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I have not worked in 6 years, and only have 3 months experience, is there hope in finding a Medical - Crissy

Posted: Jul 05, 2012

I graduated from a local Technical College with a Certificate in Medical Transcription. I had spent a year searching for a company that would hire someone new, but had no luck. Then, out of the blue a local company had seen my resume and offered me a job. I got the job, but the thing was I was almost 7 months pregnant with my second child! I had only worked a couple months until our baby was born and after consideration, decided not to come back so I could be with our baby full-time. Well, it has been 6 years and our baby is now going to school. I have been searching for Medical Transcriptionist jobs online and I am not having any luck because I don't have even a year of experience. I am also worried that I have been out of work too long to be considered. Working for the same company is also not an option because they never have any openings and are laying off a lot of their employees.

Is there any hope of finding a Medical Transcriptionist job, or should I just give up? I thought about taking MT classes again, but my husband says it's a "nonexistent" job anyway.

Any thoughts?

My opinion - Dickens

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you could find companies that are willing to hire new transcriptionist (that's *kind of* where you fall). There was an ad here on MT Stars not too long ago that was specifically looking for new transcriptionists. The caveat is that the pay likely will be very low, but you can work your way up them, if you don't want to take a refresher class.

I have not worked in 6 years, and only have 3 months experience, is there hope in finding a Medical - MT2011

[ In Reply To ..]
If I were you, I would change careers. The way things are going now, MTs are getting paid barely anything and the companies expect the world from us for 4 cpl (edited) and 8 cpl (typed) (the going rates). I have told at least one other person considering going into transcription to pursue another career. It ain't worth it. Look at the lawsuit against Transcend - that should give you a pretty big clue as to what's going on in this industry.

Honestly...I wouldn't bother - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
I think your husband is correct. If you have to go get training anyway, I would do something else. Honestly, it is a barely above minimum wage job for the majority at this point. I am seeing that new entrants into the field are getting as little as 3 cpl for editing (which is 99.9% of the job now).

I have been doing this for 15+ years and the changes the biz has gone through are drastic and it is not an occupation I would recommend to my worst enemy.

MT has gone way downhill in the last few years - Leaving MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I have only been working as an MT since 2008, so I am very new to the profession. I have gained some great experience in that time, though, and I sat for and passed the CMT exam as well. I am now transitioning out of MT because of how much it has gone downhill in the short time I have been doing it. I have topped out at my current company at 8 cpl for straight typing, and I am not about to edit VR for less than that. I try to discourage anyone I can not to get into MT. It is a really tough business. Unless you are just looking for a hobby, you might be better off doing something else.

Crissy - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
You need a good education from a school that uses the SUM program. Think Andrews or M-TEC. It IS possible to have a career in MT today, but you have to have the right school AND experience. Good luck to you.

The right school - On Site MT

[ In Reply To ..]
I wasn't sure where I should post my message so I'll just add on to this so I don't have to start a new thread. I heard an advertisement on the radio yesterday for a school that was holding informational meetings at some local hotel trying to sign people up for MT training, I won't say the name of the school. I just had to laugh, and wish I could be at the meeting to tell people to explore other career choices. I'm sure many of the people there won't know anything about transcription, will sign their names on the dotted line and part with their money and then realize what they are getting into. Most of those people probably won't get jobs, partly because of the training but also because of the economic situation in out country. The MT jobs are there and it is possible to have a career if the desire to learn is there, but it is not something to do because you "want to work at home." I'm rambling but I have to wonder how the people who try and sell those programs such as the one I heard advertised sleep at night, they have to know the job outlook for MT. Anyway, I agree with Old Pro: Choose a good school, but only do it if you are really serious and willing to work hard, not as something to do while you're home with the kids.

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