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

Prospective Student - keb

Posted: Aug 07, 2011

HI everyone. I'm seriously thinking of doing medical transcription as a career change. I've been researching schools for about 4-6 months. I realize that Andrews and M-Tec are considered the top two, but I just can't afford these schools. I have read several posts on this forum and am wondering if it is possible to get schooling elsewhere that will give me the information I need to find a job and work successfully. I've been trying to network here in my state and am beginning to lose hope. Any assistance and advice would be great to hear. I know this is a hard working position and I have a lot of respect for those of you who work as MT's and Editors, etc. I have a B.A. in English and a keen interest in the medical field. I was really hoping to make this career change. Any advice?

prospective student - read, and reread

[ In Reply To ..]
Read and reread, think about what you are reading. The schools listed as the best ones are listed for a reason. Go through the advice from OldPro in the posts under newmt and see what she has to say, very wise about what you need to have in a school in order to make this profession work. If you have read the posts and you know there are more cons and pros for this profession, make sure you are really willing to go through all of this. No experience, no hire!! No good schools like those listed, no hire!! Ask yourself, WHY do I want to do this, when I KNOW it is tough to get into and I can't afford the best schools. Do something else in medical if you have keen interest in this field. Look at what others have recommended to do instead, and why a lot of MTs are leaving the field. Been doing this 37 years, wish I could start over. This would not be the profession for me. Don't think that you will be able to make the $40K like the ads say. Just go back and read the posts again, especially about the schools. The subject has discussed in many archives on the newMT forum. Read, read, and then think about i.

keb - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
In today's economy and transcription environment, you cannot NOT afford one of these two schools. Please read and do background research extensively. You need something that uses the SUM program and has real, live instructors, as opposed to answer keys. You do know that most MT companies require a five-year minimum of experience, yes? The only time I have ever seen that requirement waived was for grads of Andrews and M-TEC. You really cannot afford to not give yourself the best change at success. Good luck to you!

Thank you and common sense - keb

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you for your responses! It makes sense to wait to attend the best. I have that opportunity and feel thankful for that. Thank you again for your responses.

keb - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
keb, have you actually spoken with recruiters from M-TEC and Andrews? It is my understanding that they offer many plans, some no-interest loans, payment options, etc. It may not be as hard as you think to afford a good education. In 27 days I will leave the MT world (except as a consultant on some developing projects for other MT companies). The thing that has truly broken my heart (and made me mad!) is to see young people (single mothers especially) get taken in by these "institutes" and other such "schools" that advertise in the pages of women's magazines. They generally have a big banner that says "Earn 40K a year!" Of course, people are taken in by that. The implication is that newbies will soon be rolling in money--NOT! And yes, I earn well over 40K a year even now, but it has taken me since the sixties to do it. I know that there are many of these "institutes" that will take a person's money and will not prepare them at all to succeed in the MT world. So they either end up leaving (not having even really started), OR they end up going to a good school anyway. There are several of these "institutes" and "universities" that MTSOs are wise to. They are infamous for their lack of a good curriculum and many times their instructors are not even MTs themselves! When we see applicants with educations from these places listed on their resumes, we just file them in the famous round file, not because we are mean, but because we know that these MTs are in no way prepared to do the work as it needs to be done. I am not going to name the schools on here; you can all do your research. But please, do contact both Andrews and M-TEC and ask their people what your options are. It might not be as financially burdensome as you think. And no, I am not now, nor have I ever been affiliated in any way (or even spoken to) either school. I just know a quality school when I see it, just as I know a scam when I see it. So, please, do your homework. Good luck to you!

Would not recommend M-Tec - workingmom

[ In Reply To ..]
I recently graduated from M-Tec and I had the worst experience. After being told that I could go as fast as I wanted, I found out that the payment program I was on had specified shipment dates and the recruiter had lied to me. I got 3 months ahead at one point and had to wait for another shipment.

Also, I had 3 different instructors while I was there. The first two were awful. I was waiting up to 2 weeks at a time to get responses from my tests. When I complained, oh, imagine that, my grades got worse for some reason. My final instructor was good, but I only had her for the final 2 months.

Another problem I had with them was that the day I graduated is when I found out that they weren't going to give me the "job placement help" that they had talked up during recruitment because the payment program I was on wouldn't have me paid off for another 6 months. They knew the whole time I was doing the program and didn't tell me until my graduation day. I felt lied to yet again. I complained and did get access to the forums, but it took me filing a BBB complaint to get that.

It is a comprehensive program and I was lucky enough to find an employer that did hire me as a new graduate, but only because I came from M-Tec. However, if given a second chance I would not choose them. The stress and complete crap I had to deal with wasn't worth it.

workingmom - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I hear more and more negative things about M-TEC. This is sad. I think I will recommend only Andrews from now on just to be sure I do not lead people astray. I am sorry you had this experience.

Andrews does have a special plan to save money on the down payment - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Ask them about a new plan they have that saves money on the down payment. You can really save some money. If they have any books that have been returned, you can take those instead of new ones and get a reduction in the down payment. You have to ask about it though because I don't think it's mentioned on the web site and it all depends on what they have on the shelves at that time. It can't hurt to ask.

Love MTEC - About2graduate

[ In Reply To ..]
I understand workingmom's frustration with MTEC, but I am about to graduate and personally I love MTEC. I am on my 2nd instructor, but I think Mike DeTuri (our tech instructor) is worth his weight in gold, along with both of the instructors I've had. I have been working the program much slower, and have taken the full 18 months to complete it (12 months plus 6 months extentions). I have a toddler and a 3rd grader, so I have quite a few distractions, especially during the summers :) Workingmom's main beef was with the payment plan and timeline issues, so unless you're in dire need to get through at lightening speed, I wouldn't worry too much about going there.

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