Working for a national, do you ever feel you can't ask for
Posted By: ICMT on 2006-01-13
In Reply to:
an increase in pay because you're concerned you'll price yourself right out of a job?
I make 9 cents a line IC. I get my line count pumped up to where I want by hard work on the accounts I'm working. I get pretty efficient in that account and then I get pushed to different work where I have to start all over again and work really hard to make a decent line count. It's seemed to happen again, so I'm thinking about requesting a pay increase but then I start thinking that I'm already at a "better than most" pay from what I've seen posted here and elsewhere. What do you think? I'm interested in opinions if anyone will share. Thanks.
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If you are an employee working for a national, sm
it seems most of them require you to work say 8 hours regardless of how many lines you transcribe. Example: if the minimum LPH (lines per hour) that they require is 150, this would be 1200 lines per day. However, if you get those 1200 lines done in 6 hours, you are still expected to keep working for the remaining 2 hours of your shift. This is if you are, in fact, an employee. Just like you would have to complete your 8-hour shift if you worked for any other business. Some companies are more flexible and let you get your 8 hours in over a 10 to 12 hour window. You should get this clarified with your recruiter or supervisor ahead of time. If you need more flexibility, then you should probably get an IC position. Hope this helps. 
Currently working for a major national, they use BOS because they want
all MTs transcribing the same. What the client wants comes first, then BOS on the majority of accounts. This is SUPPOSED to make QA-ing a report easier.
$1,200 month working part-time with National/other. nm
Anybody else not feel like working today?
You know how you're sleep deprived, then when you catch up on your sleep, you feel even more tired than before? Ugh. I slept for 10 hours last night. I've got a killer headache. All the work coming up on my account today is lousy. I'd rather be doing anything else right now. Time to set the timer and get 'er done.
Does anyone else feel like you're always working
i feel like i'm typing constantly!! my whole life is type type type type type
I feel like I'm working my @** off for pennies
nm
Actually, no don't feel weird working at home.. sm
You make a life outside of MTing too. Your message was "who smiles at everyone way too much and tries too hard to make conversation." I'd say, how nice, how kind, how interesting to be around. As opposed to the years of office toods (attitudes), back-biting all the time in offices, no thanks, no thanks ever again. Just tell others you meet you work at home making a living and look at their eyes (they wish they could too, oh yes) the longing for peace and some measure of tranquility. You CAN be a very interesting person to be around.
Do you think you would feel isolated working at home?sm
I do have children and I have worked at home for the last 7 years, the whole time they were both infants. I have one in school now and one in preschool. You are right. There are benefits to being able to pick them up or staying out with them, and I hadn't really thought about the costs of clothing, gas, etc. - good point. Thanks for your input.
anyone feel weird working at home all the time?
Who smiles at everyone way too much and tries too hard to make conversation?
I get less done when my husband is laying in the bed - I feel cheated if I am working while he is re
x
I know how you feel. Working at home can be distracting, just having other things on our minds (sm)
like dirty dishes in the sink, piling up laundry, a bed right across the hall to take a nap in. What works for me is tune everything out including internet distractions and e-mails, phone calls. No more than a 10 minute break every couple of hours, 30 minutes lunch time and just hit those keys. The end result can be pretty rewarding.
One week of working on a new platform and I do not feel it is user-friendly
Editing itself is not bad. It is the documentation of the changes I made, I think for purposes of feedback to MT, which I have to do on Word (outside of the platform) that is driving me crazy and is eating up a lot of time. I do not think I am being productive. I am paid an hourly rate but I am almost embarrassed with my production. I think doing QA without going the through the MTing using the same platform presents a lot of difficulty. Is it too early to decide whether this is a good fit for me?
YES!! Love 'em! Lots of fun, doesn't feel like working out. :)
A small national is a national company that is smaller
than a big national. There are a few "big" nationals, where they have hundreds, if not thousands of employees. I work for what I call a small national, only has about 30 employees. An MTSO could also be considered a small national.
I went from national to small back to national
My large national has all the resources and money to operate successfully and have decent platform, etc., to work on, the small company did not, and I went back to the national.
if you feel like that after 12 years, and I feel like that after six months
what hope is there?
I feel people who feel like this post
needs to a) either be a stay at home mother and not work or b) realize that she is no queen bee and I could care less about a degree. What company out here that you know of compensates for having a degree? Means nothing to them. Your working and being there when they assign/need/require/whatever is what you should do IF YOU WANT A JOB in this field, otherwise get out and do something else or become that babysitter.
You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping. I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes. I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this. Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time. But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course. I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot. My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon). Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day. I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change. Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working
that holiday you refuse to work? Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?
Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.
