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

.03Â¢ a line VR editing - esmom

Posted: Sep 29, 2010

Was just trying for a job with a company, sent my resume, asked me what hours I was looking for, how much experience I had and then dropped the bomb that they only pay 3¢ a line for VR editing. Is there anyone out there making a decent wage doing editing for so little?

See the post below to Transcend, etc. - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
IMO, it's impossible to make a living on 3 cpl for VR editing. That's just absolutely insane. Even if a person can produce 400 to 500 lines an hour editing, that's still only $15 an hour, and to do that consistently day in and day out is nearly impossible. There may be a few people out there that can produce 4000 lines a day, but what are they sacrificing to make it? Read the article below in the post to Transcend.

I agree (SM) - 3 cpl is impossible

[ In Reply To ..]
I took a part-time position that started off straight typing to train the system at 7 cpl. The first couple of paychecks were fine, tons of work for everyone, etc.

That being said, as soon as the system was sufficiently trained and the bulk of the reports were edited, my paycheck plummeted. Once the system was trained, there were far too many MTs on the account and it required almost 24/7 "babysitting" just to try to get the minimum lines in.

As my FT position paid 4.5 cpl for editing, I freely admit I had NO idea how vast the difference would be between 3 cpl and 4.5 cpl. I busted my bottom for 2 weeks trying to get in my minimum line counts and working my FT job. My paycheck for 2 weeks of that? Just less than $400, and I had worked 2-3 times as hard on that account since it was so frequently out of work than I did on my FT position.

I'd never accept a VR position for under the current rate I'm paid, 4.5 cpl. Anything less than that, unless you're strictly looking for "mad money," was impossible for me to make a living on.

We could make a far better living than that - recycling aluminum cans. -nm

[ In Reply To ..]
..

.03 editing - Joyce

[ In Reply To ..]
I just got the same bombshell - 03.8 for VR. I just lost my in-house job at $23.00 an hour. It was out-sourced to Medquist. Now taking a job at 0.38/line VR is a 50% cut in pay. How can I survive?

Joyce (SM) - 3 cpl is impossible

[ In Reply To ..]
Is that the rate MedQuist offered you, 0.38/line? Ye gads, that seems low even for THAT place!

I feel for ya, sister...and let me tell you, unless it's a complete DREAM of an account where you pretty much can just read and upload with minimal keystrokes, that 0.38 cpl is nearly, if not entirely, impossible to make a living on.

There are other MTSOs paying more than that. If they've given you any time at all to try to line up something else before you're absorbed by MQ, you might want to check out the Job Seeker's board here and send off your resume to other places.

Good luck to you...I've been in your place and it totally sucks.

3 cpl - esmom

[ In Reply To ..]
It wasn't Transcend or Medquist that I was applying to. So I guess there are a lot of really cheap companies out there! I'll keep looking!

Was it AllType? - nm

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x

Not AllType - Esmom

[ In Reply To ..]
It was ATSI

Bet it's ATSI - cant live on 3 cpl

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I'm good.
I'm fast.
I'm thorough.
A month with them? I'm broke.

So glad I left before they went VR - SassyPants

[ In Reply To ..]
I was with them for a year and a half at 8 CPL straight typing and was still broke.

Left them to go a "better" MTSO at 4.5 CPL for VR, even broker...

wah wah wah

Which MTSOs R paying more than 3-4 cpl for VR? - That is average rate now

[ In Reply To ..]
This seems to be the epidemic trend now at 3-4 cpl VR that majority MTSOs are offering. They have us by the ears, and they know it. Overabundance of MTs and offshoring cheap labor, dictates the compensation. It matters not to the MTSOs if you think its too low..they have many more to choose from needing work that will take the crumbs they offer. Beyond our worst career nightmare at what the MT profession has morphed into.

Company - HyperTyper

[ In Reply To ..]
I work at a company that pays 5 cpl for editing and 10 cpl for straight transcription. There is work all the time and it's a great account. There are still good positions out here. You just have to know where to look and be willing to work.

