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You realize by doing that they're making more money & you're making less? You should reconsid

Posted By: Jen on 2005-11-22
In Reply to: I'd lower it, but I'm a softie at heart so you might want to ignore me. nm - JustMyOpinion




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No they're not because I'm making more money on it....sm
than before the program was implemented.  I also know others who are making more money per hour  - and no one argues with more moolah! 
Don't know what you're complaint you're making with this post. sm

You stated in your original post that you don't want to work weekends or odd shifts. What is your definition of an odd shift?  Second shift?  Third shift?  Sounds like you want to work M-F on days.  Sounds kind of rigid to me. 


Personally I like second shift, so everyone working days means more work for me! 


you're making things up as you go along...
Immigrants make cents on the dollar, so what are they gonna tax?  When they become citizens, they get more benefits from the gov't, like healthcare, food stamps, costing the U.S. more money.  There is construction in my area, Spanish words flying all over the place, i'm willing to bet I can't find a handful of them with a greencard.  Gimme a break.  Its ALLOWED to go on.  There are too many of them here for it not to be.
Well you're sure making some assumptions here
all of which are about them not valuing you enough.

Maybe they want you to stay longer than just Thanksgiving day because they want to spend some time with you, and maybe that is why they are suggesting you come the day before and stay until the day after. Maybe it has nothing to do with not valuing you enough to go pick you up at the train station. Maybe they miss you and want to see you.

It's just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet you don't have a great relationship with them to begin with and don't see them often. Maybe they don't know how to say to you comfortably that they would like to see more of you. Maybe they really, really want to see you, and think that because you only intend to come for one day that you don't really want to see them very much.

Why don't you just go see them, keep an open mind, examine your assumptions to see if they are appropriate, be willing to have a good time in spite of yourself, and do whatever is necessary to repair your relationship with them? Can't hurt, might help.

And enjoy the turkey and pumpkin pie!

Thanks! You're right; it's all about making the right choices. NM
x
You're making it much harder
x
We're not basing this on what YOU are making.
300 lines per hour equals $24 per hour. Even taking out for taxes and such, she is still doing well for a low-stress easy job. JMO. Sorry you are making crap at 8 cpl, but some of us do well at the same rate.
We're not basing this on what YOU are making.
300 lines per hour equals $24 per hour. Even taking out for taxes and such, she is still doing well for a low-stress easy job. JMO. The question was is 8 cpl ALWAYS too low a rate. Sorry you are making crap at 8 cpl, but some of us do well at the same rate, so no, 8 cpl is not always too low.
Geez, you're just making this too easy!

I worked for yeeears for a company where I was the primary MT on the account.  I produced what they considered to full-time MTs (no bennies except taxes being cut and matched).  I earned $4000/month.  I later went to work in the office and happened to see an invoice to the client.  I did the math and I realized they were clearing an additional $4000/month just based on my production.  So they were making twice again as much as what they paid me.Was I immature enough to think I DESERVED MORE?  No!


I had a good gig and I knew it.  I knew how valuable I was to both the client and the MTSO.  I knew how long I had worked this account, how certain doctors would only accept my work, how many of those doctors seeing my work at the hospital went back to their practices and signed on with that MTSO because of the quality of my work increasing the MTSO's business in the process.  I was loyal to them  and they were loyal to me.  On the 3 occasions I ran out of work, they paid me 2 weeks pay just so I wouldn't take a job somewhere else.


But let's analyze this since you seem you jumped on my wardrobe size.


First you need to understand this is a country where capitalism is own of its primary foundation.  Next you need to understand that out of that profit, the owner had to pay herself (how many times did she call me for help at 11:00 on a Saturday or Sunday because people bailed on her and she had alread worked 20 hours that day and just needed someone who would help her out?).  In addition to having to do MT work, she had a business to run.  That means maintaining good will.  You know, visiting your clients, checking in to see how things are, what can we do for you...in other words, being the marketing person also.  And god forbid she have a private life.!  She had to pay an office manager to manage all the qurky personalities of the at-home MTs, the daily vascillating work flow, putting out fires and preventing them, etc.  Next she had to pay her bookkeeper because god forbid anyone's paycheck was late or incorrect.  Then she had to pay a computer tech to help set up the new MTs, manage computer issues, make sure all the clients got their work, set up new clients, maintained the ASP, etc.  She also had to pay the in-house MTs.  She had to pay her accountant to make sure the books were in proper order and do yearly taxes, keep up with adding new state taxes to the computer when she hired an MT from another state.


