MT career and have a few questions - EBB

Posted: May 06, 2011

Hi! I have never posted here before but have been reading several of the posts and found them really informative. I hope my questions will not be too redundant. I tried to see if they were asked in the last 3 months and couldn't find them, so if they were, I am sorry.

I have a friend who graduated from Career Step and really liked it. I am considering a possible career in MT, but am not sure. I have noticed it seems very difficult to break into without experience, so that is a concern. The other thing is that, when reading the Career Step website there is the distinct impression that this career offers a lot of flexibility. It is recommended for mom and that sort of thing. That is a big motivation for me as a current stay-at-home mom looking to make an income. In the ads I have looked at here under the job seeker's board, I am not seeing that kind of flexibility. My friend works a set shift, Monday through Friday. I see jobs with regular shifts, not "make your own hours". Is the whole flexibility thing a myth and am I in "la la land"? Are there jobs where you can set your own hours or is this false information to try to entice us to take the program?

Thanks in advance for your time and any help. I am looking for complete honesty, because if jobs with schedule flexibility are near impossible to find or a thing of the past, I may have to reconsider.

EEB - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
In my experience, jobs with complete flexibility are a thing of the past. With TATs so tight these days, MTSOs need to have some idea of when people will be working. I think Career Step has a good ad campaign going; I do not necessarily think what you are seeking is the reality of the MT marketplace today. Just remember, advertising is all about telling a potential buyer what he or she wants to hear. I also see ads that say people can make 40K their first year--NOT! And another thing to remember is that the PATIENT'S NEEDS are the number one consideration, not our schedules as we would like them to be. If I want to go to Venice Beach this afternoon, but alas, there are five long stats stacked up that my boss wants to be done in two hours max, who do you think will win? :) BTW, have you spoken with recuiters at Andrews and/or M-TEC? I am firmly convinced that people do much better with programs that have live instructors as opposed to answer keys. Just my two cents' worth. Good luck to you.

Hey, Venice Beach? - Jaz

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My old stomping grounds. I grew up there and miss it, now in Oregon. Bet it has changed a lot in 30+ years. Are the canals still there?

Jaz - Venice Beach - Old Pro

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Yes; we are not allowed to post links on here, but Google "Venice Beach," there is a whole book written with pictures of the beach. You might like it.

The flexible schedule thing just depends on the job -sm - ICMT

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as an employee obviously you will have set hours. As an IC they cannot "tell" you when to work but if you agree to their terms of when they want you to work (usually a 12 hour window) then you need to abide by that. I am a true IC the only thing that binds me is the customer's TAT requirements which unfortunately is the next morning so it is 24-hour TAT but not in the truest sense of the word, obviously I work mostly at night but to split it up some, some during the day and some at night. Just about every company I have worked for has been like that, some have been true 24 hour TAT but in the age of fierce competition the TAT has gotten shorter along with the cruddy pay.

As for getting hired, yes it is very hard. I have only been an MT for about 9 years now, I got in at that right time before it got super difficult. I helped a friend get in recently with my MTSO, but otherwise I think she would have had a very hard time find a job. All I can say is apply, apply, apply, followup, be persistent but not too nuts about it. Every few years I usually switch jobs just for something new and hopefully for something better. Right now I am where I plan to stay for a while though, don't make a fortune (about $25K a year) but it is clinic work, steady and okay pay (with spaces and all normals/templates paid). I suggest trying to contact small MTSOs and stay away from the nationals where most everyone is miserable from the sounds of it on these boards. Good luck!

MT Career - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
In my opinion, Career Step is not being entirely truthful in regard to what you can expect from an MT career. Is it possible to make 40K per year? Yes, but not as a new grad. I've been at this 35 years and just reached that mark, but I have a great on-site job and work like a dog. I've also had several other MT jobs over the years but none of them allowed me to set my own hours. When you are at home, there may be more flexibility than going to an office to work, but more and more I am seeing that employers want you to work a schedule and quite a few of them want at least one weekend day. You have to stay within turn around time on your accounts and you need to be available for stat requests. By the way, if you find any other job that lets you work when you choose, please let me know. Be aware that this is a production based job and if you don't work, you don't get paid. I used to think Career Step was one of the better schools, but now I think that they are more interested in getting students to sign on the dotted line and getting their money. If you are serious about being successful as an MT, I'd advise looking into other schools too.

MT Career- anonymous - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you have it pegged pretty well. All you say is true. My biggest grip with Career Step is that many grads tell me how unwieldy it was having to work with an answer key. I would much prefer to hire someone who had had live instructors (Andrews, M-TEC). Of course, this is just personal preference, sort of like you say tomato, I say tomatoh. But I think your analysis is spot-on! I hope people will listen to you because you are wise and have BTDT. I personally would rank Career Step a good distance behind Andrews and M-TEC. My feeling is that in this fiercely competitive economy, why not get the very best education you can? I say, go for the best out there!

Whoops! - Old Pro

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I meant GRIPE, not GRIP! Goodness me, I have been out in the sun too long today! (Sure was fun, though.)

Thanks--this was so helpful - EBB

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I really appreciate all of your responses. So it sounds like it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find a job where you make your own hours. Career Step is really pushing that aspect: "Great for stay-at-home moms/flexibility/make my own hours" etc. It also sounds like getting a job without experience is a real challenge, and many say the pay is not what it used to be. So far, the working at home aspect is the only thing that makes it different from most other jobs.
Thank you! I am glad I found this website. I am not ruling out MT completely, but it definitely makes me reconsider.

I have twins and when they were babies, worked up into the wee hours of - the morning and took care of

[ In Reply To ..]
my babies during the day. No way I would have ever gotten any work done while they were infants and toddlers. In the teenage years now, it is quite easily done. I thought I was going to die from lack of sleep and after 3 years, I finally put them in daycare/preschool. I would never advise someone that this job could be done with young ones hanging around. I used to work with a woman who would call me to listen to blanks and she was always yelling at her kids while on the phone with me (this was before I had kids. Hence my desire to work while they slept and to never treat them that way). My job can be flexible and I am able to take off when I need to and then just get back on and finish out my day, but most of the time, I have my own set schedule so that I can get it done and not be tied to the computer all day (which feels like it when you stop and start all the time, feels like you put in 12 hours just to work 8). I have worked at a couple of places where you had to work the set schedule and then request time off, which I absolutely hated, especially if I just needed to take 30 minutes to an hour to pick up a kids or something, just seemed stupid to have to fill out a request for time off form to me.

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