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That is an outright untruth! We are paid 3 cents less than our normal quote, at least I am.

Posted By: VR MTSO on 2006-02-23
In Reply to: Wrong! - sm

I can't believe some of you want these great MTs to think you are not getting paid well for VR work. That just is totally not true. I have 2 clients on VR and the pay is the same if not 3 cpl less than standard transcription and with the VR the line counts do double and sometimes triple. So, to all MTs out here - DO NOT BELIEVE THE MTSO IS NOT PAID WELL OR PAID HALF FOR THEIR VR ACCOUNTS! That just is not true.

I have line rates from many hospitals using VR and the rates are fairly high and comparable to standard transcription.



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Waiting for that first check is normal. Getting paid once a month is not.
s
At least you get paid, I would rather be paid late than not at all. Just my 2 cents.
nm
No, QA is paid per line 3 or 4 cents
nm
Is this an outright falsehood? I just looked up
Focus/Nuance and there are several press releases how strong their India workforce is, as a matter of fact, a leader of jobs in India. That was dated June. And the website itself says that they rely on their Global workforce. And that VR can cut MT costs 30%. Does that sound like a place which cares about American MTs? I can find nowhere on the web any official announcement that everything is on shore. Unless you have documentation to prove such a big announcement, please don't spread these kinds of rumors. From the press releases on the web, Focus is proud of their India connection and continues to support this style of outsourcing out of the USA the same as ever!
If you failed outright on a probationary period

A critical error would cause a total fail.  A QA can't just make these things up, they document on their end also.  Sounds like maybe a little less bashing the QA and a little more reflection on what you need to work on. 


Take the checks to the bank and cash them outright, don't deposit. nm
I had a similar situation with another MTSO a long time ago, and put up with it for months until I jumped to a major national. I also found out that the bouncy MTSO didn't file Social Security returns or pay my withheld taxes to the Feds. There ought to be major red flags for any MTSO who bounces checks or doesn't offer direct deposit; it could affect you in many other ways you are unaware of.
this attitude isn't normal? What is normal sm
about people who come to a class, dont' have a clue what MT is and you tell them the truth?

Geeze you babies will never be on your own to not be babysat!
What is average? 7 cents, 8 cents, 9 cents? 65-character?
x
I also work for 8 cents a line. I left a job typing OPs for 10-11 cents sm
to take a clinic job. I made an average of $17-18 an hour with OPs, now make $16-17 an hour, but the work is easier on me. I do not call that poor pay. I type 200+ lines an hour. True, it isn't the $26-27 an hour I was making 10 years ago at a hospital, but that's gone for good. I have excellent skills, make better than 99% on QA at any company I have worked for, and some of those have been very demanding.

I'm afraid the people that are expecting to make $20-30 an hour in MT are going to be disappointed. A few can still make that amount, but for the average good transcriptionist, the pay is much more likely to run $15-20. Benefits are pretty much gone. However, I feel that what I'm making is considerably above what I could make in another field, unless I decide to teach, which I will not do. Still, I make more than I would at Walmart or Burger King, or even a secretarial job. It's my choice. Good luck to you.
The mentoring program does not pay 8-1/2 cents per line. Believe it is like 6 cents.
n/m
4 CENTS , SCHMORE CENTS. THAT'S WRONG!
Whether an MT is new or an editor, 4 cents a line is deeply insulting, and 9 cents per line isn't really too much better. You know, I understand that most of these MT companies want to save money, but most of them don't seem to want to pay what an MT's time and skills are really worth. Why not pay an MT who has been in the field for 7-10 years or more 15 or 20 cents per line? At least I might consider working for one of these companies at home if I were to be paid that much straight off the bat for having 12 years' experience, but I guess that would be too much like right...
Do they still pay you 5 cents a line and 2 cents if you send anything to QA?
xx
I have a problem with 7 cents and 8 cents a line because
...when I started 15 years ago, my very first MT job started me out at 8 cents a gross line, then went to 9 cents a gross line after only a year. I was SOOO happy and proud of myself for choosing a profession that paid so well - I imagined myself making a lot of $$ once I had 10 or 15 years experience behind me...

