Home     Contact Us    
Main Board Job Seeker's Board Job Wanted Board Resume Bank Company Board Word Help Medquist New MTs Classifieds Offshore Concerns VR/Speech Recognition Tech Help Coding/Medical Billing
Gab Board Politics Comedy Stop Health Issues
ADVERTISEMENT




Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

Yes. I made that my first couple of years.

Posted By: Definitely on 2007-10-23
In Reply to: Opinions: Do You Think $12.00 An Hour Is A Lousy Hourly Wage For An Experienced Medical Transcripti - David

Now it's at least twice that when I'm lucky enough to have a half-decent account. (Those are getting fewer and farther between.)


Complete Discussion Below: marks the location of current message within thread

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu


Other related messages found in our database

I did a couple of years ago

I did about two years ago, two years after I got divorced with a lot of debt.  At first I tried to settle the debts at 25-40%, and supposedly would have 3 years to do so, but then got sued anyway and had two lawsuits, so I was back to where I started.  Spoke to a lawyer about bankruptcy and he said go for it and encouraged me to do it myself.  Of course I didn't own anything except for a car that was worth about $200.00, so it was easy.  It was the last thing I thought I'd ever do, but it flew through without a hitch and four months from the time I filed it was over.  Yes, my credit has been stinky, but it's coming back.  Wish I would have filed sooner.


Don't know about your situation, but a lot of lawyers will offer a free consultation so you could see if it would be worth it for you.


Good luck!


A couple of years ago . . .

this lady in California won the lottery.  She divorced her husband and didn't tell him about the lottery.  He thought she was being very generous because she let them have their house and most everything else.  Well, he started getting all this mail for lottery winners and put 2 and 2 together and took her to court.  The judge was very hard on her for lying and made her give everything to the husband.   Live and learn.


A couple years ago...
someone told me 15-16 cpl, but I'm sure it's more than that.  This person "knew" or so she said.
I tried it a couple of years ago - sm
But I'm a hard stick and they won't do the back of the hand, so I was banned from donating. They did pay me $20 for my time, though, and I think they paid cash on the spot.

Apparently, the more you donate, the more they pay. The place I went to was crowded as heck and there seemed to be a lot of sitting and waiting involved so bring plenty of reading material.

I definitely would have done it on a regular basis had I not been a hard stick.
I did a couple years ago and it was of no help...just my experience..nm
.
Went BK a couple of years ago. It turned out
to be one of the best things ever.  Since then, we only use cash and have been able to save and pay off our house.  Unfortunately, the laws have changed and I think it is almost impossible to file a Chapter 7 now.  Anyway, good luck to you either way!
We went to Maine a couple of years ago and it
was a MAJOR disappointment.   It was nothing at all like you see on TV.   We were in southern ME and people didn't keep up their yards, no one had a single flower in their yard, although there were a couple of hanging baskets and people were not very friendly.  Went to Portland and couldn't get out of there fast enough.  Everyone we met was rude and the place was just so dirty looking.
Same situation with me a couple years ago...
my ex-husband and I still remain friends to this day.  We saw a mediator, who pretty much divided everything the way we wanted to.  He bought out my half of the house, etc. and I even got spousal support for a 1-1/2 years (and we don't have children) and he paid my health insurance for a year.  The mediator will tell you how to file your divorce papers, etc. Cost me about $350 - he just deducted it from what I was getting.  Good luck!
I've used it for a couple of years now - sm
It's not really a typing program - Transnet is just the way to send the files over the Internet - you download the file, transcribe it, then sign it off. I do the downloading on one computer then type in Word on another computer. Works really well but has to have its own foot pedal (darn that Dictaphone!).
This happened to me a couple years ago

I worked for Golden Isle and they had the wrong state that I lived in.  They submitted a revised form AFTER I filed my taxes.  They had the state they were located and NOT where I lived.  What a mess. 


I used Tax Cut and put down document preparation or something similiar every year and never had a problem.   


I heard this on the news a couple of years ago, or maybe it was

Paul Harvey.  Graduates of the Naval Academy received diplomas with "Navel" Academy on them and they all had to be reprinted.  You would think with something like that they would have someone proof and reproof before it went to final printing, and then proof again after printing.  


Along with spelling errors that drive me nuts, bad grammar makes me cringe.  When I hear someone say "I seen" it is like fingernails on the blackboard. 


 


When I joined a couple of years ago it was something like $30 a month and you could either pay

monthly or have it deducted automatically from your account.  If you elected to pay monthly, I think the membership went up about $5 to $10.