She had to pay rent, electricity, phones, toll free lines for all her long-distance MTs, liability insurance, provide computers sometimes with no notice because someone's computer died overnight and she couldn't afford down time for that MT or the client, provide computer equipment for the client's, provide C-phones and Lanier stations, pay someone to clean the office twice a week...


Is the big picture a little more clear?  Where does this new-age feeling of entitlement come from?  Geesh, am I the only one on this site who can remember trying to pick 100 lbs of cotton in a day and feeling satisfied if I got near that figure?  And I'm in my 40s! 


The world doesn't owe you anything.  It was here first.


You're okay making LESS than you made 10-20 years ago?
I'm not. No, every "job" doesn't work itself DOWN the ladder of success. I'm working to earn a living, I'm working to have goals, to better myself and my way of life. I would never settle for a job that keeps paying less and less. Sorry, but I disagree with you but to each his own.
Mmmmm, now you're making me hungry. nm
x
FLMT - You're making me dizzy! (nm)
xx
And I suppose you're perfect in everything you do? No one was making light of the woman's sit

Make money? I'm not making any money because of my decision. You read my reasoning
You can agree with me or not, but don't make false assumptions please.
Making money with VR

Any of you who do this, how in the heck do you make any money? I accepted a job with a company for 4 cpl for VR, but I nearly have to type the entire reports over.  I was doing it part time and it takes so much time that I figured out I am only making 5.00 per hour.  What's the average rate for this?  I  gave it up, it's not worth it for the line rate, considering I was editing typed transcription as well that came back from India and it was just as bad and took just as much time.


 


 


making money?

I think the only way we newbie MTs can make any money is to make it ourselves, like counterfeiting. 


I consider myself still a newbie at almost 2 years of nearly full-time working at home with IC status.  Love my company and enjoy my work; it is mainly VR and 3 cents per line.  I am rather slow because I keep double checking everything, but on a good day at 8-10 hours and 800 lines I will make $24.  Isn't that encouraging?  


The extra dollars do come in handy and so appreciated for my farmer husband's income, but this could no way support a single income. 


Working for $3.00 per hour was great sometime in the past, you know?  Like 35 cents per gallon of gasoline in 1969. But it 2009.


I do think if we newbies hang in there long enough and become good at our work then we will move up to better pay.  However, we who work for 3 cents or 6 cents per line and are so thankful to be making even that are probably the ones others may blame for the poor pay since transcription companies can hire us so cheaply.


Don't know what the solution is.   


 


sure i was. i'm making fun of the people who are making a case for background checks, etc
to do medical transcription at home as if they may do something AWFUL with the info they receive. So if you want an invasion of privacy let's REALLY invade it and make sure fat chicks don't transcribe because they are so busy eating they can't get the work done, they mess up the keyboard with food and if they are provided health insurance they will raise the rates for the company sky high because their health risks are higher than others. Then there are the psychological issues overweight people bring to the table. After we eliminate fat people, we can go on to eliminate diabetic people who may have low blood sugar while typing and go into a spell and type the wrong thing. I could go on and on through the process of elimination. How about prescribed medications that may cloud your thinking? So you take Ambien to sleep but you have an Ambien groggy hangover when you are transcribing? Should they transcribe. How about your teens are on your last nerves and you take a Xanax? Should you be allowed to transcribe?
And you still end up making more money paying LD. sm

If you consider an 80-hour pay period (which I don't do), at $27 per hour with the 800-number company, you'd make $2160.


At $33/hour, paying $1.80/hour, you'd make $2640 minus $144 (a deductible expense also), still netting you $2496 -- substantially more than the company giving you the toll free number and less pay.


 


Makes no difference to me.  I personally wish you all would stay away from MDI-MD so I could have more work ... LOL


Making money - just curious
Just curious, but how does anybody here make any money if you are on this board all the time bashing people- that really takes a lot of energy up that could be spent on making money.
money-making docs? sm

As a hard worker in this industry to put my son through school to become a medical professional, I can tell you that after all my hard work and broken back, he is still paying student loans, works like an animal, hardly has time for his family, continues his education and is not "rich." He treats his staff like family (constantly haunted by his mother to do this) and barely has time to take a bathroom break. I know there are those with fast cars (always thought they did it to get to the patient faster, but I'm sure that's not the case with some of them) and those who are rude (perhaps not taught right by their moms) but some are just ordinary guys and gals who put their pants on one leg at at time like the rest of us and worry about the next payment like the rest of us. They're not ALL the same. I read another post about docs yawning while dictating. I think in most cases they're exhausted and the paperwork is just another thing to deal with after they put their kids to bed, if they get the chance to do that even. I didn't understand this until I "lived in it". As the babysitter, I can tell you, "it ain't pretty." They suffer just like the rest of us.


