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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Feast or famine with VR (sm)

Posted By: Anon on 2007-05-01
In Reply to: Transcend anyone? - anon

It seems they are constantly calling you off.  I hated working that way.You get momentum and then you are told to stop working.  Many empty promises with the VR accounts.  Too many I know have had high hopes to be shot down.  If you don't mind working under those conditions it might work for you.  Good luck.


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If you like feast or famine (sm)
work on their demand and off when they command, evening and weekend work, poor management, poor communication, and don't mind companies that offshore, it might be the place for you.  I'd give them a hands down.
That's how they are...feast or famine!
nm
feast or famine

The nature of the transcription business, from personal experience, is feast or famine, with usually not much in between.


In other words, learn to get while the getting is good so you're prepared for the leaner days and can carve out a decent average for yourself in accordance with your budget and paycheck you have to make to pay your bills. You DO have a personal budget and know the income you need to pull in on a consistent basis, right?


Having said that, if you're with a company for several weeks, and there is little to no work at all, that's when you begin sending out resumes and executing Plan B (you DO have Plan B, right? And C and D if necessary, right?). Cycles are expected. A consistent bare trickle that never picks up, is not. That means the company has really bad personnel management skills or is losing accounts and unable to pull any new accounts in, and so it's time for you to consider your options because things are not going to change.


If this is really your situation, then you should a) notify your current employer that you're scaling back to part time or per diem (and provide them with the times you will be available) and b) get another job ASAP to make up for it. I know a few MTs that work for more than one company, part time, and between the two pull in a nice paycheck. It's smart, especially if neither of them have guaranteed work for you to fill a full-time schedule and make a full-time paycheck.


Remember, you're working for YOU, not your employer. And you should have high expectations from yourself to meet your own needs instead of relying so heavily on other people, whether they send you a paycheck or not. :)


feast or famine

The nature of the transcription business, from personal experience, is feast or famine, with usually not much in between.


In other words, learn to get while the getting is good so you're prepared for the leaner days and can carve out a decent average for yourself in accordance with your budget and paycheck you have to make to pay your bills. You DO have a personal budget and know the income you need to pull in on a consistent basis, right?


Having said that, if you're with a company for several weeks, and there is little to no work at all, that's when you begin sending out resumes and executing Plan B (you DO have Plan B, right? And C and D if necessary, right?). Cycles are expected. A consistent bare trickle that never picks up, is not. That means the company has really bad personnel management skills or is losing accounts and unable to pull any new accounts in, and so it's time for you to consider your options because things are not going to change.


If this is really your situation, then you should a) notify your current employer that you're scaling back to part time or per diem (and provide them with the times you will be available) and b) get another job ASAP to make up for it. I know a few MTs that work for more than one company, part time, and between the two pull in a nice paycheck. It's smart, especially if neither of them have guaranteed work for you to fill a full-time schedule and make a full-time paycheck.


Remember, you're working for YOU, not your employer. And you should have high expectations from yourself to meet your own needs instead of relying so heavily on other people, whether they send you a paycheck or not. :)


IC only, work was feast or famine when I was there.
xx
Feast or famine is pretty much a given with
Sometimes you need to take the good with the bad. No employer is perfect, I guess.
Three words.. FEAST OR FAMINE..
That's all I have. Some good productive days, other times Mojave Desert and asked not to log on for a while to let the work built up. Wish I could be more help.
MTSO feast and famine

After working for a hospital medical records department for over 15 years, which I know realize was a cushy job and not the norm, and now working for 2 services and still not making enough money, I'm curious to know if anyone else is struggling financially because of the constant feast or famine syndrome.  I realize that on my FT job, they basically want transcriptionists available 24/7 even though you clearly have set schedule, and being available 24/7 is probably the only way to make your quota with the ups and downs in the work.  Unfortunately, I have 2 jobs, 2 children, a dog and a significant other and really can't be strapped to this computer day and night...not to mention I need to eat, shower and sleep....


How is one to survive?  Should I be working 3 jobs? I need help.


Feast or famine is all part of this field.

I know that is tough to get used to, but even when you have your own accounts, the workload can wax and wane. It can also change overnight.  I have my own accounts that wax and wane.  You can never really count on anything being absolute in this field.  These companies can only offer you what they have because it depends on the dictator and how much work there is at any given time.  Almost any company will tell you this if you haven't already experienced the same.  It is unfortunate, however, this field does require some flexibility.  I guess that may come with more years of experience and being in the know upfront that nothing is forever.  A lot of time these larger companies only can sign 3-5 year contracts.  I am an IC (not for Transcend), and when there is a need, boy the e-mails come sailing through asking can I help, but when the work is low, my e-mail is dry.  Adapting and adjusting is all part of this field for sure.    


P/S:  I was a employee at one time for Transcend, but I do believe they are offering contracts at this point to IC as I did see a recent post. 


My solution to the feast or famine syndrome

I work part-time with a daily number of lines to complete, no set schedule.  My work is usually pretty steady, but over the holiadys when things slowed down, I decided to get another part-time job.  I ended up in direct home sales.  I make more money at it than I do MTing and I get to set my own schedule.  I usually do 2 shows a week, averaging about $150 to $200 per show.  The shows take about 3 hours in total and the computer work is about an hour or less. 


It also gets me out of the house and gives me a break from my kids.  I will say that I'm pretty fortunate that my husband has a M-F 8-4 job, so he's able to be home with the kids on the evenings I do these. 


I keep a separate checking account for my business and it's really neat to watch it grow.  I'm saving the money for a rainy day (or famine) and when I get to a certain amount, we're putting in a pool.  I'm halfway there already.


No way would I stay attached to my computer.  If things are slow, I put that time into my new business and work on getting new shows booked or party games or invitations.  There's always something productive to do. 


Three words..Feast or Famine.., disorganized, and bad communication, anything else??
I wish I had more positives other than pay is on time. That is about the only positive at all.
Unorganized, feast or famine work, rude people, AND
Their new accounts are unpleasant to work on to say the least. They are no different than a lot of the other companies now.
Feast or famine. Always a different work load every day, and you often run out if the work gets
s
3rd shift radiology can be like that. Feast or famine. Same with 3rd shift sm
ER work. Sometimes the doctors are too busy to dictate, so they do it at the end. Why don't you talk to them and ask about a different shift?
Famine indeed
I would rather have bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid that were a sure thing every day than to have a big steak once every couple of months.  My tummy would rumble a lot less.