A year???? Is that possible? What sort of degree is it? - nm
Posted By: XXX on 2006-01-30
In Reply to: Going back to school - anon
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I think it's a 2 year degree (sm)
I looked into this also, but I think the pay is really low, like $7.50 an hour.
I have a friend who did that, and the 2-year degree I don't think
has the salary range I am looking into. A master's degree may be a bit much, but I really have not seriously considered it. Maybe that is another thing I can speak with the counselor about. Thanks. :)
The cat story...that would be a good thing to not have to deal with, lol.
It will definitely be a challenge doing all this with the kids, but on the plus side, I am still young. I do have that advantage. So, are you doing the 2-year program or going to be a PT? Good luck on your application. :)
2-year degree not valued . . .
That was what I was getting at. In a lot of other fields, a bachelor's degree will get you paid more than someone with an associates in the same. My thoughts (when entering school - and what the school told me) was that I would get paid more by having an associates instead of just a certificate. That is where my frustrating comes in. I wish I would have paid for a 4 month course instead of wasting money on a degree that hasn't gotten me anything more than a certificate would have. That was where I was going. I do not think I am well compensated only in that I wish I were getting paid more for having more education.
No - fourth year resident, still in medical school - no MD degree yet. nm
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I get this to a certain degree also (sm)
It usually happens after quite a while of typing, and usually only when it is a little cold in the house, but I think it happens in warmer weather too. Mine doesn't sound as bad as yours though. It always resolves fairly quickly, does yours? I haven't had to wear gloves (yet). Let me know what you find out, if anything. I have always attributed it to poor circulation because my hands and feet seem to get cold easily, but I suppose it could be something else as well.
Sorry I didn't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to let you know that this happens to others as well and you are not alone!
Do you have a college degree, and in what?
I know there are MTs out there who have Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees. According to other posters, those of us with higher education who choose to do MT are pitiful.
what online degree are you looking at
.
However, a lot of people think getting a degree
is like getting an automatic ticket to an entirely different life with better job opportunities, more money, and career satisfaction. I thought that, too. Things have drastically changed out there, though. More and more people have degrees, so the competition is fierce. They're willing to work for less money, too, just to have A job, any job.
Also, minimum wage went up but middle wages didn't, cost of living went up, and wages have actually gone down in other industries besides MT due to offshoring.
I guess I'm just in an "if I knew then what I know now" mood. LOL None of my siblings went to college, and they're better off than I am. They make way more money than I do and don't have that monthly payment to make.
I love writing, too. Have you done any freelance writing or editing? If you get some clips built up, you might be able to break in based on talent instead of having a degree. With that specific career field in mind, it might be worth it for you to get a degree. I don't know how much competition there is in that field right now.
Bachelor's Degree
I have a BS in Communications 1990 with some graduate work. I worked as an instructor in a college doing medical assiting job placement and then I just kind of fell into transcription when my daughter was born in 1998.
PAs have at the very least a Bachelor's Degree ..
correct??
With your degree, there are a lot of things you could do.
This is only my opinion, so follow your yeart. As all the other posters have said, this is not an easy business to get into. Although many have done PT with young children, I could not have done it without help. My baby had special needs, though. When you consider working at home, the key word is "working". This job takes concentration and long hours at the keyboard. With many jobs you work a shift. My hours have been flexible, but you have deadlines, and you cannot always just stop to take care of your baby. My baby needed lots of attention. I was lucky in that my mom and mother-in-law kept her when I could not. I never tried to do transcription unless she was asleep or my husband was home. With a business administration degree, however, I think you would have a lot of options in starting your own business. Many people have done well with ideas they came up with themselves. I now do MT full-time now, but have other part-time home businesses that I am involved with as well.
Agree to a degree
I do agree to a degree but I do know that I have my clients basically because I do not balk at doing tapes and am agreeable to do them and accept them. Once they used me then they saw my quality but if I were to tell them it was digital or nothing, they would go somewhere that would come and pick up the tapes, that is medium that they wish to use. And if I pressed the point, I would be without 60K a year.
Eh, I am going ahead with the BS degree.
I can always take electives for x-ray tech. This program has a lot of identical courses, so it would not be hard to switch to another discipline like x-ray. X-ray pays less, but either of these careers is more than what we get as MTs these days... and in 18 months from now, hospitals and clinics will still need on site techs like this, unlike transcription which can unfortunately go poof gone any day now. It's going to be hard, but I am going for it...gotta get out of this business I am sad to say of Mting.
Might be something like a right-angled something-degree scope..nm
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What are you planning to do with the psych degree?
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How many jobs are out there (without a college degree) that actually pay this well? NM
There are plenty more jobs if you have a degree
I live in Atlanta. If you go to craigslist.org right now and look under the admin. jobs section...there are dozens of jobs that pay 50,000 or more if you have a degree...in anything.