Someone has to do it!
(1) Don't work for a national. (2) Don't work for a national. (3) Don't work for a nation
If you still want to stay in MTing, which is a dying job, go to a hospital and apply to do radiology. They sometimes hire people just out of transcription schools.
But don't work at home thinking you will make any money at all - even with 20 years of experience - the nationals have wrecked that.
Be under the umbrella of protection at a hospital. That way when your computer breaks, the weather is bad, you are sick, there is no work - you will not be without a paycheck.
The nationals are selling a line of BULL. Gradually they have taken what used to be our built-it benefits------------> and moved it over to their pockets and called it their PROFIT. They are not brilliant - but they are unethical thieves.
No need to feel badly for me - feel badly for an adult who has no control of his/her own life!
I hope these people didn't produce any daughters! Bad, bad example!
working IN A HOSPITAL is different than working at home.
Someone can steal you identity from the internet if they want to. Why would you go to the time and trouble to jeopardize a job that requires some level of skill to steal someone's identity or medical records? You could get a job as a retail clerk and get info easier than going through the testing required to become an MT.
Somehow working at home translates into not really working
My in-laws are the worst. Whenever they plan something last minute and my husband says that I had to work, they say, "but she works at home!". When I one time mentioned I had a "schedule" and basically punch a clock and work full time, I don't think they believed me. They will sometimes call mid-day during the week if they are in the area to see if I want to go for lunch, etc! The best is, my husband doesn't make all that much money, so where is it coming from, the money fairy? I am ready to strangle someone! So I know how you feel and I'm sorry it upset you. You are not alone.
have you tried another national?
It seems you may have worked for one national, have you tried any others? There are a few good ones. I found a great one, but am keeping my fingers crossed because every time I find one, they start growing and changing (for the worst, in my opinion).
Unfortunately, it seems to be the trend in our profession. It could be we will all be out of jobs one day, just all at once in a heartbeat.
Like the age of automation, didn't people lose jobs and become 'displaced' like all at once?
I hate to say this, really, because I respect your feelings, but a lot of us lately are running out of work with our nationals. Complete flipside - I have been running out almost daily, even on 3, 4 accounts. I just ran out now and am waiting to get some work because I really need the money...
There seem to be no easy answers. We are all at the mercy of our employers and whatever they decide to do. Seems there are no laws for people like us...we are like slave labor.
I hope you find your answers, and I think your Sparkle paper towels are giving some great advice! (smile)
$36.5K, national and
For national MTs: how many different...
accounts does your national have you on...just curious.
I started with one and now am up to three and they're trying to shove two more accounts on me for a total of five. Simply hate it...would love to have just one primary account again with just one back-up.
As soon as I pick up momentum on the account I'm on at the moment, I get switched over to help out on another.
And yes...I have complained to them already...just wondering if this is the norm nowadays.
what national?
At home work or office work? How long did it take you to finish the program? What did you do or say to get hired before graduation?
Does that mean I should keep my job with a national?
Most definitely. Not MQ, another national. sm
I've been going on-line from dawn to midnight to get my hours in. You know, this has happened with every service I ever worked for between Thanksgiving and mid January, so I'm not hysterical YET! 
my national because she is very....sm
Only ONE out of plenty I am sure do I like because she is communicative, will email you your qa'd reports if you want, and will even call you at home if you request.....I have NEVER met another QA person like her and I nominated her for QA of the month (year if they offered that but they do not - *lol*)
To me, it's all about COMMUNICATION!!
A national,
Can anyone help me out?
Thanks!
national
!
I'm an IC with a national
and transcribe for a hospital. My TAT is normally 24 hours. Also, they hired me right out of school for 8 cpl.
the BIG national........LOL.....nm
for the national now on DQS...sm
but privately, which is my main source of income, (4 MDs), having them for a long time, I do about 300-400 LPH with a 68-72 character line in a DOS program with ShortCuts expansion program.
I used to type 250-300 LPH for the national before they went on DQS 3 years ago. That's been sliced in half.
best of luck to you!!!!! 
7 CPL for a national for VR.....nm
.
I got 9 cpl with a national
at their mercy as well. I'll take the 8 cpl with freedom to work when I want thank you very much and not be at anyone's mercy ESPECIALLY as an independent contractor like some folk do for these companies. I'll take the 8 cpl, but if I don't feel like working then I don't; end of story. I have my own accounts that I make the rules and the line rate, not some MTSO spoon feeding it to me. If I need more money then I'll just go out and get my own accounts. Not getting rich off the companies online that's for sure. Funny thing is whoever thinks that they are going to make top dollar on an account someone else (like a national or even a small MTSO) really has their head in the clouds. If you are good at what you do, you can go and get your own accounts and make 13 cpl or even more... go figure right???? Good luck my fellow MT's. Nationals are not for me.....
