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Same theme, staying at home with the kids

Posted By: Grueling work? on 2009-06-21
In Reply to: VR couldn't take us down, but now the president is going to. - Cindy

This is just the most idiotic thing to write. I joined up with this profession before mothers only went into it so they could wear PJs and stay at home with Jr. That is a sorry reason to go into this job in the first place. I don’t find my job grueling, never have. Apparently you must be in the wrong place because your spouting off is wrongly placed. Discrimination against women and children. Please spare me from this. I am going to throw up in a minute.


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Staying at home
Hi: Our children are grown and gone and I still choose to stay at home. I like the flexibility that I have working as an IC. I like making as much or as little as I would like to. I like being off when my husband is so that we can spend time together, go see our children, travel. I even take my laptop with me when going to see kids so that I can work if I am scheduled. I could not do that working in an office environment. I agree with the other poster. You take the good with the bad. You pick your battles. Also, after working at home for so long, I'm not sure I'm a candidate for working in an office environment! That would mean wearing a bra every day! Hope you find the answers you are looking for.
I have 3 kids at home with me...
I have had my 7-year-old, 6-year-old, and 8-month-old home with me all summer and I've been okay.  Luckily, I work as an IC and the lady I work for is VERY flexible.  I take family time during the day if I need it, but mostly it works out okay.  It'll be better when the kids go back to school, but I'll still have the baby home.  I wouldn't recommend working as an employee where you have to sit at the computer for a set schedule of time, though.
I have two small kids at home
Mine are 6 and 3, and I have worked at home for something like 9 years, so they have had the benefit of mom being home their whole lives.

Granted, my oldest started 1st grade this past week, but the little one is home all day.

My oldest also has a disability, with ADHD and a sensory processing disorder, and when he gets upset the whole world knows it.

I do work as an employee, both with a full time job and a part time job. The full time is third shift, by my choice, because it is easier on one hand and because it is more money on the other.

My part time, though, is the middle of the afternoon, again set schedule. I manage the best I can because I know it is what is best for my children in the long run.

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful man in my life who helps as much as he can, but he is not their father and is not comfortable being left alone with my daughter (3) for too long at a clip...She just started living with us in June after living with her dad for a year, and so he is not sure about the rules with little girls yet.

My youngest had decided to be cute last year...She took my old keyboard, footpedal, and headphones, and set them up the floor next to my desk, where she proceeded to work like mommy

I set timers. I will work for 30 minutes or an hour...then take a break. With my full time job, i have a set schedule, but a 12-hour window to do 8 hours of work, so it is set but with a little flexibility.

My part time is a little stiffer, but it is all a mattet of balance and I feel i do okay.
Wow. Your kids are probably glad they don't have to stay home with you all day.
Why are you so grumpy?  She got on the board to share the precious moments that she was having with her kids, and you jump all over her!  Why do people have to be so miserable, and always find the negative in everything?
I wanted to stay home with the two kids...sm
and this seemed like a good fit.  I love my job some days better than others, but I think all jobs are like that at some point in time.  My husband is in the US Navy so what better reason to get a job that allows me to be at home, especially when he is gone for months at a time.
Plenty of kids of stay at home moms are screwed up SM
I am a single mother whose child was in day care from age 20 months until kindergarten. She is turning out a lot better than most of the kids in her school. She is a teenager now and does not drink, she is an honor student. Come on now.... it depends on each individual case. You cannot make a blanket statement like you just did. That is ignorant.
Working is actually a good example for your children.