There wasn't any high pressure sales.  I basically called them and asked could I come in a check it out and they give you like a week trial or two weeks (my memory is sooo bad!).  Then if you decide to become a member, you fill out the paperwork and they weigh and measure you (fun, fun) and file it all away.  And then periodically they will ask if you want to be weighed and measured to see how much you've lost.


They are really encouraging there (at mine anyway).  They gave way prizes for different things like if you came a certain amount of times in like three months, you got a T-shirt.  And then there are prizes for when you lose 10, 20, etc pounds.  And at mine everyone had a little paper doll that started out at 0 and when you lost weight you moved your little paper doll around on the wall.  It was kind of fun.


Well, I've just convinced myself! 


started at about 8K PT 2002, last couple years 12K but
I did not work much in 2005 for about 6 months when my 5-y/o got diagnosed with cancer and going through chemo, etc. So I would have made a bit more. I expect to do about $16K this year. I alternate my hours a lot though, about 60 or so minutes of work during the school year a day, but then only 30 during the summer, plus a side job that fluctuates ($300-500 a month). I am shooting for $20K next year, still not at FT (5-6 hours a day). I'll see how it goes. I think $12K for PT is good, but that is my opinion.
There have been lots of changes over the past couple of years (sm)
What kind of info are you looking for specifically? Are you asking about posting a resume on the MT Stars site? - or the JLG site? If the latter, I believe JLG takes applications on their web site.
I saw Meatloaf a couple years ago on a news show and...
he looked GREAT.   I guess he had had a heart attack and had lost tons of weight and was taking care of himself.  Apparently he's back on the McDonalds because he looked very heavy and not well at all.  Too bad.  He used to have a great sound back in the day.
I started a neighborhood watch a couple of years ago...sm
we were having similar problems to what you're having and they're gone now. Here's what worked for us. I gave every home in the subdvision a flier asking anyone that was interested in forming a neighborhood watch to come to an organization meeting and made the meeting a week later and on a week night, and gave my phone # in the event someone was interested but couldn't attend then. Out of 150 homes in my subdivision we had 40 people show up and 20 called expressing interest.

Everyone had the same complaints on the same "problem" homes and as a group we decided that each time the noise level was high enough to hear outside of the vehicle or house that we'd call the police. We all alternated placing those calls so the police department didn't think it was just 1 person complaining. The police department agreed to increase the patrols for our subdivision at all hours of the day and night and just having people see them ride through every few hours helped significantly cut down on the problems.

Over time the people that were causing problems either put their houses up for sale or moved out of the rental home and left when they saw that we neighbors insisted on a peaceful and quiet living area. It worked! When these problem homes left the problems with the trash thrown on the roads left as well.

In addition we were having some problems with some of the youth hanging out walking the streets at all hours and it was making some of the residents nervous, especially when the youth were walking through yards. So, we told the youth to stick to the roads, ask permission before cutting through yards to find out who cared and didn't care if they walked through them, and one of the men placed a basketball goal at the end of one of the cul-dec-sacs for the kids to play basketball after the neighbors in the cul-dec-sac agreed it would be fine. It worked - some of them started playing basketball there and they honored requests of homeowners that didn't want them walking on their yards.

Good luck to you!
I switched from WP51 to Word a couple years ago
I chose InstantText as my Expander because it would import my PRD list and that was important to me to make me feel comfortable out the gate. Several of my co-workers didn't really like IT but at the time, it was the one that had the easiest import function and I *had* to have my PRD to type! IT's not cheap, but I think it's well worth the investment.

Also, I highly recommend Laura Bryan's book on Word. There is another lady who is a Word guru, Cheryl something (I'm sorry I can't remember her name at the moment) who is also very good. Basically these are MTs who know you have to keep your hands off that mouse to make money, so they show you the keyboard ways to do things, in contrast to other Word how-to books for the general user which focus on the mouse.