It is all about them making more money. If you have seen the News lately
they had a piece on money making is with those of us who own animals. Some will pay any amount to cure their pet, like chemotherapy for their animal, when the most humane thing would be to put them down.

Vet medicine is all about them making money now. Personally, I love my pet, but I will only do the basic healthcare, shots, exam, and that is it. They want blood work, lyme titer, check for diabetes, etc. I tell them NO, Absolutely NOT! She is healthy, 3 years old, and even if she has those conditions, which in most cases, the animals do not, she will not be treated. Who ever heard of a dog having diabetes or thyroid problems. It is an animal and I will not pay healthcare bills for a healthy animal for unnecessary things.

Watch your wallet, love your pet, provide a good home, feed them, bathe them, and give them their yearly checkup with shots and they will be fine.
If you are already making that kind of money
and working less hours then I don't know why you would want to change to an unknown. BTW, would you care to share who you are working for now making over 50K and 6 hours a day? Pls e-mail me privately if you like. I won't post it, I promise!
The up side to not making enough money is
that pretty soon the fridge will be so empty it will be significantly easier to clean.  And I do mean soon.
and that folks was where our "mom and pop" biz that we were making the money on...have gone!!
The biggies saw the opportunity to make the money that we were...and decided we made too much, so that is the story...long and short!! The future does not look good for us, only them and the india counterparts.
The money making part is true,
the Congress Center in Atlanta sold out for Sylvia's show and standing room only and I am sure her return show will be the same. It is like wrestling to some, not me, but entertainment and should not be sought out by people who are in the situation such as the missing kid's family. As long as psychics are out there, people will seek them out plus other off the wall treatments for different maladies. It is human nature but I would not want to be the one giving the advice.
You punch a level so you know you are making money?
I would never set something up like this to make myself go faster. I know if I don’t type the amount of lines I want per day, so simple I don’t have a decent check. Don’t need a stop watch, counter, etc. My motivation is bringing home the amount of money I want every 2 weeks. My way is really simple, just fast fingers concentrating on the end result.
I am making tons of money doing tapes.

Just like tapes get misplaced so does digital dictation.  Also, have you ever timed how long it takes to download and upload files?  I think it runs about the same.  I am assuming this is clinic work.  So, if you don't go the office, then you'll need patient lists faxed or e-mailed, what have you.  It also costs money to have a secure FTP site for transfer.  So, no matter how you look at it, there is that time taken for the administrative end of transcription so to speak. 


To the OP:  I would ask if the problem really is the delivery if you could cut back to two days a week and given them the option of typing STAT reports to be faxed to them OR you could ask if they'd go halfers on a courier service.  But, I think the problem is the cutting of the paper, so you may just want to mention that you'll need to attach a fee. 


I had to attach a FAX fee to an office that was constantly calling and requiring me to search for letters that they apparently hadn't filed yet, so I started charging them for that service.  Guess what?  They don't call as much.  Just a thought.


Regarding making money, I forgot to mention...SM
The standard for "average" typing speed is no longer the unassisted "The fox jumped over" standard as measured on a typewriter. You know, back when 75 was considered decent.

I don't actually know the new standard for a competent typist, but it's set by those who have trained themselves to use word Expanders extensively and is at very minimum double that on unfamiliar text. On familiar text with many phrases in storage, much higher.

Current pay rates are adjusting to the new reality that a worker is able to produce considerably more with today's technology than before. Those who aren't using it, and using it extensively, are finding their incomes dropping drastically. Best wishes.
Sorry you are so disgruntled but many of us, myself included, are still making money...
there have been changes but I am still making great money so I have no complaints...good luck to you though
All those folks care about is making MONEY.
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nice to hear that I'm not the only MT making such little money at this
And I've been doing it for a decade now and it keeps going down every year.

I've finally decided to take some classes in another line of work so I can get out of MTing but still work at home.
How long will it take to start making money as an MT?

I'm new to this career. Have only been working for 6 months or so. Does anyone have any advice for a newbie? How do you make a decent living on 6 cpl? Any advice for increasing speed? Thanks.


MB


I would be 43 and have no life at this time and wish I was making decent money, but not ;0( ...NM
NM
1200 lines should be a given. You could be making superb money!
x
Agree completely.....money making scheme....
xx
No. I'm making excellent money doing this (IC). I have no desire to leave this profession.
  