At 3 cpl, why even bother working at all? - definitely not worth it

[ In Reply To ..]
I mean, the whole reason to have a job and work every day is to make money, to pay the bills to keep the electricity on, to keep food on the table for the kids and family.

But at wages like 3 cpl, why even bother working at all. Maybe that's considered a good wage in other countries, but nobody here in the US can even begin to live on wages that low.

Given the choice between 3 cpl, I'd choose just not to work at all. Welfare pays more than that!

Some stats for you - - TX versus VR production and rates

[ In Reply To ..]
The claim is that the MT on average will see a 40% gain in production with VR.

PRODUCTION:
LPH TX ..... LPH ASR (40% gain)
200 ..... 280
250 ..... 350
300 ..... 420

RATES:
TX at 8 CPL
200 LPH = $16.00 hour
250 LPH = $20.00 hour
300 LPH = $24.00 hour

ASR at 60% of TX (5 CPL)
280 LPH = $14.00 hour
350 LPH = $17.50 hour
420 LPH = $21.00 hour

ASR FLAT RATE (3 CPL)
280 LPH = $8.40 hour
350 LPH = $10.50 hour
420 LPH = $12.60 hour

Flat rate VR rates drop pay in half literally. Percentage VR rates at least come close with the 40% gain in LPH.

You may well be able to produce more lines with good effort and training. This will have you moving through minutes of dictation at a much faster rate giving MTSOs an incredible TAT for their clients.

If you attain a decent line rate for transcription and the VR rate is percentage based, you could fare well.

If you take a flat transcription rate, however, that is as low as 3 or 4 CPL, you will find it nearly impossible to make enough money to sustain a livable wage.

Impossible to make it on VR? Not at all. Easy to make it on VR? Not exactly. Will VR make or break the MT-to-Editor process? Absolutely.

With straight transcription and a decent rate, an MT did not have to be stellar with production. However, with the VR scene, production will be key. It will literally be decent pay or poverty.

Ouch - Acid reflux anyone?

[ In Reply To ..]
That burns.

And may I ask - mtformanyyears

[ In Reply To ..]
where does quality fit into any of this, if you are reading and editing fast enough to do this much of an increase, how can the quality possibly be what it should? Unfortunately I have seen reports that were edited and believe me, the quality was lacking in a lot of them. I work for a hospital and some of the reports that come back from the outside service still require editing on the part of our staff which is definitely defeating the purpose of VR.

I can answer this for you - please see message - VR Trainer

[ In Reply To ..]
Quality expectations and goals are no different for VR than for transcription. There has been, are and will always be those who provide higher quality with either process.

It is the same as when starting out new in transcription: Start with quality and build production.

With editing you must also learn the difference between hearing and attentive listening. You MUST pay more close attention to every word that is being actually dictated when editing. In the transcription process, as words were being heard your brain learned to quickly process and edit before your hands ever transcribed the text. In editing, you must pay close attention to the actual words as well as the content/meaning of the phrase, sentence and report to ensure that what is written is what is being dictated.

No one learned to do transcription and hit the ground running at 250 lines/hour. Those who focused on production/speed first usually have poorer quality because they did not begin with quality.

When learning VR editing, you must give yourself time to learn it. You learn it by practicing. You attain your goals by setting them in priority: Quality first, production second.

VR Trainer

TX vs VR VBC rates--Help! - math-challenged MT

[ In Reply To ..]
Job offer as a PT IC 600 lines a day minimum. 0.082 VBC TX, 0.058 VBC VR. Acct starts as TX and later goes to VR. So if I do 600 lines a day minimum at the above rates, what am I going to get paid? (I know VBC is no spaces). TIA!

Excellent, TX Versus. Two additional very important factors - Skilled Editor

[ In Reply To ..]
also need to be considered--after taking careful note of TX Versus' point about potential benefit of VR pay as percent of TX pay.