I have only tried one national and that was
I have even tried a small MTSO and they didn't want to pay squat either. I had no trouble at all with the dictators, but they still only wanted to pay 7 cpl as an IC and wanted to run my life, quick turnaround, yada, yada, yada. I would have been better off taking the morning shift at Bob Evans restaurant or better yet, the Dunkin Donuts (Indian-run) would probably pay me better than that. I say try your best to gain an account on your own even if it is only just one. You are better off with a small MTSO, but.....they lose accounts too even faster than the nationals, so then what? Put your efforts into finding an account on your own. There have been some suggestions on this board regarding such and someone was even going to hire a business consultant to get her business going. The other option is, if possible, try an on-site job especially at a hospital even if that is only to network. Make sure all of your friends know that you are a medical Transcriptionist with a great worth ethic. Word gets around and you would be surprised what can fall into your lap. Good luck. I do not like the way the nationals or even small MTSOs operate as far as pay and how they treat you especially when you are an IC.
Not at a national, but it was (sm)
most definitely there when previously working in-house.
Is this a national..which one?..
Just curious because I did hear of 1 co that wouldn't let you check your counts, and it seemed to be causing a lot of issues with the MTs of course. It ranged from some MTs feeling they were cheated out of lines to other MTs just wanting to know where they stood as far as their progress for the day.
The thing is, I can't remember the name of that company for the life of me. I thought maybe if I heard it, it would sound familiar if it was the same company.
I have 5 accounts with a national and still run out.
$18,000+, small national. nm
I like my national (PT) but my local is the best.
With my local I know exactly what I'm in for and how long it's going to take me. With my national, I can work hard at it and do the extra or just meet the requirement.
My local has picked up a ton of accounts so I may be able to find a national that doesn't have a "schedule requirement," i.e. 3 hours 4 days a week and one weekend day.
With my local, I can say, "Hey kids, not much work, let's go get ice cream?" They like that, but they hate "Mom's gotta burn the midnight oil."
It's a trade off. I'm not complaining. I burned my nylons in the fireplace last October and I don't miss them!
I work for a national
and I have a ton of doctors (clinic and hospital). I type 1000 lines in 3 to 4 hours. I don't have a lot of normals. There are some but don't use them on a daily basis. I just put my nose to the grind stone and make myself sit there for a certain amount of reports before I let myself get up. It can be done.
Old MT can't adjust to National sm
I am so very aggravated. I started with a medium sized national about a month ago....and today I counted my lines. I made $30 for 7 days of aggravation and a big headache. How am I supposed to make any money when I get a bunch of choppy little reports, followed by a letter - have to spent 15 minutes or so searching through a big database for what sounds like what doc is saying for a name. Then each file gets saved individually, followed by the number of the voice file, and the doctors name. If I have any questions, I must notify QA and see if they can help figure out the problem, but must put # and place in sound file in email, wait for a response, then fill in the blank. Needless to say, I've had it.....I am a good transcriptionist, but I can't get ahead this way, spending all my time on searching up addresses...and other than a few piddly reports, the rest is letters! Yuk....what would you do???? Thank you......
You will not find a National who will
appreciate you; however, if you worked for MQ for 8 years, you might be able to tolerate Spheris. I personally did not like them but hey you might. Transcend is a good company. I have several friends who work there but also have several who work at Spheris. I would just research as many as possible. Personally, I have never heard anything good about Medware. Good luck to you!
do you work for a national?
Then why do you work for them if they are a bunch of crooks stealing from you? That is the only alternative to my theory, if they do not offer benefits, make you test even when you are seasoned, do not give raises, with no good reason other than they are greedy thieves? It doesn't make sense to me.
never a client from a national, but...sm
A client approached me AFTER both HE and I had quit working for this one particular MTSO...I worked for him, she found out and tried to sue ME for $20K.
I sent her back a play $20K bill and told her that was about as much as her "lawsuit" was worth. Never heard another word from her.
Saying Buh Bye to national company
I got hired FT with a local large hospital today, working from HOME. I was PT with them and got the go ahead today that I am now FT. Yeaaaaa!
Just had to share.
Saying Good-bye to Nat'l that I work PT for. That will be nice. WIll only have 2 jobs instead of 3!
With the national I just left,
you need to basically double your production in order to break even with what you earned before by transcribing. And they're doing VR with the better dictators so only the worst dictators are left. And yes, they overhire, as well.
I'll never go with a national again. Was the worst experience I ever had. Give me a smaller company any day. They seem to treat people better.
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