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The CMT exam is overrated. Don't waste your time & money. Use that money on

Posted By: something else. You won't get (sm) on 2008-01-30
In Reply to: should I get certified? - karver731

paid anymore just because you have it.  There are a few CMT cheerleaders that post to people like you but they are pretty well sucked up into that association.


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Just seems like a big-time waste of money
to buy a keyboard just because a letter is worn off.
Don't waste your money or your time. sm
I was a CMT for 15 years. It never did a bit of good money wise. Like another poster said, there use to be bonuses for production with some companies (large bonuses) and they never had anything to do with CMT.

You will be spending more money than you want to as well as having to get CECs all the time. AHDI doesn't care about American MTs. This test (in my opinion) is just like the "almighty" BOS, just something else to get the MTs money that will never do the MT any good but keep funding AHDI.

AAMT/AHDI or whoever they are has been saying for years it will be mandatory to be a CMT some day. That is baloney. Any decent employer will go by your experience and what you can show them you can do and not by any stupid CMT certificate.

I wouldn't think a second thought about it if I were you. Its not worth the paper its printed on.
CMT is a waste of money & time. Times are different in the MT

industry anymore and having a CMT doesn't make a hill of beans difference. Companies are going to pay what they want to pay. Having a CMT isn't going to get you anymore money.  That's a fallacy.  There was a time when having a CMT would have gotten you a little better pay but those days are LONG gone. Save your money because that's all AAMT wants.  AAMT are big corporation suckups, offshore suckups, and will suckup to anyone or any company that has BIG BUCKS!  AAMT care NOT about the American MT, which became crystal clear with the announcement of their upcoming name change.


Waste of time and hard-earned money
when you can only make may be 1 cpl more if you are a CMT.  They should not charge you, they should just let you take the test and send you the certificate. 
Nope. Huge waste of time and money.
x
Don't waste your money just yet.......sm
There is no way of knowing what equipment you'll need until you get hired.  Unless you can afford to buy everything and anything, don't concern yourself with it until you know what your new company requires.  There is no rush.  You can buy whatever you need on line and get it within a day to two.
Don't waste your money!
There's nothing in that guy's books that you probably don't already know about, or can easily find out about...free!

I do "secret shopping" sometimes, but the shops pay very little.

There are a several MLM companies, (I'm in one), which are not scams, but it's not that easy to make money with them, & takes time.
IMO it is a waste of money. Not too many
companies pay more for CMT certification.
A waste of money
I have seen some companies who advertise more cpl if you are a CMT, not recently, but more like a "fad" a while back. I gawf at that because even if I was certified, I have over 20 years of experience and no certification is going to make me more experienced than actually working that long.
Don't waste your money on it.
nm
TALK ABOUT A WASTE OF MONEY!
Why not pay us more, or pay the people with no work to do this???
Don't waste your money.... A very reputable...
physician was speaking at a conference, a doc who specializes in weight loss and  has a practice for same and I was able to ask about these products.  She said they are just a waste of money.
Why waste money on Lanier

Money, money, money, mmonnneyyy. Singing the Apprentice song.
:+
A big waste of effort and money. You won't make 1 penny more.
x
Personally, I think the books are a waste of money, with a few exceptions. sm
These days, I would get the CD instead of the book, if that option were available.

That said, I don't see the need for, nor can I justify the expense of, the standard reference series, like Stedman's. For the most part, anatomy doesn't change from year to year, and neither does the vast majority of the terminology. Of course, there are new procedures, new terms, etc., but chances are your book won't be up to date on those. So, a ratty old (cheap) used copy might be handy, but the Internet is much faster (provided you know how to use it properly and don't just accept any ol' c--p you find :-).

At most, I'd recommend (A) Stedman's Medical and Surgical Equipment Words (or whatever they're calling it in its latest incarnation), and perhaps the Stedman's word book pertaining to your speciality, if you have just one or two.

