Good for you. I am MQ employee, 13 years. SM
Posted By: anon2 on 2005-09-24
In Reply to: YESSSSSSSS!!!! Just quit MQ -- LOVE MY NEW JOB --- HOORAYYYYY - MadamX
I just read on MTJobs.com MQ is offering $2000 sign on bonus@ I have not had a raise for years, get calls at 2 AM to do STAT reports, feel burned out. Not only am I leaving MQ, but I am starting a new career in the food business.
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An employee who has worked somewhere 15 years..
even upon leaving. At least an acknowledgement to let you know they realize you are a person with a life, not a machine plugged into a machine! I know how you feel.
Meghan, with 9 years of experience and if you are an employee and if
this is your first QA job, I would say $14 is about average to just a tad below average. I think $15 is a better figure, but I would pay probably $14 for someone on their first QA job with your experience, but I would definitely if I were you do some looking or try harder to get your hourly pay increased.
In my mind there is a lot more that goes into a good employee/worker (sm)
than production - and you know this as long as you have been in this business!! I would just go on doing what you do best and doing the very best you can and not worry about the figures. Best of luck to you!!
Not a good deal! I get paid 20/hr employee for working with new MTs
x
Excuse me but federal taxes are paid as employee by employee
The ONLY difference in IC is you pay the ENTIRE amount of the SS which is the 15.25%, as an employee you only pay 7.75%. And you can easily make up that difference in deductions. As an employee you just have someone else manage your withholdings and as an IC you do it yourself. I have much more usable income being an IC and not an employee and I am strict about putting aside what I need to. But everyone always says you have to pay your own taxes, well your employer does not PAY them for you -- except 7.75% of SS, they merely withhold it for you. As an IC you are the employer.
.08 for only 2-years exp. is good- sm
obviously you do not type as fast as you think, or else type a lot out and not much Expander use. I am a snail, I type on average 60 WPM, but that can go as low as 40 WPM. I get .09 cpl at 4 years experience (not paid for spaces either so it is really about 7.75). I make between $12-$15 an hour which is okay for me. I do not have to live on what I make. But if you are only making $64 a day and have to live on it, that is not good. As for MTs making decent money, some do, but it is a myth that you will make $40-60K your first few years. If I applied myself I could make about $24K a year (before taxes of course). Those who make a LOT of $$$ are those who have one or more of the following: their own accounts, easy work, super fast typists, expand everything, don't have to look up much either terminology or dr. names/addresses and work non-stop. My work varies in difficulty, some easy, some hard; some days I look up a million addresses, others only 1 or 2. There are tons of variables in making a good line rate and salary. Obviously try to get faster at typing; try not to be distracted and enter more shortcuts/macros into your expander. I try to do that with every dictator I get so the next time I will be faster at them; yes it slows me down but in the long run it will pay off. Good luck.
After 25 years of rad MT, I think that is a very good
offer, it is what I make. I get quite a bit of long stuff, but with using macros, Is still make my quota in 4-5 hours per day. I love it. I would take the offer.
If you're good enough, I don't think those years
will matter.
Sorry, I don't know of a specific company. Hubby gets benefits, so that's never been a factor for me. I work for MQ right now, which I'm trying to get out of and have started another PT job. That one's good, but it is IC with no benefits. MQ does have benefits, but I really don't know how they are.
I would suggest posting on the company board and asking more specific questions, i.e., what are some companies that have decent insurance, do any companies give paid holidays, etc.
In all honesty, you probably won't find a company that fits all you want. You may have to decide which are most important and go from there.
I did NutriSystem 15 years ago. The food was good.
I got scared when the week I went in and had eaten off the program they said, "We've created a chemical balance in your body and ANYTHING you eat off the program screws it up." That scared me. I wondered what in the heck their chemical balance was and decided I couldn't live with it. I got off. I've obviously gained back all the weight (60+ lbs) all because I BELIEVE if you don't want to stay on it forever then you can't do it. You'll never get their chemical balance with regular food and you'll gain if and when you decide to quit paying and go off their foods. Think real hard, change what you're eating with real food and you'll do much better in the long run.