Hmm....working on the holidays, PMS, kids home from school, wanting to find a better job but can'
s
Same theme, AGAIN
That old, thinking about what MTs should be thinking about what they will be doing to make living outside of this profession. Every single thread of hers is saying the same. She retired yet it seems like she really wishes the worst for the ones still working.
sensing a theme here
salt? cake? beans? crust? Stop it, you're making me hungry!
One common theme from so many posts below
regarding any transcription company - as MTs, we are not the company's friend. Even if you work for a small MTSO with 1 owner and 2 MTs, when it comes to business, you are not friends. A business owner is in business and will make decisions based on their business - and if that means a decision that will benefit them while not benefitting the MT, its still their right and 9 times out of 10, the owner or company is going to make the decision that serves their own best interest. With all these companies and rumors and dark whisperings of offshoring, losing accounts, whatever - Yes, figure that its true and make your decision as an MT based on YOUR needs - your family, your situation and bag the emotions forever. I think in this industry that is a common issue that allows MTs to be taken advantage of - perhaps because we are remote, we are so trusting and/or naive. We don't want the rumors to be true, we don't want our account to be lost, we don't want change. Again, having done this for 30 years, looking back, every rumor was true, every horrible thing did happen, and yet here I am and I'm fine. But I suffered terribly years ago when I stupidly believed that each MTSO was my friend and cared about me and my family. That was my only mistake. Once I dumped that emotional baggage, I've been fine. Keep informed as best you can - read different boards, compare messages - if the company has stock, watch the stock, sign up for Google alerts - whatever you can do to keep informed. When you learn something important, keep it to yourself and make your moves. Why warn 30 other MTs when an account is leaving? Settle yourself first and then give warning - chances are no one will believe you anyway! Remember - the messenger always gets killed with the message! But we must all toss emotions aside and never, ever combine feelings of friendship and that sort of loyalty with MT work. Never. Just check out the Main Board - how many poor women have posted about working for a friend, and getting stiffed for $$ in the end, or how many MTSOs have hired friends only to get taken advantage of? It just doesn't work, and don't take it personally. Business is business. We want to be considered professionals, we need to act like professionals. Its a sad state of affairs but reality in the USA that employers are never our friends. Period.  
Huge employee turnovers and struggling to get your lines seems to be a common theme.. No thanks.
I think I'll pass on that. I have worked for a hospital before and I never had to pay for any physical, background checks etc..
In the early days, MedQuist said working at home was a benefit, therefore at-home sm
employees did not receive as many benefits as those working in-house.  As I believe, it was something like at-home employees got 3 days off a year versus 10 days for the in-office employees -- WHAT?!!!  I told them it made no sense to me, since by working at home I was saving them money -- no need to provide office space, equipment, references, utilities, etc. -- yet I get shafted.  I was only part-time when they took over the previous company with their great policies, and I told them to kiss where I can't. 
There's a lot more staying than going,
and plenty that have come back after finding the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence after all. They are good to me! and i make more $ than ever elsewhere.
Why are you staying?
You obviously hate it. You are spewing venom everywhere. So why are you still there?
I'm Staying at TT. (sm)

I went into this job KNOWING I was not getting paid for headers and footers. I don't know any company that does pay for them, so it's no big deal to me.


I am also disappointed in the insurance hikes and am waiting to hear something, BUT the costs are still LOWER than the insurance I have now and with very low deductibles. I would only be saving $100 a month by going with TT's insurance as it stands now, but a $500 deductible is way better than $2000 we have now.


BTW, I also must foot the bill for this insurance. I am not sole provider for my family but pretty close to it, at least for 6 months out of the year. I don't think the grass is greener anywhere else and I'm staying.


Too many MTs look for the perfect job. There is no such animal. So, all you guys that are leaving just because of the above 2 reasons, go right ahead. It just means more work and $$ for me, and I appreciate it.


Yup, I am staying put
at TT! 
I'm staying...sm
I've decided to stick it out.  I know they said we would keep our same accounts, but I also know that those words are just that, words, and aren't guaranteed.  I will stay for now, but am keeping my options open just in case they decide to switch me to a crappy account where I cannot understand a single doc.  I just got used to these docs and would like to stay with them (and, they aren't the greatest, but at least I'm used to how they dictate and can understand them now).
Why I am staying with MDI
I have one of those high-ESL dial-up accounts, too. When I first started, I did not think I would ever round the learning curve, but I did and now can easily do more than 1200 lines per day. Be patient with yourself. Bayscribe is a wonderful platform that is elegant in its simplicity and is easy to use. The liaisons are really wonderful people and the QA are intelligent and kind people. Tech support is great, though I seldom need them. I have been in this business for many years (was an MTSO for a while and handled huge hospitals for the State of California before the state went belly-up) and I can honestly say I have never worked for a company that has the integrity and goodness MDI does. Hang in there! I am betting it will get better for you. Again, be patient with yourself. MDI is extremely picky about whom they hire and if you have made it onto the team, you doubtless have the right stuff.
I would recommend staying away from
That is all they do, lie and run out of work! Have you tried Keystrokes? I think they might be hiring. I do not know much about them but it might be something to consider.
" plan on staying right where I am and see it through the end"
Well, you do have staying power.  
Well we aren't staying
a very large portion of the MQ staff is leaving, the majority of which as I can guestimate have been with MQ for many, many years, made them what they are. I myself have 12 years in with MQ and am done in 3 weeks.  Don't get snotty with us...
The reason for staying
The reason I continued to work for D&L was not because I was making it rich, they never paid any of us well after years of working for them, most of us were still at starting wages of .06 cents a line.  I worked for them because along with about 12+ girls we were trained and brought into them through an individual, knowing nothing else.  When asked for references, D&L refused to give them, we were stuck and unable to move on because of no records of our work history.  I did not work for the Big Account that they lost and nor did most of the girls that I know, but they are still not getting paid and desperate to move on.  Most of us live out in the country area and do not have access to big city accounts.  We just have had a difficult time moving on.  That is why we put up with the constant cons of where our checks were.  D&L is in big trouble and for anyone that is out there still working for them, keep all of your work records and when applying for jobs, just tell them the truth.  Hopefully, some of these companies will give us a chance.  If you have a lot of work to do for D&L and they still have not paid you, GET OUT NOW.  File your complaint with State Labor board, filing with check fraud will only work if you have a bad check.  They have been making up all insufficient funds checks because they know that is a criminal offence.  They keep changing banks, and that is concerning.  Good LUCK to all of you, this has really been a tough few weeks for all of us.
I NEVER said I was staying or would never leave -
but my wanting to pursue other companies has nothing to do with the holiday pay policy (since I'm PT, I don't even qualify). I'm just saying, if you want to log on, get your work done, and get a steady paycheck, OSi can be that place for you - it has been for me for the past 2 years.
Vonage residential - staying away from anything
x
Is there really an advantage to staying local? Most