There are many jobs in many different fields that pay well. In many many cases, they just want the person to have a degree, it doesn't matter in what. The ad just says...must have a bachelor's degree.
I'm currently an MT and will graduate in May with a degree in Psychology. I intend to apply for some of those 50,000+ administrative jobs and feel very confident that I will get one.
There's still going to be some prerequisite degree you'll need before you do this. nm
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I didn't know there was an associate degree for
Guess we do learn something new every day. How long did it take you to get this degree in MT? Did you go to college or tech school? If you have an associates degree in MT, you should be overloaded with job offers, I'd think...
So true! Nowadays a B.S. Degree is just that --
hee
I believe you are my QA headache -- English degree -- uh la la nm
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I'm aware of where this degree could lead - sm
I worked in the HIM dept of a hospital at the beginning of my 10 years in this field, so I know what position this degree could put me in. I also know that just the fact of having a degree is more than just being an MT and it will give me advantages than I currently have.
I do feel like this is almost a lost cause and that the MT industry is reaching the point of no return (or has already). I currently work for a fairly small transcription company and I am very thankful for the work that I have, even though I don't get paid what I would like, but I do have plenty of work and it is getting me by. I chose to go back to school because I don't want everything to turn upside down and I have nothing to fall back on. I wish all the best for the MT industry and if things do turn around I would never leave it, but I don't think that will be the case.
how often do you see ANY degree designations on credits? nm
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Associates degree is not in different field.
Sorry if I wasn't clear in last post. There is only 1 hospital in my area, so there are not many jobs in the medical field where I live period. I went to school for 2 years and got an associates in Medical Administrative Specialist, which included 4 semesters of transcription courses (2 years worth). So, I have 5 years experience and an associates degree, but have been offered the same pay (7.5 cpl or lower usually) as those with 2 years experience and no degree. How does that seem well compensated?
Do you have a bachelor's degree? I've thought about
but the lack of a bachelor's degree is really the main weeding-out tool/stumbling block for me, darn it. I didn't realize it was such a major requirement for this type of job too ... as far as http://www.fdch.com goes, anyway. I thought maybe not having experience in court reporting/CAT machine transcription would be the breaker, actually.
Interesting, but.... (sigh)
Currently working on bachelors degree in Psychology
:)
BA in psychology. Interesting how many of us have a psych degree.
nm
In the US, a business degree generally means an MBA...
That's a pretty good education, unless, of course, "business degree" means something different in India.
My own cousin, an op room RN with a Masters degree tried
and failed at MT. She asked me for advice before starting, but didn't take me seriously when I told her that there was more to it than she thought. But she tried and tested, and just couldn't get hired. Her mother, who is my mother's sister-in-law, was talking to my mom one day, and she said, "Geez, if your daughter can do it, surely mine can! She's a nurse!"
Well, hers couldn't.
Nice, Aunt, huh?
What do you need a Master's Degree in to be a science writer?
?
Associate's Degree in Medical Secretarial Science - sm
2-year program with emphasis on transcription. Terrific - wouldn't have learned it any other way. Taught me to be a good MT - not these quick-fix on-line programs where everyone things they can early a huge salary as soon as they are done.
33, Medical Secretary Degree, graduated in 1999
nm
too stupid to post on a board that i have a college degree and am going to be an MD?
OK you got me. I am a doctor and I come to this board to see how I can better serve the MT world. I stopped seeing so many patients and I have stopped continuing my education to post on this board. You got me guys. I'm a real life doctor and I post on the MT Stars board. You got a problem with that? Talk to my business manager after you obtain clearance with drug testing and background check. hahaha.
Now go away I'm Busy MD'ing.
My DH paid every dime of his bachelor's degree working....
36 hours a week and going to school. How did he do it? He didn't get involved in serious relationships because knee he would get sidetracked and wouldn't have the time to devote to school. It also helped that he lived in California where state college tuition is reasonable. For his master's degree, he borrowed the money from his father (only about 4,000) and paid every cent back right away (this was after we were married and had 2 kids).
Ten years here. I would get a bachelor's degree. This job is looked at like cashiers at the sto
Service owners aren't paying enough, hospitals are continually outsourcing all their work, so at one point or another, you will be working for a middle man for little wages and no benefits. This industry has gone from a respectable profession to monkeys at computers in their jammies with babies on their laps.
What's the code to insert a degree symbol in MS-Word...
I know it's alt+ a set of numbers. Thanks!
Take your medical degree into the office and voice your concerns.