It's a moderately painful switch, in my opinion, but once made, definitely makes one feel more 21st century. :)
Best advice - work in-house a couple of years
You really do need hands-on experience in order to be able to do this at home. You will run into terms that you will have no idea how to look up - like "booj aw boo" would you know to look under bougie au boule? Or "terry onal craniotomy" would you know it is "pterional" or would you spends loads of time looking for "T" words? If you work face to face with experienced MTs, they can help you when you run into similar situations. I'm not being snooty, I am only pointing out real situations that you will be faced with and the reasons MTSOs insist that before an MT can work independently at home they have at least 2 years experience. I believe that most of us have worked in-house in the beginning to get to the point where we can do this efficiently at home. Once you do get that experience, though, stand back, the MTSOs will be beating down your door with job offers. Good luck and hang in there! Remember we all had to start somewhere. Best of luck to you!
I've had Bellsouth for a couple years now. Reliable and no problems. nm
xxx
I switched from SH to Instant Text a couple of years ago and would never go back.
I increased my productivity another 30 percent pretty quickly. And you can still use your old shortcuts with IT. Browse through the IT Commands forum on Productivity Talk for tricks you never thought you could do with a text expander.
Made more 10 years ago
Better dictators back then and the company/facility you worked for didn't give with one hand and take with the other.
Ive been doing this for 4 years and made
37,000 in 2008...A lot of hard work though to get that.
Besides the fact they've had a freeze for hiring transcriptionists for the past couple years.
The MT I know works a few hours, is required to take 2 hours off, then come back and finish her shift. Plus she has to work 4 hours on the weekend. They do work at home but keep to a strict schedule. I wouldn't want it.
How many MTs made more per line 10 years
nm
made more money 15 years ago than I do now. nm.
x
Like I am saying, what I made years ago and what I make now
sooooooo much different. I do not have to raise a family though now and my quest towards making money is not like it was at 1 time. IF I HAD TO support a family, I definitely would not go into this business now or I would plan on working as I did in the past, 2 full time jobs, then I could make ends meet. I am so glad money is not the #1 thing anymore that drives me.
15 years ago I made 75 thousand
a year, but not anymore. To do that, I had a very good paying FT job, and a home business. I worked 7 days a week, sometimes 12 hour days. Now I just work regular, and sometimes PT. I doubt I could make that again unless I want to be a workaholic.
Waited 6 years to buy one could have made
and now I can't imagine living without it. I took a job recently and I could not use Smartype on their program, they had an Expander but with nothing in it LOL and I thought I was going to die!!! Get one...it is NOT faster typing it.
You're okay making LESS than you made 10-20 years ago?
I'm not. No, every "job" doesn't work itself DOWN the ladder of success. I'm working to earn a living, I'm working to have goals, to better myself and my way of life. I would never settle for a job that keeps paying less and less. Sorry, but I disagree with you but to each his own.
Same for me, I made more 10 years ago. It depends so much on account, SM
work type(for me), and expanders. I find it hard to stay motivated when report after report is ESL and a work type I can't make money on. The above poster likes radiology, I like OPs. It is easier to stay motivated when you have that.
I've been at it for 30+ years. 'Back in the day', I too made
about $42,000/year (gross). But the accounts keep getting crappier, and the pay keeps going lower. Meanwhile, I saw gas a $4.10/gallon on the interstate Sunday evening, and I'm slowly becoming a forced vegetarian because I can no longer afford to buy meat or fish.

Meanwhile, the suits at the big hospitals that whine about a 1-cpl increase in the cost of MT have six-(and some seven)-figure incomes.
They (AAMT) made the rules for years until the internet
and those of us who had been isolated in the past got to know each other on line.  We started to discuss this and other issues, and figured out that AAMT is a bunch of bottom feeding scheisters ripping us off while enjoying themselves in Hawaii at their "convention" most likely being paid for at least in part by the dues, fees, and other drummed up charges for useless crap they've gotten out of us before we figured out what a huge money-grubbing hoax their "organization" is.
I haven't made that kind of rate for at least 20 years
Don't know where you live. In my area, that is not good money at all.
Fresh out of school 13 years ago I made 8 cents gross/clinic/no ESL

x


I just left after 16 years of marriage. Hardest decision I've ever made, but something that I ha

My husband doesn't want to work.  Never has and probably never will and it took me 16 years to figure out that nothing was ever going to change.  He has been in and out of college over the years with a number of different majors and when he is on the verge of actually finishing something, he up and quits, because I believe he doesn't want to actually go out and get a job.  He loves the going to school part, the studying, etc., but the actual finishing and putting his education to work, that's too overwhelming.


For years I made excuses for him, supported him, and actually believed that as he got older he would mature and finally find his way.  He's 42 now and runs off every day with one of his unemployed friends to play frisbee golf or go hiking or water skiing or fishing while I'm sitting at home at my desk typing until my nose bleeds!


I was one of those women afraid of being by myself.  I recently had a major depressive snap where I cried nonstop for three weeks.  I found a great doctor who became a great friend and she helped me find the right medicine to get my head clear and then she helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid of anything.  I was already supporting myself and my kids without anyone elses' help.  What was so frightening about leaving my husband behind?