Depends on how much experience you have. I have 26 years, not good for me. nm
nm
If you haven't done MT in many years, that is a very good rate...sm
Many things have changed and companies usually require more recent experience. I say go for it!
Heck, yeah! Good pay for 1-1/2 years experience.
I've been using it a few years now. It's pretty good. You'll get used to it. -nm
x
"That's Life." It was only on a short while a few years ago, but was really good. nm
x
Good things take time. (this is addressed to OP, BTW) My first 15 years or sm
so of MT was without the benefit of using an expander. When Expanders became the norm, I was reluctant to try, thinking that it would be more cumbersome than by not using it at all. Was I surprised and pleased I had ventured into the Expander world.
Since you're at home you can add entries on your free time, even if you do 5 or 10 at a time, when there is no pressure on you. Start out with expanders for "the patient," "-year-old," the names of your doctors, anything that is repetitious. You will be surprised how much time this will save you. My initial expander, PRD, actually calculated saved Keystrokes and productivity. Back then I was saving 30%!
The expander is especially helpful for those crazy terms that are hyphenated or have camel caps, those that I always had to look up to check myself. Create your brief form by just using straight lowercase, for instance, duoneb for Duo-Neb (or d-n).
Speed will come, don't worry. Good luck to you!
(Posted in the wrong place--I always do that!) This is in response to OP.
I agree. It's an impossibility for me even with years of experience AND good dictators. nm
m
A good friend died of cancer that I suspected years before
because of a test he had and he had asked me to get a copy of, which I did, but not being "qualified", it said possible metastasis, I just told him I couldn't get it for some reason, and to talk to his doctor. His doctor, for some strange reason said it was "normal". I then asked him to get a copy of it himself, but he didn't. My husband told him to go to another doctor. It took several years, but he eventually was diagnosed with cancer after having a seizure, (it had spread to his brain) and he died a few months later.
The bottom line is, we're really not qualified to diagnose or advise people. I do feel terrible guilt for it, (you should've seen me at the funeral) but there's nothing we can do. If a doctor doesn't diagnose something properly, even if WE KNOW, there's still nothing we can do about it. We don't have the capacity to treat them and nobody is going to listen to us.
A few years ago, Atlanta in-house average was about $12-$15/hour, plus good bennies. nm
By the way, as of about 5 years ago, Wellstar was with a service. They might not even have in-house MTs. Hope so for your sake :).
The Dorland's Cardiology Word Book is good, too. Might find books at half.com even if a few years
s
You an IC, statutory employee or employee?
That designation, and/or forcing the IRS to designate you, can make a diff. Are you a corporation? Partnership? You need WAY more help than we can give you.
If you are employee, unless suit against your employee
otherwise the posts on here as far as I can see telling it like it is. I think a lot of the posts are so young they just don’t have a clue as to what it means to be an employee. You do as your employee wants (I am talking reason now, not stupidity as far as sexual advances, etc) or else you find another company that fits your personality better. You do not confront, you do not tell your employee no, that is their job, not yours. This is such a simple thing for people who have been in the work force for any period of time.
58, AHP/self-taught, trained at hospital 5 years, now with 2 of my own accounts for 10 years, employ
Also worn out 2 keyboards in 4 years. I will never retire. DH will come home some day from work and I'll be slumped over my keyboard. I put in 14 hours a day 7 days a week.
Pack years = packs smoked per day x years of smoking - sm
25 pack-years = 25 years of 1 pack a day, or 12-1/2 years of 2 packs a day.
I don't think pack-years applies to someone who smokes only cigars. But I don't know for sure.
I worked for Cbay for 3 years. I was also part of their lay off back many years ago. sm
Even though I got stuck in a lay off era, I still love the company. They paid well then. The people were nice (exception of 1 person) and if I had the opportunity I would go back again. Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how u look at it), I have a great paying job right now, so I am not looking for a change. I do know that at one time, they asked management to accept late paychecks, but never sure of the reason why. My check was never late.