Well that never happened; in fact, it all went backwards, pay wise. The company I worked for back then sold out to a national, and of course the pay was cut, and 9 cents a gross line was never to be had again, at least not that I could find. I am considered living in poverty now. I started out great but have ended up very badly.

I think my own personal problem is that it's hard for me to let go the fact that I made good money just starting out and how everything I had ever learned about jobs, careers and pay was that the more experience and education you have in a particular field, the more your pay goes up as each year passes. Well my pay has been consistently taking a nosedive for at least a decade now. I actually have to work MORE to make at least as much as I did years ago, and it's killing me health-wise as far as my wrists, my legs, my neck, my back....

It also kills me that I'm going to have to accept 7 or 8 cents a 65-character line when I made so much more than that 15 years ago.

I suppose to someone who's just starting out, 7 or 8 cents would seem pretty good, though. Maybe that's why I haven't been able to land any jobs with my resume. They may not want me with my years of experience, probably want a newbie who will be more grateful about such low pay. I dunno.

I could just kick myself for wasting money on MT school those years ago when I could've spent it on a career that would actually LAST and where I'd be making great money after being in the same field for 15 years. There's just no reward to this business. None at all, IMO.

I would NOT recommend this field to anyone just getting started. To me, it's a dead field.

I'd have more freedom working at McDonalds (for a number of reasons), and, believe me, I've been considering taking a local job around my home for minimum wage. At least I'd have a consistent paycheck and would know exactly what I'm getting every 2 weeks, then build from there as far as another job or two.

Well anyway that's all. I really need a job. I'm going down, going under, and it's a shame because I do very good work and have all this experience but no one seems to want me, even the low-paying companies. Oh well.
Actually it was...here's the quote
guidelines. There is a link on the top of each page that tells you what you need to know and one of them is not to post account information. No one is attacking you. It is just common sense that you don't go around posting account information.


Actually, I did and take a look at your quote:
And for your information, nurses are making MORE not LESS. Let's get real here.

To me, that justified my out-of-proportion post.
Again, and I quote...
none of that really matters to me. My thing is as long as the work is there and my paychecks are on time, I have NOTHING to worry about.
I think it is 30% but don't quote me on that. nm
.
I quote you......(sm)
As an aside, can you think of any better way for a terrorist organization to infiltrate?

THAT is a MIGHTY POWERFUL and very scary possibility.
Quote
WOW, if there was a doubt left in anybody's mind, that should dispel it. YOU ARE A STALKER. Your disdain for GP is quite obvious. We get it, are bored with it. I don't have the time to go look up the rest of her quote, but I would bet there is more that you left out.
it says and i quote from the packet
in front of me" if you experience unscheduled downtime you will be paid at the hourly downtime rate". for more info go toQnet. Why would I make it up?? But what does "unscheduled" mean??? I know now that my CSC archives on a certain day and I can't transmit for an hour. Maybe they will have scheduled downtime that we have to work around?? Don't know and too tired to look at Qnet todayso don't ask me.
see message and quote
_Are we supposed to shut off our phone because our CS reps are Indian?? _

Absolutely. Let them email you. Don't interrupt your productivity to struggle with yet another ESL telling you what to do.

I've been suffering the last few days from Indians calling me to ask if I take credit cards because I recently switched my home phone to a business line to get unlimited business LD. I instantly turn on my learned Russian accent and they have no clue what to do.

In my humble American opinion, make them responsible. Emails are less intrusive, take less time and are less offensive to the auricular sense, and force the originator to be held accountable for the fluency and clarity of their thought processes.
They'll get you a quote.
It's $20-something for me and $70-something for me and my two kids a week. The LPD depends on what system you are working on. 11,000 per week for eScription and 5600 for the straight typing accounts I believe.
what you say is hardly possible, I quote from your psot....sm
'Crummy quality. Do you think your clients and prospective clients don't know that you change employees more often than most people change their underwear? '

For: s/msg
How can you say that? Do you change your underwear only once a month?



don't ever quote a rate
without SEEING what it is you are agreeing to.

Dr. A might have you doing envelopes with addresses, multiple copies, etc and Dr. B might just schlep out SOAP notes.

