How long on average (hours) does it take to type

I know it depends on lots of things such as difficulty, typing speed, expanders, etc.  Just looking for how many hours people have worked to get to 2000 lines.

• How long on average (hours) does it take to type - 2000 lines a week
  • Lines/hr - sme
    • lines/hr - sme
  • As you said, it depends on a lot of factors. - depends
  • About 6.5 to 7.5 hours. (nm) - Busy MT'ing
  • Right around 10 hours a week - omt
  • per day - msbeanctr
  • lines - keith
    • I work for a hospital and can do in less (sm) - barbv
  • NetMed Transcription - Karen
  • lines - just me
    • lines - newbie
      • Think of it this way. - my thoughts
      • My advice to you - Happy MQer
      • You're doin' great, newbie! nm - Little Helper
      • 500 to 700 lines isn't bad at all - omt
    • about 10 hours on average, +/- - medq (nm)

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I schedule out maximum of 30 hours per week for transcribing if all docs are in and workload is heavy.  Then I add in 5 hours for printing and pick up and delivery.   Monday and Tuesdays are heaviest with 8 hours each for typing, Wed is 6, Thurs is 4 and weekend is 4.   Takes me an hour a day to do pick up and deliveries to all 4 offices.   Usually work 5 to 10 a.m.  break to deliver and exercise.  Then sometimes 2 to 6 or 5 to 8 evenings if I want and have nothing else to do.  Average 10,000 to 12,000 lines per week.  5 doctors.  I subcontract out psych and plastic surgery account. 

expect to work. Most per diems are only allowed to work a certain number of hours per week. 

Also, find out how much "notice" you will get for working; i.e., will they call you a day or two in advance, or call you the day they want you to work?

The bright side of per diem is that usually a hospital will hire the per diems if they are interested in a full time job before posting elsewhere. It's your foot in the door so to speak.

I am curious to know how many minutes on average does an MT type a day, by either digital or tapes.  And perhaps this is too personal, but how much do you earn weekly with those minutes.  I am also aware it depends on what city or state we live in, which can vary the salary earnings too.

I do enjoy my work as an IC, but feel that I do not make very much.  I cannot complain though, I have plenty of work, I just really wonder if I do not put enough time into typing per day, or perhaps I need to really consider raising my rates.      

Thank you.     

transcribe as it takes the physician to dictate.  So for 30 minutes of dictation, if you sat and transcribed without interruption, it should take about 60 minutes.  However, I believe that was a MTSO telling me that, soooooo 

Now years ago, probably in the mid 90s, I used to work for a hospital that tracked our productivity based on minutes a day versus lines.  The minimum requirement for that job was 90 minutes of dictation in a 7.5 hour day (they deducted 30 minutes for lunch and two 15-minute brakes which equals a 7.5 hour day).  So that kind of debunks the "30 minutes of dictation in 60 minutes" theory that the MTSO had.

I don't know if my ponderings have helped you at all, but there ya go! 

On my slowest day, I will not allow myself to get less than 200 lines an hour.  Depending on the worktype, I can type up to 400 lines an hour.  It is hard for me to consistently stay at that speed as I have orthopedic issues!!!  I also can type extremely fast, (120 wpm).  I also use a lot of Expanders and shortcuts. 

So, you're saying that you got tired of the stress and long hours so you bacame a TRANSCRIPTIONIST!  You crack me up.  Everybody knows that as a Transcriptionist there is never any stress or long hours.

I am a seasoned MT who back in the day 2000 lines was nothing to achieve.  I sat for 8 straight hours, barring potty breaks and 30-minute lunch.  But now that I am pushing 50, I can hardly stay in the chair 2 hours at a time.  I have set my goal at 1600 lines per day as that is what my employer pays 9.5 cpl for.  If I drop below that, my cpl drops also.   In addition, I have a backup up IC position with another company (to compensate when I run out of work on my FT job)  that pays 10 cpl.  I type 2 hours  on that account  (usually at night) and get 600 lines per day.  Fabulous account, fabulous "internet software" everything is right at your fingertips, and they count spaces, headers and footers.   Actually both jobs count spaces.

My advice to anyone wanting to get more lines- first and foremost priorty is check out the software the company uses.  If it is not user-friendly... forget it.  There was this one company who paid 10 cpl, and I could hardly get 500 lines in a 2-hour period.  They said they counted spaces, but it was hard to tell, and they surely did not count footers or headers.

On a normal good day it takes me about 5 hours, somedays I just can't stay focused so it takes longer.  I'm still debating about getting an Expander so just wanted to see how long it took people on average. 

I'd check with a college counselor/advisor on programs they have for women over 30 to return to academia and enter new careers.  Then I'd ask to take some career tests to see what your interests are and what you'd be be suited for.  Also, there is scholarship money available for women over 30.  Ask about it.  

Since I've already raised my kids, I'd also like to state that jr. high and high school are the years our kids need us at home the most.  Those are the years they can get into the most trouble if left to themselves.  If he's already 9, why not just enter college part-time to finish in about 6 to 7 years?  But definitely go talk to a college counselor.

you slice it, both companies will still get 8 hours worth of work out of you.

That is the problem I've been having lately being an MT.  Companies want to pay us on production and they set minimum productivity standards, but want us timed in for 8 hours a day.  My thinking is, if they want 8 hours of work out of me, pay me hourly with production incentive.  If they want to pay me on production and tell how much I have to produce in an 8 hour period, then when I hit that mark, I should be able to call it a day even if I've only worked 4 hours.

Seems these companies want it both ways and it is simply not fair to us MTs.  JMO, tho.