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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

rates 6.5 to 7 cents .NEVER make more at Jack-in-Box

Posted By: darlene on 2009-04-28
In Reply to: Synernet Transcription..Did anyone else apply and test for them? - Jobseeker

I emailed first (as is my thing prior to spending time testing) They did email back after I asked for the lowest to highest rate offered for the position.

email response below
Hi there,

We pay $0.065 to 0.007 starting depending upon experience. Some
companies pay various amounts per line, but it also is important to see
what their line consists of. We pay based on a 65 character line count.

Thanks!

Synernet Transcription
(207) 771-3470
877-771-3470


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editing rates are 1.5 cents per line....can you say SLAVE WAGES??
 
I make 4 cents a line, work part and make
over $500 a week on part.
Where can I make 10 cents plus sm
I know what you are saying.  Where can a fabulous MT make 10 plus cents a line?  No editing required.
I currently make 3.0 cents per line
and I average about 2400 - 3000 lines per day.
Your 2 cents is more than Shapin QA make. nm
x
I make 9 cents per line. I am not

on an account with VR.   Regarding the platform, there are several.  Do you have one in particular?


In my opinion what you make is confidential and I have seen people get fired for discussing rates.
That all goes along in confidentiality agreements. I am in agreement with you though..it really is not anyone's business. If they want to know, they need to ask the company. The company will probably tell them.

How can you possibly make any $$ for 2 cents per line???

 


Am I missing something??


I get 10-12 cents a line from clients so I can only pay 6-71/2 to make any profit.
There are some clinics/hospital that will pay more but they also want you to do a lot more secretary stuff which the management staff does and you do not see.  I know some of the huge nationals are raking in the profit and not spreading it around to well deserved transcriptionists but us smaller nationals or local companies are not getting those huge accounts that pay 16-20? cents a line.  There is overhead too to pay like your utility bills, dictation equipment and upkeep, long distance phone bills, advertising, paper, printers, ink, faxes, health insurance, etc and then the income for the management team, proofers, and computer techs.  I am not trying to take up for the huge companies that rake it in but if you haven't had your own business in the field then you really can't speak about what goes on after you turn in your work because you have no idea.  Making comments to ad that can't offer more like me does not help anyone.  I find plenty of experience transcriptionists happy with the pay, workload, and TAT.  I wish I could offer more but when you are only making 3-4 cents of profit and still have your overhead that is not greedy.  Your checks are nearly the same as the transcriptionists. If you don't like the pay find your own account - you do the leg work and don't respond to if it does not interests you as it does to a lot of people.
I don't do chart notes and I make more than 7 cents a line
they don't think you can handle a more intricate account and you should try working on your MT skills.

Giggle at that, hon.
Good post MissIndigo....I make 6.5 cents for VR sm
and I do agree it would be difficult to do it at 4 cents a line. We are fortunate, and yes it is possible to increase speed even after a year of doing VR, 4 cents still would seem completely unfair to me. I have in no way doubled my production lines. I may have increased by 50% or 75% of normal line rate, so I think 6.5 to 7 cents is more than fair. No matter what the rate, no one in this industry should think is easy and not have to pay extremely close attention. Good luck to you Ms. Indy. You have a great attitude, I watch your posts. You are a true professional.
Can an MT make a decent living earning 7 cents per line


Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth.  It would be great to be paid 10-11-12-13 cents per line (as an employee not IC), but that is not a reality in this job market.  Yes, MTs will take jobs that pay 7 cents per line, but that MTSO is not necessarily underpaying or demeaning the MTs that work for them. 


 


Bottom line is that you have to do your homework because, yes, there are people who can make a living on 7 cents a line and will take those jobs.   It really depends on your skills and how dedicated you are to making your maximum possible lines per hour.  The MTSO that is offering only 7 cents a line but has easy dictators can actually pay you more per check if you type more lines per hour than an MTSO that is offering 10 cents a line but has horrible quality, ESL dictators, nasty QA, etc and you can barely type 100 lines an hour because of it. 


 


MY TIP:  When you interview, ask what the approximate minimum and maximum lines per hour that the other MTs that are doing EXACTLY the same accounts that you are going to be doing are achieving per hour/day/pay period.  If the recruiter/MTSO will not tell you that information, you probably don’t want to work there anyway so just terminate the interview before wasting any more of your time.  The slowest MTs are probably new and the ones achieving 200-250-300 lines per hour have been there a long time and know the account(s) forwards and backwards.  If you plan to make that MTSO a long-term employer, you will have a pretty good idea of what you can potentially achieve if you stay there long enough.  Don’t let them tell you the “average” of all the MTs that work for the company or what their perfect employee Suzie Q types.   We all know every account is different, so Suzie Q who just started last week and is already doing 150 lines per hour may have easier accounts than the one you are going to be working on, so that is not very representative of what your account(s) is really going to be like.  Ask specifically about the accounts you will be assigned to and don’t let them distract you.  Again, if they don’t want to tell you, terminate the interview. 