How do you know the patient isn't getting the proper care? No two patients are alike, just because your child has the same condition doesn't mean anything. This parent probably has googled her child's condition and is working along with the doctor. As an MT, you should not talk about any patient even with the other people in the office. It is confidential information and very unprofessional.
if people are anything like our higher education with a degree person, i'm staying in.
really and truly, i have a very intelligent and supportive network of friends and family and i am not a recluse. i just don't mingle well with people who don't think before they talk as in the higher education chick. that's downright scary when you think about it.
I honestly have to agree; even after a nursing degree, with tons of biology, ....sm
anatomy, epidemiology, physiology, chemistry, etc., it all comes down to intricate knowlege of the human body, in all specialties and subspecialities, along with excellent grammar/punctuation, BOS, great listening/interpretive skills, computer/peripheral skills....there is really so much to this career that I really get more than annoyed when referred to a "medical typist." We need constantly changing, growing, intimate knowledge of the human body, pharmacology, psychiatry, surgical specialties, special procedures, and how many of us, as the doctor is stumbling over his dictation or cutting himself off have to KNOW what the doc SHOULD BE dictating at a certain point during a quadruple bypass or salpingo-oophorectomy? I think you may do very well with oral surgery/dentistry, and even some maxillofacial surgery/plastic surgery, but in-depth understanding and knowledge, along with all the tech troubleshooting, listening skills, constant vigilance in editing, etc., comes with a comprehensive and up-to-date program, continuing education, and lots of hard work and mentoring. The AAMT modules, in addition to my own courses, helped me out tremendously in Surgery, General Med, and Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging. Good Luck!
Mine are in year-round thank goodness! They've started their new year 2 months ago.
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Union diesil mechanic - good pay, great benefits. We swap year to year on who brings home more sm
money.....but I am an IC and he has all the benefits...health insurance/dental that the company pays for, pension plan, 401k, etc. Factor all of that in and he makes way more than I do.
Mine are on a beanbag wrist rest. Need wrists at 90-degree angle
s
to cowgirl - Last I knew, last year the job paid $25,000/year no taxes, etc.
The hospital was bombed about a year ago, but not a lot of damage, very minimal damage.
44-year-old WF, M, Texas, 3 grown kids, just had 26 year wedding anv.
nm
nope, still crunching last few days of year to hit my 50k this year. how can you when you haven'
;
Sort of
Here in NC we had a very hot summer, followed by a comfy fall. It was cool and dry, and I was able to keep the heat off, and just occasionally use the AC when we'd get a warm/humid few days. But since the temp dropped 50 degrees IN A DAY, all my savings are being sucked away as my heat pump had to go into overdrive to warm my house up quick.
I sort of do
I have one full time job of about 50 hours a week for a national MT service. I also work for an imaging center and radiologist for about 25-30 hours per week doing transcription and coding. I am a single mom of a six year old and live with my BF and his teenage daughter. It is trying sometimes. I sometimes do not work as much on the second job, but overall I work about 70-80 hours per week most of the time.
most definitely have some sort
of day care, even if it's someone coming to your house for part of the day. you're not going to be able to make any money if you're stopping every couple of minutes to tend to your child-I know because I have to have my 3 yo home with me 2 days a week and unless he's sleeping, I have to stop every 2-3 rpts for some reason or another. in the summer it's easier because I can take my laptop outside while he plays. even it your child is older, it will still take a while before they know when it's ok to bother you and when it's not. it's the best thing being able to work from home but it will take a while for you to develop a routine. good luck!
Sort of like....
asking if Bush is a good president because he's shipping out our U.S. jobs faster than he can say "Sadam tried to kill my daddy so I invaded Iraq." My opinion? I wouldn't read that rag if I got it for free. AAMT orgnization is synomous with Judas, Bush, etc.
I did this..sort of
I still have a couple small accounts but they certainly aren't worth the aggravation and may be giving them up.
The downside is getting used to only having 1/2 the money as before since the taxes are being taken out from the get go and now having to meet production on a daily basis which is getting tougher to do, having to remember to ask ahead of time for time off and vacations and especially trying to remember to ask if I want a holiday off. Having someone tell me what to do.
The upside: Health insurance, pension plan, savings account, paid holidays, extra pay for overtime, having taxes taken out immediately and not having to pay quarterly taxes. .. No more headaches. No more scrambling to find more tax write-offs at the end of the year, getting refunds from the IRS instead of paying in.Incentives for going above and beyond the call of duty. Having weekends off (first time in 8 years), having part of a day for myself (first time in 8 years).
Need I say more?
I had one of those, sort of....lol
I had a doc who always dictated from his cell phone. Well something happened to where he didn't get it hung up or maybe he had another call and forgot he was on the other line, I don't know. Anyway, at the end of the dictation it sounded like he hung up and then the phone started to ring. He answered it and said hello a few times and then said "F-you" and hung up. I laughed my butt off because he was basically saying that to himself because he didn't hang up. Dumb butt! lol
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