It doesn't seem there's any more guarantee of stable work from local MTSOs than the national ones.


If you do want to stay local but work at home, also try Southern Transcription Services, located in Taylorsville, I think.  They have a good reputation. Google them for their web site. 


right; and I did not quit my old job, ended up staying with my old job.
nm
And how would you like staying at the office 10, 12, 14 or more hours trying to get in 8!!
I for one have probably vented enough about this subject, which is the very reason I got laid off from my previous job (because I was challenging this treatment).  I do not think it is legal, but when I asked to have a third party brought in on the matter I was laid off.  It is awful to make an MT feel like THEY are not doing their job if they are not meeting minimum requirements when it is the company who is causing it in the first place due to mismanagement.  And FYI to you management people out there, we do have a separate life besides sitting in front of the computer for hours on end.  Just because we are at home does not mean we are necessarily available after our **shift.** How would you like to have to go back to your office night after night after your workday?
Saw on paper that pay was only 6 - 8.5 cpl. Is that what you guys will be starting at, or staying
m
The Ops could be staying in-house with the rest of the work being done by MW. nm
s
Last week we were staying caught up with TAT so I guess
you could consider it a slow week, this week we are out of TAT again, so things are back to normal. 
Seems like the good ones are staying a long time
I know many who have been there 2, 3, and some 4 years. Volumes are up right now, and we've had several new accounts go live in the last couple of months as well.
Yes. I think a lot of my problem is staying focused. It's hard.(sm)
Starting tomorrow morning, I am going to really try to keep my behind in my chair and stay off these boards.  I could improve my counts a lot too, I'm sure.
Not staying back in the dark ages
VR is definitely the thing of the future and I am already there, which most of the others on here, like it or not, will be before long. I can just see it now, the ones going kicking and screaming, or like the 1 about a month ago, jumped ship because of VR, got another job and OMG, the new job immediately went to VR. I am keeping up with the latest technology, I will welcome others as they have to switch.
LOL!! DVD player for staying more than one week!!!GOOD Grief!!!
Must be really awful!!!
This is the thing that concerns me about this field. Pay is staying the same not increasing!

Every OTHER medical field, nursing, therapists, techs, etc. are all experiencing the yearly salaries going up.  Transcription compensation is not increasing. 


While they may increase the RATES the ability to make the more money is not there because of VR, taking away the header allowances, more difficult accounts, more ESLs, stricter QA, etc., etc. slow platforms that require information inserted that you don't get paid for and anything else that lowers your salary.  If hospitals are looking to slash their transcription budget, they are going to pass that onto the service and the service will pass that onto to the employee. 


I know transcriptionists that were making 45-50K in 1987 working 40 hours and now they are making 35K and often times working more than 40 hours to make that lower amount.  Or I hear people say I can make the same money but I must work much harder and longer hours.  I think wow...you have to work harder and longer to make what you made in the 1980s. 