Otherwise, save your money.
Heads up folks! I use Express Scribe wav player, but don't waste your money on their other

paid for products because they're buggy and have horrible customer support!  I bought Express Dictate for my doctors and Express Delegate and I have had nothing but one problem after another.  Forget calling, that's not an option.  I have emailed until I'm blue in the face and the "support" I get are canned responses and they do not address the problems I'm having.  They have a forum you can post on, but no one ever posts responses. My client has been extremely patient, actually too patient, and now I'm looking for another alternative.  I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I've had over the past almost 4 weeks.  Thanks for letting me vent...sigh....


Make money? I'm not making any money because of my decision. You read my reasoning
You can agree with me or not, but don't make false assumptions please.
You're working to make money, not to spend money.
These people should be ashamed of themselves taking advantage of people this way!
I also blew some money signing up with Quixtar... The only way to make any money is to bug everyone

you know into signing up.  I felt like a snake oil huckster.  I hated it.  I was flushing money down the toilet from the moment I handed over my money. 


RUN, do not walk away!  I do an entirely different side business now that I really love (in addition to my MTing, which I also love!)  Find something you're good at and that you truly love doing.  Then make a business out of it.  That's the best way to have a side business.  Selling discount toilet paper through Amway/Quixtar?  Not so much. 


Yeah, money, that's it. I paid $20.00 for my dog. Money is NOT THE ISSUE
walk him daily, play ball daily, he sleeps in my office daily while I work. Yeah, I got a lot of money, NOT HARDLY. And, my dog is HORRIBLY HORRIBLY ABUSED because he wears a collar around his neck. It's people like you that make me sick. I am done defending my use of the shock collar. I am going to continue with it and my dog will continue to be pampered , educated, fed, kept warm, and love me for everything that I do for him even when I remind him that his barking needs to stop. So, with that said, I will not respond to any more of your CRAP in reference to the shock collar.
Yes time is money. So is sm

only paying even a newbie a low wage and expecting work that equals experience.  Cut me a break.  Smearing someone's name is childish and immature.  I have walked in many shoes.  I have wasted my time on many a small MTSO's only to find they pay low and aren't worth a darn.  I have my own accounts thank goodness.  I don't need to train others to do the work I should be doing myself.  Let's not kid what this OP really wants, which is to be lazy and call it giving someone a chance.  She should be doing her own work and leave the newbies alone if she is SO FRUSTRATED or pay an experienced MT what their worth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   


time and money
I was just wondering how many hours a week would it take an average Transcriptionist to type 5000 lines?   When you were new, how many weeks did it take you to get up to that speed.  Thanks.
Not worth the time or money
unless you are into titles
In this business time is ALWAYS money.
I wouldn't work under those conditions. Not every company is like the one you described.
Why not use the time and money on something that's going to have more potential than this?
Anything less is a colossal waste of time and money!
is not giving her time/money away cheap, why
x
Money is money and most people will do whatever it takes when in need. sm
if you do bring it to the attn of the office manager, why not offer her a raise to compensate. it is obvious she just needs or wants more money than your office is paying her. I agree, it is a free country and although it seems odd, unless you had it outlined in contract, she can work for whomever or whereever she pleases on the side. at least she is typing and not at a strip joint, lol. I see no conflict of interest, she has experience obviously in whichever field you are in and what is wrong with doing extra in that field. i agree with MYOB "nicely" and concentrate on your reports than looking at older reports and seeing who they are typed by.
I would be 43 and have no life at this time and wish I was making decent money, but not ;0( ...NM
NM
Two jobs don't equal one when it comes to making money and not wasting time. sm
Recommend looking for one good job.
Time, Vegetarian Times, Creative Knitting, Money, Today's Nutrition. nm
s
No need to wonder..It always means less money for the MT and more money for MQ.
z
Money, honey, money!!!!!!.
nm
One year and you make decent money? What is decent money to you?
k
The girl was 13, the rapist a distant relative they took in. Give money, give food and your time, b
you don't put your family at risk by taking in strangers. That's just plain foolish. There were over 3300 registered sex offenders in NO. Where are they now. In your community? Perhaps in your house? Good luck.
Absolutely. Such a time-saver, and in this instance, money saver. nm
x
its a waste of time yet you take the time to respond?