First, again, applicants have to know what the acceptable amount of errors in a draft is set at. This is expressed as a percentage, ranges widely from total slop to "what do they need me for?" and is agreed upon by the contracting companies.

I've never worked for 3 cents a line, but I have done 600 lines an hour plus on clean accounts. Obviously, 3 x 600 is a very different ballgame from 3 x 400, or 300 (beggar wages), so no intelligent decision can be made without the answer to that question.

Also extremely important for everyone but rank beginners: What incentive and bonus pay plans are available? Whether a base pay is acceptable can also be completely dependent on what "raise" we can give ourselves.

regarding factors - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Skilled Editor posts:

"First, again, applicants have to know what the acceptable amount of errors in a draft is set at. This is expressed as a percentage, ranges widely from total slop to "what do they need me for?" and is agreed upon by the contracting companies.
"
Pray tell, Skilled Ed, What MTSO is going to give out that info to a prospective employee? The MTSO will tell the employee only that they need to maintain 98.5% (or better) accuracy on audits for SR, bottom line. You either clean up the SR to maintain such accuracy or you will NOT be employed for long.

To prove this point, recently one of the Top 3 MTSOs lost a large account to one of the other Top 3 MTSOs because of sloppy SR editing.

It is very misleading to give out advice that as SR editors, we can increase our pay if we find out what an "acceptable amount of errors" might be and produce accordingly. In the end, NO amount is acceptable.

She's talking about speech engine drafts, not MT drafts - Happy MT Robin

[ In Reply To ..]
when the voice record goes through the speech engine, it produces a draft. The speech engine acceptability, if you will, can be set at different standards of error, i.e., 70% accurate up to 80 or 90% accurate. This is from the software and before the MT ever gets their hands on it.

Yes, MTSOs do and should tell you waht percentage of error is accepted from the speech engine. That gives you an indication of how much work you are going to have to do on your end.

The speech engine then learns (in theory and depending on how the company manages it) and if the corrections are done consistently by everyone on the account it will learn after 10 reports or so for each dictator. That's why the accuracy % is so important. If it's a low percentage, then it takes a whole lot more work to train the speech engine.

This is all predicated upon whether or not the MTSO has limited MTs working on the account and if they have trained all of those MTs to do the corrections the same way. If they have hundreds of MTs working on varying accounts that have hundreds of providers, much like Medquist does, the speech engine never learns and the product continues to remain a big steaming pile of poo.

Thanks, Happy MT Robin. The bad stuff requiring - a higher line rate, of course. SKMT NM

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Unrealistic - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Why would you think an MTSO is going to tell an applicant the accuracy rate of the drafts its speech engine produces and compensate accordingly? This would fall under proprietary info. I highly doubt that info would be given up willingly to anyone.

SM, not unrealistic. Everyone HAS to find out. I asked - Skilled Editor

[ In Reply To ..]
last time I applied and was given a fairly accurate explanation of what the work would be. Not a specific percentage number, which I actually did not expect or ask for as the company has many, many accounts, but the information I needed in a form any experienced editor could understand.

Some companies may offer the information in a different form, such as explaining the range people have been making on an account, which works too. This thread, though, is about how to evaluate a line rate offered, and bottom line, pay = LPH x rate (pay = ?? x 0.003).

If they won't give any real info? Bad sign!! Clarity on pay issues is a very basic indicator of a company worth considering further and, of course, good companies see appropriate questions as a sign of professionalism and good sense in an applicant.

In what way is that an answer to the original ? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Most MTSO pay SR at 60% of whatever straight transcription rate they offer; ie, .08 lph straight/04.8 lph SR. Recenty it seems SR rate has been adjusted down even more to .03 regardless of what rate they pay for straight, if they even have any. This in no way gives a clue of how accurate that particulary MTSO's SR engine is.

Additionally, with so many MTs/MEs complaining of being out of work, the larger MTSOs that actually have enough work to keep their employees busy will also have the worst SR due to the fact they have literally hundrends of dictators at any one facility causing the engine to eventually be incapable of recognizing even the clearest dictation.

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