I have been around awhile, and will last making good money as long as this field does.
x
There are too many MTSO that whine about making not enough money to pay you a livable wage.

I applaud you for being truthful and NOT GREEDY..


Have done both, and still prefer at home, making more money and setting my own hours. (sm)
In-house your required to meet a productivity of nothing less here on the east coast of 135 to 155 lines per hour, not to mention the QA's done weekly!! Yes, weekly, random 10 reports per MT!! I never had a problem with the QA's always between 99.6% and 99.8%. But, you work straight, no talking, in your little box (I call it). Yes, the benefits are a perk, but not that much and I worked 2nd shift always, so it was 18% of my base wage. I am still making more at home productivity wise and take a break when I want to. But, like you said circumstances change. Good luck!!
Two jobs don't equal one when it comes to making money and not wasting time. sm
Recommend looking for one good job.
We paid hourly with incentive for high production. So she's making money when she's just
sitting there.  I don't know if it is a habit or not because this is the first time I've really had to work with her for any length of time.  I usually only work a couple of hours a day with her when our shifts overlap.  I think I'm definitely going to ask the girl I'm filling in for what she thinks about her.
Haven't heard in years. Supposedly making it harder to get money
xx
Curosity- I am curious if I am making the normal amount of money weekly for MT. Would anyone care
to share their weekly amount of pay? 
You live in a dream world if you think that MTSOs are making money hand over fist. Overhead? Add i
Banks charge about $200 a month for a business account plus .10 for every check deposited and written.

Ten people in an office? At $30k a year, that's $300,000 per year IF you can get them to work for only $30k. Add in 2 editors, an IS consultant, an accountant, a lawyer, rent on office space, checks, stamps for checks, software upgrades, phone lines, equipment for MTs, equipment for office staff, lightbulbs, toilet paper, a copier, a printer, paper, ink, pens, pencils, long distance charges to call MTs and customers, recruiting ad costs, taxes, benefits because most MTs are employees now because the IRS says most should be classified that way, high-speed internet, internet service provider because hotmail and yahoo are free but not professional, email encryption, fax machine, fax phone line, staplers, staples, paper clips, file folders, file cabinets, etc etc etc.

I am not whining. I am just stating facts. Add that to the headache of juggling schedules based on unpredictable workload due to unpredictable amount of people needing medical attention, the headache of billing clients who pay when they want regardless of what your terms are, covering for people who get sick or need time off, and it is not an easy thing to do. I am lucky that I am a workaholic and love what I do. Am I rich? No. Will being an MTSO make me rich? Probably not. Do I make more than I did as an MT? Yes, but at a higher price.

Don't judge until you walk in someone's shoes. I bought a new vehicle this year, a 2005 Ford Taurus, trading in my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee and actually had comments made about how it must be nice to be able to buy a new car.
You're working to make money, not to spend money.
These people should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of people this way!
You're right......it really is JUST about money
xx
Why is it that when you owe money, they're real

jerks about collecting on it, such as taxes or medical bills.  However, when the shoe's on the other foot, do you think they pay up in a timely manner?  We're owed tax money from 2002 that we're still waiting for.  There was some kind of mixup with the IRS, so we had to pay the taxes or they threatened us with collection.  I had to file an amended return to get our money back from their mistake.  The amended return was received over six months ago.


The medical company owes me a refund from a year ago because they forced me to make payments and threatened me with collection on my account.  They are the ones that didn't provide documentation or follow up with the insurance company.  I had to do it for them!  I should be happy that I'm even getting my own money back, but I need it today.  Even the bank messed up on me last night.  We made a car payment by check that got taken out through ACH electronic check processing and they deposited the check, too.  They got a double car payment from us because of their mistake.  It's going to take the bank two days to research it and process the credit on my account.  I don't think so!  These people need to cough up MY money NOW!


Actually, no, it's poor you! You're the one who paid all the money
ha
DixieDew, I don't always agree with your political views, but you're right on the money in thi

I hate when companies treat us like we're working for pin money

Am I supposed to be happy when a company only gives me 200 or 300 lines a day when they promise you a certain amount (that is higher than that)? How would the company employees (not us lowly transcriptionists) feel if the company told them that they were only getting paid 100 dollars this pay period, that there wasn't enough work. Not enough to pay bills and keep food on the table, just pin money.


Sheesh.


I thought the same thing. Justify the EXTRA MONEY they're keeping
You know full well if the foreign MT was the same price they'd quit looking there too. It's all about the money. Who's he fooling?