I know it used to be 5-10 years back, but the laws changed within the last 2 years. They can only g
x
6 years legal then switched to medical 17+ years ago. sm
I don't mind doing legal and will do it now from time to time, but be prepared to be totally bored out of your mind.
At least that's the way I feel. I love to transcribe, learned legal in college, went on to get my paralegal degree, etc., etc., but I did temp work when the kids were younger, which was about 90% medical and I would never go back to legal except for once in a while.
Booooooring.
Only 3 years away from reaching total years for retirement
but if I had to do this and raise a family, would feel exactly like you do. The pay is terrible compared to what I used to make. I work 32 hours a week, hope to be able to continue even after full retirement age. I have worked on VR now and unless places get to where they really do not care about how their reports look, think they will need MTs. I very seldom do a report and it is 100%, just cannot remember 1 like that and most take a lot more editing. Working now because want to, not have to anymore, thank goodness!!
That is a good offer. Pay is not that good at UIMC. Good luck! nm
x
I dumped my ex 20 years ago, but got lucky 13 years ago
It would take me all night and pages and pages to describe what a bad person my ex-husband was. After six years of putting up with his OCD, verbal abuse and alcohol, I left him the house, took the kids (5 and 1) and didn't look back. That was 20 years ago.
I wasn't looking to get married again, but I did. After 13 years I only complain when hubby doesn't see things my way. :)
My older kids, who were 5 and 1 when I left, are married and have kids of their own now. My husband gets the Father's Day cards. Their "real" father sits alone in the perfect little house I left behind and let him have and he drinks himself into oblivion every night because nobody is "perfect" enough, including his kids and his grandkids that he never sees.
Sad, but true. So glad I smartened up and got out of there when I did.
We have been supporting other countries for years and years now.
What is the big deal. Look at your clothes, cars, items in your house. You will see mostly China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan etc., etc. We have not supported our own people like we should have for years now!!!!
Only 2 in 13 years for me. First Edix for 8 and now Webmedx for nearly 5 years. nm
.
When I trained, back years and years ago
We did not have spell checking nor the internet (Google for instantaneous help). OMG, how did we do it? We used Correcting Selectrics with the lift-off tape to correct errors- you only had dictionaries, both English and medical, to look up things so yes we did have to learn to spell all those big longgggggggggg words.
MT: 24 years. Same company: 11 years same co. after buyout.
x
Grammar Question: 9 years' ago or 9 years ago? *sm*
 I have a terrible time trying to remember this rule! HELP!
Worked inhouse for years and years
Inhouse transcription from 1973 to approximately 1992 and we had no downtime for answering the phones and when the physicians came into the room (or others) needing some assistance, just part of the job. I did not feel bad about doing it then and I dont see why you would either. You don’t realize that probably you are making right now more than if you are outsourced, right? You have hourly salary plus incentive. Guess how many of us have that now? Probably inevitable about outsourcing so I would say just enjoy while you can. The pay our here now sinks further and further. I make, for instance, 4 cents a line for voice recognition and 8 for straight. Now, more complaining?
IC or Employee?
I read an article on the web regarding how companies are abusing the independent contractor status to keep from paying benefits, WC, social security, etc. In my situation, I have been with the same company for three years and I do not get shift differential, weekend differential, or overtime. I work 7 days a week, totally directed by the company, hours set by the company, etc. If I had been an employee, which I believe I have been all along, I would be owed thousands of dollars in overtime. Where do YOU fall? Below is the IRS quick look at where you stand.
http://www.ftmn.com/Employee.html
An employee
I cant say who but it is an employee.
You are an employee. I am not. Again, you are an employee because SM
you need "employee stuff" but I am not an employee because I don't need employee stuff. I just need work.
Why do *I* have to adhere to a schedule? I don't. And my MTSO loves me to death because I just make her look good.
You need to go to an all-employee company or a company where you are the boss so you can stop this from happening. The MTSO just wants the work out of there. You want it to all be suspended until you sit down to work, and that is just not going to happen, nor should it.
No, FT employee
Looking for another job this very minute. I think this is way over the line.