So quietly I made my plans to leave.  I let my husband know that I was going to move back home to the area where all my family still lives when school let out this summer.  He didn't believe me because I had said it all before.  So I just made sure he knew I was thinking about it again.  Then May came along and miracously a job opened up at the hospital in the small community I wanted to move back to.  This hospital never has openings because they virtually have no employee turnover whatsoever.  Everyone's been there at least 5 or more years.  I took it as a sign and made my move.  Within two days of submitting my resume, I had an interview set up.  Without even waiting to see if I had the job, I packed up my kids and our stuff and told my husband "I'm going.  I love you, but if you want to be with me you need to get a job and actually be my partner not one of my kids."  And I left.


I got the job, thankfully.  I've been here a month and I know without a doubt that it was the best thing I've done in a long time for me and my kids.  My teenage son had built up a lot of resentment towards his father and their was a lot of anger and tension between the two of them before we moved.  Now, my son is happier than I've seen him in years.  He's more social, made a lot of friends, and even has a girlfriend now.  My daughter misses her dad, but she has always been remarkably wise for her young age and is very open about saying how calm everything is up here.


So there's my story.  I would never encourage anyone to divorce or leave their husband, and I haven't actually taken the step to file for divorce yet myself.  But sometimes separation is liberating and therapeutic.  It has been for me.  I can't remember the last time I felt so peaceful.


Thirteen years ago made 9 cents gross/clinic straight out of school

I have 2 middle age couple friends. One couple became pregnant from condom failure.
This is not just "irresponsible" behavior! Both couples are "fixed" now, because for them, reliable birth control was NOT. But it's an error to assume this stuff happens to people who are unmarried or irresponsible. Both these couples are raising 2nd families, now, but it wasn't "irresponsibility" that did them in!
i made $15/hr before and didn't stay long because i made so much more on production. sm
that was with full benes too. i wouldn't do it for less than $20, but i think even with $20, i'd want benes. are you in-house?
I don't know how it made such a small diff in your invoice... made a $100 diff in mine! (sm)

If it were only adding up to three bucks, I wouldn't sweat it. $100? Yeah, that's baseball registration for my son for this year. I am not giving tabs, returns, etc. away free when it adds up to that much difference!  Why should I charge less for a Return than I would for a"K"?


 


 


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 take a couple but i too wonder if it's
the mind over matter thing working. i take flax oil capsules for my skin and i can definitely tell a difference if i stop taking it. grape seed plus (antioxidant), i can't tell one way or the other if it works. my neurosurgeon suggested glucosamine for the aches of joint surgery and the grape seed extract because he thought it was pretty good. i stopped the glucosamine because after 2 months i didn't feel any different.
i have been buying the least expensive or whatever is on sale so that might have a lot to do with the results. i would love to find a great energy source!!!
I use a couple..
I have two of the Olay Regenerist products. I like them. I especially like the thermal skin polisher, calls itself a "mini-peel treatment".
Also I have a couple of ESL
who spell things wrong all the time so I can't usually go by them spelling something. After they spell it and it come up when I do the spell check, I always end up having to look up the work anyway.
Yes, I do have a couple of ...
... jobs in mind and plan to put in applications for them tomorrow.  I'm single and I have been out of work in the last 2 years for 9-10 months; also have gone through my meager savings--that's gone.  I do want to work.  But as I've worked for several companies in the past (other than MT) and paid taxes for over 30 years, I feel I've earned some unemployment compensation.  Thanks for your input--
There are a couple out there.
I can't remember the name of the company but one of the owners was Tari. I think they were getting eScription work from Focus but weren't actually Focus.
here's a couple
labtestsonline.org

medilexicon.com
No, there are a couple.
x
Just a couple
For one thing, with the ESL dictators, as you may have guessed the more you type the better you get. When you're new, and especially when your testing and not under production pressure, you might be better off listening to it all the way through once or twice. The cadence and the way sentences are formed, and their syllable accents, etc. will become more clear, especially as you hear them in phrases that you can catch. Then it will be easier to go through and say things like, "Oh, yeah, this guy's E's sound like A's and he says GULLBLUTTER instead of GALLBLADDER.

It gets easier in time, to the point where now I can type with a Hindi accent without thinking about it(and even learned a few cuss words to toss at the doc at appropriate intervals). Most of the companies that I have tested for have maybe had 1 out of 4 or 5 test dictations that were ESL. I would assume that if you did swimmingly on the English speakers and even just fair on the ESL, they would give you a chance, but then again I'm just a worker bee and not very corporate at all!
Here are a couple that I use. sm
www.superpages.com
http://doctor.webmd.com/physician_finder/home.aspx?

Hope they help.