Have an idea what you want to make an hour. After you've met with a client, figure out how much you need to do in an hour to make that rate.

And just suggestion, 20cpl will get you filed in the circular file pretty quickly.
That last is an old quote. Can't take credit. :) NM
x
In response to your quote: "sm)
doctors do not generate revenue, documents do.
In theory, that may be correct, but put on your thinking cap straight. If there were no doctors dictating, there would be no MTs transcribing the documents.
Name your source and the total quote
Its irresponsible of you to suggest that Obama (or McCain for that matter) wants to put records online implying they could be unprotected.

So name your source, and the entire quote and then WE can determine what the position actually is...
Sorry my quote marks disappeared. (??!!)
X
The rest of the quote was that we have to do multiple...sm
specialties. It is entirely reasonable to think a multispecialty MT of 30 years would have a broader base of knowledge than a doctor fresh out of medical school.

An LPN and an RN cannot do surgery, either, yet for some reason you put them above a medical transcriptionist. As for a doctor, unless you are actually performing a surgery, your skill lies in your interpretation of signs, symptoms, lab tests, etc.

A medical Transcriptionist has to use this same thought process every day. How many times to look at the past medical history to figure out a medication or look at a lab value to differentiate a diagnosis?

I am afraid you sell MTs very short.
Sorry, the quote should have been "what society has done to us."
Can't say that I am in that category.
In the papers they sent me, it says they do. See exact quote inside. sm

High Speed Internet Reimbursement


Because we require the use of high speed internect connectivity (DSL or cable modem) in the performance of your job functions, Transtech will reimburse you for the cost of your internet connection up to a maximum of $40.00 per month.  In order to qualify for reimbursement, you must meet the minimum monthly productivity requirements outlined for your position.


Quote from TransTech's ad on Jobs Board

* Paid maternity/paternity leave


Get it now ????  That is age discrimination! 


Apologies - my quote marks were deleted!?...nm
nm
Years ago I heard a quote I loved:

Second marriage is the triumph of optimism over experience. 


That's sort of how I look at trying to make a go of it with Transcend, having been front row center at the fall of several very pleasant small companies that were gobbled up by mega MTSOs.  And I KNOW that if I give in, they will definitely not respect me in the morning. 


Quote from OP's post: Do they offer the same benefits as Trascend....
nm
My quote marks on "nack" didn't show up.
I know it's knack, but the OP used nack.
Inside is the quote; not the red. The red in my post is my own personal opinion.

*** We started using the Enterprise Express Speech System in late October of 2007 and have already seen a 500 percent increase in speech-recognized drafted
reports. While just 20 members of our team of 300 transcriptionists
are using the system now, we plan to expand its use significantly. In
only 60 days we've seen dramatic productivity climbs and our team
loves the system. ****


Actually I didn't quote a figure that I make per hour....sm
(it is above $25/hour, however) but I will say this: if the MT field is one's chosen area, then investing in it is a must. That means, instead of calling others who state they make healthy per-hour wages liars, your time would be better spent in getting as much info as possible in how that was achieved - and learning from it as well as adopting whatever it takes to help YOU. It means spending more time learning and less time bashing. It means concentration on retention of info, both old and new, to further your knowledge. It means learning what works best for you - not the next MT or whomever has posted on this board. It means taking feedback, again, without whining about it. I know of no other field where criticism isn't an essential factor - again, use it *positively* and don't let it affect you negatively! It means being open to trying new specialties when asked - you never know until you try - maybe it's just what you needed! There is a whole host of other things that you can try, but TRYING them is the key. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - and gain IS, after all, what it's all about, isn't it?
I quote Glenda the Good Witch: Begone before
x
Actually I found the exact quote made on AAMTs
It is STILL possible
Posted By: gourdpainter on 2009-09-23
In Reply to: Divide and conquer............. - sm

didn't AAMT organize MTs? At least I thought they did as I joined way back in 1978?? I think it was.