 


According to the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, in 2004 !!!, the MEDIAN hourly earnings for a Medical Transcriptionist (probably  mostly hospital and office based) in May of 2004, was $13.64 an hour. 


 


Just for reference, it seems like most MTSOs have a 6000 lines per week minimum production standard which is about 150 line per hour (40 hour week) on average for full-time MTs.   


 


·        If you are being paid 7 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (150 x 0.07) = $10.50 per hour.


 


·        If you are being paid 8 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (150 x 0.08) = $12.00 per hour. 


 


·        If you are being paid 9 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (150 x 0.09) = $13.50 per hour. 


 


·        If you are being paid 10 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (150 x 0.10) = $15.00 per hour. 


 


If you are one of the highly trained experienced MT and type 200 lines per hour on average, you are even better off. 


 


·        If you are being paid 7 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (200 x 0.07) = $14.00 per hour.


 


·        If you are being paid 8 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (200 x 0.08) = $16.00 per hour. 


 


·        If you are being paid 9 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (200 x 0.09) = $18.00 per hour. 


 


·        If you are being paid 10 cents per line, you are making a minimum of (200 x 0.10) = $20.00 per hour. 


 


 


The median hourly earnings in 2004 was $13.64 per hour.  That was almost 4 years ago.  With a minimal 2% per year cost of living/inflation increase, by 2008 the median hourly earning should be about $14.76 per hour.       


 


2004 --------- $13.64


2005 x 2% = $13.91


2006 x 2% = $14.19


2007 x 2% = $14.47


2008 x 2% = $14.76


 


So, in my humble opinion, if you are an experienced MT with 5 or more years of experience, when you call that MTSO offering 7 cents per line the accounts you will be assigned to should be easy enough so that you can make an average of 210 lines per hour within a relatively short period of time.  If they say their experienced MTs are only doing 175 to 200 lines per hour on average, that MTSO is drastically underpaying their experienced MTs and it is time for you to move on.  If they say their MTs are averaging 250 to 300 lines per hour, then that MTSO may be worth looking into further, even if their starting wage is lower than what you originally thought you should be getting paid. 


 


I think if WE ALL start doing this, the MTSOs will start to figure out that we are not going to work for companies that underpay our skills and experience.  If enough experienced MTs hang up on these companies, eventually they will figure out that the recruiters/supervisors need to be more honest with us regarding their pay structure and the difficulty of their accounts. 


 


Some food for thought !! 


 


More information from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: 


Medical transcriptionists had median hourly earnings of $13.64 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.50 and $16.32. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.67, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $19.11. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of medical transcriptionists in May 2004 were:














General medical and surgical hospitals


$13.83


Offices of physicians


13.40


Business support services


13.40


 


 


If you want more information, check out the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics web page for Medical Transcriptionist. 


 


http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos271.htm


 


 


 


depends; can make more $ on easy platform/7 than hard platofrm/8-9 cents
nm
What is average? 7 cents, 8 cents, 9 cents? 65-character?
x
Oh, they make money off us. Line rate is 17 cents a gross line.nm
z
Yes, Jack - I would definitely go there...
it is an excellent company. (I am speaking about the MDI in Florida)
Get Back Jack

Anyone have information on this company out of southern california?   Thanks a lot!


 


Get back Jack

Do you now or have you previously worked there?  Can you give me more information?  Thanks.


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.
Anyone know anything about Get Back Jack Productions? nm
x
And I know another one - Get Back Jack Productions. .nm
xx
dial it back, jack

you're spreading it on a bit thick -- GREAT place to work, NEW (clients next week) - INEXPENSIVE insurance (sometime in the future) - MASSIVE HIRINGS (proof they are growing) -- I am reading between the lines here and now would be a good time to stop the hype. Sounds like the same PR team to promo TT.


 


 


Get Back Jack Productions
Anybody ever heard of these guys.  Their ad for an acute care MT says they pay 10 cpl 55 char line with spaces.  Seems too good to be true, so it probably is... 
Get Back Jack Productions
I've only heard of them because I've seen their ads. I personally don't care for their name, just doesn't sound professional in my opinion. Sorry I'm not much help!
Get Back Jack Productions Does
anyone work there? If so what platform or platforms? Happy, nice people, keep you busy on one primary, you know the usual questions. I am so sick of looking, being hired, and it turning out awful.
What ever happened to Get Back Jack Productions?
I see the website is still up, but they don't seem to have job postings anymore.  Anyone work for them?
Anyone with information on Get Back Jack Productions? nm
xx
Anyone with info on Get Back Jack Productions? nm
nm
Does Get Back Jack Productions still exist?