Other occupations have gotten consistent raises without the need for more hours and I don't think employees would put with up it.  Imagine a well qualified R.N. being offered a 1987 salary?  The hospital would have a hard time hiring nurses.  But the transcription service environment is so competative if they can offer the work cheaper and cheaper while guaranting accuracy they will get that contract.  So in order to stay in business they have to find a way to pay the Transcriptionist the least amount of money to see their profits which they need to stay in business. 


Of course if transcription is all you know and you don't to work in an office or get a job at Starbucks you keep going and accept the pay because we really have no control.  You have to work with what they offer you. 


9 months and it is not worth staying a year to get the BIG .002 cent raise.
Working for OSi will burn you out quick!
I DID give my notice, but got talked into staying "until the new accounts came on." nm
nm
Did you ever consider staying with them part time? I dont know if I should leave altogether or not.
And other days I just want to throw in the towel totally. Ugggg.. this MT business!
7 KIDS
If she works 16 hours a day 7 days a week and has 7 kids that means she never sleeps. No wonder she is a b**ch but how did she weasel her way to the top. Does OSi hire anybody off the street!
kids
That is just like when my kids want something and I tell them they have to wait, that I don't have the $ right now. Their reply is, Can't you just go to the bank and get more?! lol! I guess that is the beauty of being a kid! Stress-free living w/o a care in the world! We all enjoyed this at one time or another!
All I know is for me and my kids about
2 years ago it was $900+ a month. I found my own.
Just because someone wants PT and has kids does
not mean that their work is an afterthought.  It just means we work harder at everything we do. 
Its better than having to read what her kids are
doing or where they have to go today or this week or next month. Tired of hearing about supervisors' kids and their problems!!
the best one are the ones with kids in kindergarten
and you are treated like you are in the same age bracket as their horrible little monsters.

My feeling - This is a job. You have to learn to separate work from home, no matter where you work, and make your priorities. If raising kids are your priorities, then you do not belong in management. I hate talking to a supervisor who has a screaming ninny standing next to her so you can't hear a word that is being said or interrupting every 2 seconds so the conversations are not coherent.
screaming kids
Screaming kids, screaming docs. Is there really a difference?

Once the kids are bigger sm
I'm going into EMS. I'm an EMT now and going to go to paramedic school. Each and every day you get a chance to make a difference in someone's life doing that. I've wanted to be a paramedic since I first watched Emergency! years ago on TV, and once my children are all in school, I'm going to do it!
I think that if she has kids she would need the money.
I am home for the kids, that is why I chose this career many years ago. However, the kids are well aware how important it is for mommy to work. I am happy to have this job for example yesterday my 8 year old son was home sick from school. But I still worked the usual hours. He was here and read and did projects and rested. But he knew although he was disappointed that I take my breaks to watch after him, but I work too. Same with going to the park in the afternoon. Sometimes the kids go with daddy and mom has to stay home and work.
Years ago I realized though, I had to work different shifts since the children are here in the afternoon. It took a while to work through it, but I never took time off. I had to adjust my schedule to split, and when my husband was able to take over the benefits I became an IC. Perhaps your friend can have a chat with her employee and mention that perhaps she'd like to change the schedule to split, or to different days or go part time. If she is an IC, then she should be able to change her line commitment. Either way, a talk with the woman to find out what is going on is better than firing, because she may not know or appreciate how important she is to your team. Perhaps if you let her know that you need her talent to be on as part of the team, she will understand and adjust her schedule accordingly. I had wished my hospital supervisor had put me part-time instead of my just out and out leaving, because it has taken me 2 years to find the right fit. So, maybe your friend should think out what to say. But say it soon, so there are no misunderstandings. Sorry it is such a long post. I hope it helped, though.
I don't have little kids, so that may be the difference, but (sm)
I actually love working one weekend day and having one weekday off, i use it to catch up on chores while I have the house to myself, and have time to deal with any businesses that aren't open on weekends. But I know not everyone would feel the same way - hope you're able to find what works for you!
Help! I'm a part-time SE because I have little kids
  here at home.  I can't imagine trying to stay within a certain schedule.  It just sounds absolutely horrible.  Is there anything in this new packet for me or am I basically SCREWED?  
our kids will have to learns skills such as
even lawyers are offshored now

we will never change... the big guys like congress and bush are messing up our lives... combine offshoring with the influx of illegals doing the hands on jobs and middle america is history, as we knew it, never to be the same. It could have been prevented...other countries doe it, but we are at the mercy of the big guys. I have a feeling if we were at the mercy of the big GIRLS such as hillary and other women, we would be in better shape. Men are motivated by small heads and testosterone.
No future for kids - hence DINKS!
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