Utter waste of time, unless you have a lot of time--then have at it! nm
x
Don't waste your time there
Very unprofessional. Outdated system. Lacks work. I resigned shortly after getting hired, and I gave them the 2 wks' notice, still worked during those two weeks, mailed an invoice, and still has not received my pay.
You are a big waste of our time.

IMO waste of my time
VR is not taking over the MT position anytime soon. I hated doing editing because it was twice the work and half the pay. I always ended up typing everything over because it was so wrong. Especially w ESL. Docs have to train the computer to recognize their voice and they don't take and don't have the time to do so. I found a company with straight transcription and I am much happier.
Waste of time
nm
Then you shouldn't waste the time sm

going on the cruise if you are going to have to worry about work even if it takes you no time at all to get it done.  When you have an opportunity for rest and relaxation you need to take it.   It will be more trouble having to worry with the work on vacation.   I agree... see if someone locally does MT and get them to do it while you are gone.  Have them sign a contract or something so that you don't have to worry about your accounts.   Or I would be they would hold their dictation and let you do it when you got back.   NO WAY should you take the work with you.   If you have been with them for 5 years, you have already proven your worth.   Chances are if you tell them you are going to take a short vacation since you haven't in 5 years, they will respond and so go, we will hold it til you get back. 


 


Good luck, enjoy yourself!!


I used to waste sooooo much time
looking things up, then get sidetracked, etc. When I started using the stopwatch, I wouldn't reset it until the end of my shift. I just started it running everytime I stopped typing and then stopped it when I started typing again. At the end of the day I nearly FAINTED when I saw how much time I was losing.

I have a 3 to 5-minute limit now. I start that watch and in 3 minutes if I am no where near finding the information, I put a blank and go on. If I feel I've almost found what I'm looking for, I continue but at 5 minutes I call it quits and it gets a blank to QA.

Don't hardly ever send blanks to QA because I can send 2 blanks to the hospital without any trouble.

Still, it helps me keep on task and at the end of the day I can see where I have not been productive if my lines are really sucky. LOL LOL LOL
Why would any decent MT waste their time with MQ

Don't be fooled by their latest spins. If it didn't benefit them, they wouldn't be doing it.   The only ones with a good deal at MQ are the suits. They should be eating some of the slop they feed MTs.


I wouldn't waste my time going to any sm
MT school. This profession has gone down the tubes and continues to go down very quickly. By the time you get out of school, you aren't going to be able to make any money anyway. You will be singing the blues like everybody else here.

Just trying to warn you not to do it. Find another profession and don't waste your money.
OMG! This is too weird! You can't comprehend what I'm saying, so I won't waste your time!
nm
cherry picking is a waste of time

if you get an ESL that you cannot understand, type them anyway the best you can.  If you have to leave blanks, then leave them.  You will get used to the doctor eventually.  (Sometimes I think it will never happen with some!)  Also, if you send the same doctor in enough with blanks, they will usually send you samples or maybe the doctor might start actually speaking BETTER if enough MTs are having issues and send him in to QA often enough.  The cherry pickers are hurting themselves in the long run.  If the same MTs keep getting them and doing well because they are used to them, then they will not get sent to QA. 


Take as many different worktypes as  you can and as many different doctors as you can, it will benefit you in the long run, make  you more flexible. 


well, actually i had responded and given her the answer so it did waste my time. sm
if she was only doing "practice tapes", why try to be so perfect? Practice tapes to get an idea of the profession doesn't mean trying to find out exactly what each word is. i am not usually tacky on this board and don't like it when others are but i did consider that a waste of my precious time to help her when it sounded like she didn't need the definite answer just to get "an idea" of the profession and was most likely needing test answers. someone in the medical field should know those terms.
I don't think it is a waste of time, nor do I find it long to do at all

it's a natural law. don't waste your time posting
hate on MT boards or you will fall under nonsurvival natural law.

just sayin.... truth might not be pleasant but helps to prioritize what you do with your life and time. you don't like what your doing and can't make enough money, get a new skill. the higher up the education you choose to pursue, the less likely you break your back in a field or scrubbing commodes at a fast food restaurant. natural law for modern days.