The mentoring program does not pay 8-1/2 cents per line. Believe it is like 6 cents.
n/m
NEMT, Cobb, Get Back Jack, TransTech (uses ExText) .... nm
x
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.
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.
I doubt you will make enough money in 5 hours a week to make
nm
Pay rates
Your pay rate doesn't change. What this policy says is that IF you send a report with a CRITICAL error to a customer and it is returned, you may not be paid for that particular report. I don't see this as unfair frankly because the service can't bill a customer for that serious of a mistake in a document. It's all about us being accountable for our work. We want to be recognized for our value but don't want any of the responsibility that goes with that?
pay rates sm
I turned down a job also because of low pay--company did not want to pay for spaces and added normals themselves so I wouldn't get paid. How low can you go? Wish we all would turn down low pay. Maybe it would send a message. I know this isn't realistic, but I'm wishing :)
pay rates sm
Just curious but which company does not want to pay for spaces? I know of one company that does add the normals and will not pay the MTs but it isn't any of the three mentioned here, can you enlighten us, please?

Thanks!
pay rates
There are two different platforms, one pays 9 cents per line without spaces and one pays 7-8 cents with spaces.
low rates
I have a friend who has a small MT company and she charges her clients 9 to 12 cpl (the 9 cpl accounts she types herself). She has a few ICs locally (usually pays 7 cpl). She is amazed when I tell her what other companies charge their clients but every time she tries to negotiate a little higher rate her clients tell her either it's the same low rate as always or they won't use her services anymore, so she feels stuck. We live in a low cost of living area, so the doctors are generally cheaper here, but for me personally, I wouldn't take that pay if I had to have the hassle of my own accounts, dealing with clients, billing, etc.
Especially re. pay rates....sm
The few MT contracts I have seen, employee or IC, are pretty vague on the subject of compensation, saying something like, ...The agreed-upon rate.  Agreed between whom?  Get a specific figure in writing, esp. re. rates per line, spaces, etc.  They can screw you up here without you knowing it, and how is agreed-upon rate going to hold up anywhere?
rates
Employee rates are 7.5 to 8.5 for dayshift, plus they have an incentive that you can make if you type an additional 200 lines per day.  That will add 1/2 cpl to your rate, they also have an additional 1 cpl for late shift plus the incentive.  The acute care rates are higher than the ER team rates.  They pay by direct deposit every 2 weeks. I started with MedScribe about 6 months ago and like the work and the new platform.
low rates
I have tried to reason with the company I work for, using all my logical arguments - it's best to pay a little more if you expect people to work on their days off, it's better to pay your experienced people a few cents more than to hire in outsiders when work gets behind, especially if your clients are already angry (come on, tell me that someone can just come in and do exceptional work with no experience on an account!), that it would be nice to get a raise or a sick day or some kind of incentive, and it has all fallen on deaf ears.

I believe there is money to be made in this business, but it is not the MTs who will be making it.
low rates
I turned down an offer this morning of 7.5 cpl for acute care.  I have over 20 years of experience and I refuse to accept that line rate.  It's an insult to all of us who have dedicated our lives to our profession.
MT Rates

If anyone knows the going rate being charged by MT companies or by individuals in Florida, North and South Carolina, would you mind posting it here..hubby and I are considering a move.  Thank you.


pay rates?
Anyone know companies that pay on the gross and/or straight line? 
pay rates
But, because the vendors spew their crap about how this technology will save the hospitals so much money, the Editor pay is almost always decreased per line versus traditional transcription. Most editors are getting paid 3 to 4 cents per 65-character line, some are paid a % of their usual pay rate per line. It still means a decrease in overall income per hour.

How many MTs/editors are now working extra hours per week to make up that difference?

Although the vendors (keep in mind, they are salesman, they only care about selling their product -- they don't give a rat's a%% about how it affects anything else) claim that the technology keeps learning and improves, that is not always the case. A lot depends on the particular system, how many editors are involved, if the editors are ALL given the identical specs and following those account specifications.

I'm just sick and tired of new technology actually causing a decrease in my income. It should be a win-win situation for everyone involved in the process, but it never seems to benefit the MTs/editors.
Rates for Rad
I've worked for a company offering Rad on PowerScribe (and please ask how you are compensated for downtime) and rates for both editing AND MT should never be below a dollar, that's just insane. $1.25 to 1.50 is the going rate most places per report for MT.
Rates
I would suggest you talk them into using a digital recorder - then you don't have to drive for tapes, and the sound quality is better. There are many inexpensive ways to get the files to you, so you won't have to worry about gas, etc.

As for rates - I wish you the best of luck in getting them to pay the range you're considering. You have a shot at the low end, at the high end, if you can get it, I'll hire you to come do sales for me. ;)

Deborah