This was in answer to a person saying they were trying to feed their children, having to hold onto her job, no matter what the pay was, not wanting to strike against MTing. I saw absolutely no followup comment, only the 1 in favor of AAMTs.
Yeah, this site doesn't accept quote marks. You have to
use an apostrophe around your phrase instead, or at least that's what I do.
Few cents here, few cents there stolen from you by
x
I'll add my 5 cents to your 2 for 7 cents sm
I AGREE WITH YOU!

I know an MT who sits on her laurels and whines about no work and only getting 9 cpl after 5 whole years of experience. She can type 3 specialties, won't touch an ESL, goofs off when there is work and whines when there is not. I have tried to help, but it is quite plain to me she doesn't want that help.

I have about 3 times the experience of the above MT. The only specialty I have not done is pathology. I have literally done everything else. I know the BOS 2 like the back of my hand and I have outstanding accuracy scores (even if I can't type straight here). I work as an employee and make a base rate of 8.5 cpl, which I never get because I always have some of the different incentives offered. I regularly turn that 8.5 cpl into $25 an hour and at my PT job where I get 10 cpl and faster software, I can turn that into $32.50 an hour.

I have heard, more times than I can count from other MTs that they wish they could have my income. I can tell they why they don't. It is called hang out to complain on a message board like MTStars. It is doing everything, BUT your work on your shift. It is your lack of a willingness to learn new things, even if they slow you down some. This very year, recently in fact, I was put on straight cardiology procedure notes and I didn't worry for a second that I would suffer financially. I AM FLEXIBLE and that, in a nutshell, is why most MTs will not succeed.

A long time ago I realized that if I want more money, I was going to have to work SMART, not hard. In my 15 years, I now make 5 times what I did my first year and at the same exact line rate I had then! I spend less time working to achieve that these days. So no, I can't agree with your sky is falling routine.

Most of you...your attitudes suck. If I had to have you on site as my employees, you would not last 15 minutes. The first time I heard you at the water cooler whining about your pay, I'd fire your fanny so fast it would make your head SWIM. I have eyes in the back of my head too, so when you started making that stink face you are making right now, I'd have sacked you for that, on the spot, no warning and no day's pay. The ONLY reason you all get away with this is that you THINK no one who knows you is watching and that your respective contract holders can't figure out who you are.

By and large, I can't tolerate other MTs as friends. I find them lazy, self-absorbed whiners and complainers with some the worst negative attitudes I have EVER seen! If you hate MT so very much GO GET A JOB DOING SOMETHING ELSE. I can tell you, your bad attitude, your tendency to complain, whine, witch (with a capital B), moan and ALWAYS see the most negative side of everything...THAT crap will follow you to that new career and it won't be any better than this one. You have issues and I really think they are issues for a good therapist. They are called personality disorders and many of you have them in multiples and in spades!

I think you should be completely and utterly ashamed of yourselves. Too many people are out of work, homeless, and starving this Christmas to be so opinionated and selfish.
Not normal
Is this a small MTSO out of Florida?
That is normal
It can take up to a couple of weeks for them to get your IDs. It only took me a week to get mine when I started a few months ago, but I know of someone else who had to wait about 3 weeks.
normal?
I think that is below the average for lines. I don't work for KS anymore. However, I have been an MT for 9 years and I type 2000 lines per day. I could do 3000 but I don't want to work more than 6 or 7 hours a day.
Most def --NOT normal, especially at
.
Normal pay for QA?
Plus you have to redo almost everything you get or fill in 50 blanks. Ain't worth it.
It is normal
If a company is going to pay you for services they need either your ss or ein so that they can issue you a 1099 at the end of the year.All IC aka sub contractors no that they have to give a company a tax number what do you think you don't have to pay the taxes on the money you earn? They are going to report what they paid you to the IRS with so that they can write-off the expense they paid you.It is all very normal. probably wanted drivers lic for ID to verify with the IRS the correct ss number. if they took a bad number and did not check it out then they might not be able to write-off the expense.
is this normal

I am in trainingwith a company, learing this account and they audited my reports and count it against me, because I do not meet their standards, but I am in still in training just got hired.  Is this normal to be audited when you are still training?  aren't you suppose to be audited once you get out of training?


Don't know if it's normal but...
... I was fired from a company during training because my reports were audited and only 91% and the company requires 98%.