As an employee ---
If I actually work 40 hours a week, my gross is about $730, which I think is good when I also have all taxes cut (Federal match), PTO, STD, LTD, healthy, dental, vision, internet reimbursement, quarterly and yearly incentives in addition to base pay. Never run out of work. Benefits add about 30% more to base pay, so it seems to be a wash with the ICs who have commented.
I left a job recently where I worked 5 hours a day and grossed $750/week with all taxes cut, 2 paid weeks vacation a year, free health insurance. I left because they were getting interns to work for free and forcing out their higher paid and longer term employees. Had to use vacation pay when there was not work or not get paid at all.
I like the pay/hours at the former job but I like the current stability that I have now better.
Employee
This is the exact reason our company will never use an IC. We utilize employee status transcriptionists
This is what I do. I am an employee
but my company is in FL where they don't have state tax. I don't need any $$ taken out for federal, but I have extra $$ taken from DH check for state taxes. 2005 was the first full year we did it and this year we are getting back $450 state, when we've paid in the past, plus a penalty for not having enough taxes taken out. You could also change dependents if appropriate.
IC vs employee
Can someone explain to me the difference between 8 cpl as an employee and 8 cpl as an IC? I know you have to pay your own taxes as an IC but what I mean is what does 8 cpl translate into once you pay self-employment tax. How much less are you making as an IC at 8cpl than if you were an employee at 8 cpl is what I am trying to ask. Thanks.
IC vs employee
If you are an employee, the employer pays half of the Social Security tax. If you are an IC, you have to pay the full amount yourself. HOWEVER, you can then take a deduction on your taxes for that second half. I haven't figured my taxes yet, so I don't know if it is a deduction or a tax credit (which is better), but at least it does help so you don't end up paying the entire amount. As an employee you also don't have all the deductions that ICs get, so that makes a difference in the bottom line, too.
Are you IC or employee?
If you are an IC, you can take off whenever you want (with appropriate notice of course). If you are employee, do you have vacation/PTO time? Do they not let you use it when you want?
Are you an IC or employee? - nm
nm
Employee (sm)
I work for MedQuist.
anyone go from IC to employee and like it better?
I was offered a job and I'm now weighing the options. I have always been an IC and have been offered employee status with another company. The pay is 1/2 cent cheaper than what I make now as an IC. The hours are still flexible and they do offer good benefits, PTO, vacation, etc... Has anyone gone from IC to employee or tried both and would like to comment? Thanks!
IC or employee
In my 22 year MT career I've found that doing a bit of both works best for me. Since I'm a single parent I really need the insurance benefits, and with regards to taxes, my accountant told me it's best to keep your W2 job because the taxes you pay there helps to pay your self-employment taxes. I do 20 hours W2 and the other half IC.
ms
IC to employee...sm please
I would like to hear from any of you that have gone from an IC to an employee, on howyou handled the changes. I am thinking about giving up my IC position (which is my own account with a hospital) to look for a full time position with a national company. As an employee, do you really have to sit in front of the computer 8 to 12 hours for your shift? What happens if there is nothing to transcribe? Do you have to stay put and wait?
I have only transcribed as a hospital employee (paid by the hour) and then came home for the same hospital as an IC (paid by the minute of dictation) when my youngest had health problems. I have always had enough work with occasional slow weeks at the same time every year. I have done some IC work with a few smaller MTSO. The hospital is going through a lot of changes and I do not feel that my position is stable. I was offered a position with a national a little over a year ago but raised my rates at the hospital instead. (Although after I raised my rates, they looked into using a service and found I was way cheaper to use). But I have recently figured my line counts with this hospital (Never bothered before because I got paid per minute) and figured I only got paid between 8-9 cpl with the same rate on weekends and nights. I was offered that plus benefits with other companies.
Should I try to find a good company and adjust to the changes in my schedule? (sorry so long)
Not An Employee
I'm confused too. I also worked for just one company as an IC before becoming an employee. If I wasn't an IC, I certainly wasn't an employee at the time. I had no benefits, taxes weren't taken out, etc.
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