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would like to get some opinions on voice recognition - dm

Posted: Jan 12, 2011

I would like to get some opinions on voice recognition. I've never done it before. I've heard pretty much negativity about it, and it scares me because it sounds like a lot of companies use it. Also it really concerns me because I have to make at the very least so much amount of money to pay my bills! I've done clinic, hospital and at-home transcription. The at-home transcription was not a good experience. I actually had to go back to the hospital part-time and work a total of 60 hours per week between the two jobs just to make what I was making at the hospital 40 hours a week and make enough to pay my bills. Needless to say I went back to the hospital full-time. Unfortunately the hospital I was working at downsized and I lost my job because I was the low man on the totem pole, so here I am again. There's positives about working at home, too, though. I really appreciate any comments, please. Thanks!

Am I doing something wrong? - dee

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I'm new to this site and am wondering if I'm doing something wrong. I'm not getting any responses to my messages. Does dm stand for something? That's what I have been putting as my nickname in the messages... Thanks!

DM, the trick to liking VR is to make enough money at it. - Skilled Editor

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After all if you're doing that, you're cruising along fast as you work, proud and confident in your abilities, satisfied with your production, ready and able to go shopping when you sign off, and sleeping well at night.

I, like a lot of people, do like VR even better than MT. Since it is the job for most of us these days, though, I wouldn't waste a single moment worrying about whether I'll like it, only how to get good at it.

A big key to understanding why so many are not happy is to understand that most VR is now paid on a production basis, not hourly. Plus, very importantly, the rates paid reflect extensive use of modern technology and keyboarding techniques to speed up production. Also, as you know, in these hard economic times, pay rates in general HAVE dropped lower than they should be, so it's important to understand many are still doing okay even so. The key is to become one of those.

All this adds up to the fact that to be a happy production worker, VR or MT, you have to become an above-average producer. The problem isn't VR for anyone with a normal degree of ability for it. The problem isn't whether you prefer working remote or in-house. The problem, and your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is getting that production up. Production = time worked x speed (LPH). (BTW, a casual 10-minute break turning a 60-minute work hour into a 50-minute work hour = a 17% decrease in income.)

A sad fact is that lot of MTs performing well (even extremely well) at existing jobs didn't notice technical advances occurring elsewhere in the industry and only later, like when forced to take a new job, found their skills had fallen behind the times. They put in the hours, but the speed isn't there.

IF this is the case for you, you will need to make a list of things to do to get speedy again. Determining your goal is simple: Desired income divided by line rate = # of lines you need to produce each day, divided by 8 hours = the hourly speed to build toward.

I recommend looking on this forum and others for tips on how others are doing it. Make a list. Then start implementing it. Very extensive use of an expander will definitely be included, even for editing, as your research will soon show. If with use of an expander you produce 1.3 keystrokes for each one you type, you're a third again faster, and that's big money over a year.

Best wishes. You can make good money. You can make good money. You can make good money. :)

Thanks a lot for the info! I appreciate it! nm - dee/dm

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x

My advice? Keep your hands on the keyboard and off your mouse. - it helped me

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nm

I would figure how many lines an hour you can transcribe. - sm

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A few people will tell you how lucrative VR is, and for them it may very well be. It all depends on how much you are paid per line for VR and how many lines you can straight type per hour.

If you are straight typing 300+ lines per hour and your company is paying you 50% of your straight typing rate for VR, you will not make money. It may be possible to make 600+ lines on VR editing, but not every hour of the pay period for every pay period.

It also depends on the percentage of correction the employer allows. Some employers will only put a dictator through to VR if they need less than 90% correction, some will put them through at 75% or less. If you have a company paying you 4 cpl for VR on an account that you were normally being paid 8 cpl for straight typing and producing 300+ lines per hour, and then they throw the 75% correction percentage into the mix, you'll go broke.

Very good point. Unfortunately, most of us have to - Skilled Editor

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actually take a job before finding out if it pays appropriately for the work, and it is important not to stay going broke over months if pay is inappropriate. I did that for several months once, the last 5 or so after I knew I needed to leave--dumb, dumb, dumb.

That said, way too many people assume it's just the pay that's causing them to go broke instead of their skills, when very often low pay's contributing somewhat and low production a whole lot.

Making a living at production work does mean working harder and longer within an 8-hour schedule than hourly. It is tiring. There's no getting around that reality for anyone who takes a production pay job. That 17% drop in pay I mentioned above would change a potential $40K annual income to $33K or $35,000 to $29,000. That's just 10 minutes from each hour staying on the clock while not producing lines. So easy to do, a phone call to see if a part for the fridge is in stock, holding something while hubby hammers, shoving a roast in the oven quick-quick.

The plus side is that many are finding it possible to make significantly more money these days on production than hourly pay and that others are able to keep their incomes up in the face of dropping rates by keeping their wandering bottoms just somewhat more securely in the chair.

You have so many good points. Thanks. ~nm~ - chucklz

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x

You make a very good point about percentages - MT

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At 75% (which is what my company uses), some reports, especially the longer ones, require very heavy editing and it is virtually impossible get a good "rhythm" going when you're editing every 4th word. I had a 12-minute report yesterday that took nearly 45 minutes to edit and proofread a second time because it was, frankly, garbage. I did VR previously at MQ, so I am not an editing "virgin" by any means.

I am hoping that as the VR system "learns" these drafts will get better, but there's not much VR can do when, in the middle of the lab section the doc says "go back to the hpi and add..." and dictates an entire paragraph that not has to be edited and then moved to another section.

At this point I'm going to try to stick it out until spring, while keeping one eye on other opportunities both in and out of the MT field.

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