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Take it. You're lucky. Make sure you don't get stuck doing other secretarial stuff, tho'

Posted By: too. nm on 2006-02-24
In Reply to: New grad needs advice - Lori

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PMS-ing --- you're one lucky newbie!!!
May I know what company are you working with? Thanks.
Took me 10 years to get to 9 cpl. You're the lucky one! :) nm
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Probably make in the low teens at first, unless you get lucky with great dictators. nm
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You're not going to make 2007 into 2003 (sm)

however you can SAVE documents in 97-2003 format.  97-2003 uses .doc, 2007 uses .docx.


When you save your document, go to save as ... then as a word 97-2003 document.


Go to OPTIONS (you'll have to find it after clicking on the big round button on the top left corner) and there's a way to default it to save as 97-2003 all the time.


Use the email on the site to make contact. I think they're merging with
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You got lucky. See the tons of posts here of others who weren't so lucky. nm
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stuck on a word
Hello.  Is there a site that I can ask other MTs a question if I am stuck on a word or medication?  Thanks for all your help.
Where does this stuff come from???
I'm a 2005 M-Tec grad and never was given the impression by them that finding a job would be easy. But surprise, it WAS easy. I was hired by a national right before graduating with no testing, just based on my education and how I did in the course. I am still with this company, making good money 1 year into the job, and am very happy there. My experience may not be typical, but my first MT job was the easiest job I've ever gotten. It isn't ALWAYS hard, especially if you go to a school like M-TEC or Andrews.
Gotta know your stuff or you'll have to look up everything you hear. Must
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Look stuff up in onelook.com. Great reference! And then there
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Agree. Ask if the load can be split or if you can do only the later dictated stuff. You
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Don't worry - you'll learn all that basic stuff
in school. They used to teach it in secretarial classes, of course, but if you know you want to be an MT, go to one of the top schools (M-Tec and Andrews), and you will be ready when it's time to test.
Just keep saving his/her stuff as shortcuts/templates. After about 10 reports, you'll have
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will not - not if you're competent. If you're incompetent they will fire you anyway
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Need to finish...don't buy something like this until you're positive it's job you're goi
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You're not a "new MT" if you have no training, you're not an MT at all. nm
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I got lucky, too
I started 3 months out of community college training. I worked at home part time for a large, local medical group. My supervisor and most of my coworkers were always willing to listen, over the phone via the pc speakers, to a difficult place in a dictation. I have been there just over 3 years now and am very happy with them.
I actually have applied to a large nat'l for part time and/or prn work hoping to gain even more experience.

Guess I got lucky!

I worked with a great group of people who were more than happy to answer a quick question if they could, and after a while it went both ways.  I really didn't understand the competitiveness until I worked for a national inhouse when they had an office here in town.  What a rude awakening. 


You are very lucky, with 4+ years exp, I get .09 cpl - nm
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You got lucky, but it's RARE to be
able to get a job with a "cheap school" education. Many places upon hearing what type of education you have will not even let you take their employment test - and you probably would not be able to pass it even if you did. So you would end up starting all over again, spending more money for a GOOD, reputable school. Just ask the many, many people who have posted here and other places, moaning that they got excellent scores at the "cheap" school, but now cannot find a job.
I guess I was lucky
I graduated in June from At-Home Professions. I had a job a few weeks before I was finished. Now four months later I am done training and making 10-cents a line! I had a mentor until last week and now I am completely on my own working for a hospital in California in Neurology. I guess I was just lucky...keep on trying. I could not afford the "top three" schools. I feel that my school was adequate, it gave me a start and I've had to work really hard, but it has been well worth it-I am making awesome money, work about 4 hours a day and get to stay home with my 2 boys.  Find someone to mentor you-the best thing I ever did.
So you got lucky. Doesn't mean everyone will. nm
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You are very rare and lucky indeed. NM
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If you are lucky you can expect 6 cpl. nm
 
....No $40s here, but I'm lucky to only work PT. nm
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call me lucky then, nm
nm
I'd thank my lucky stars...
... that I found out before signing on to work that they are not professional. This did not happen to me, but if it did, I'd take it as a signal to run as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

Unless, of course, they notify you that the phones are out, or the power is out, or something... there's always a way, even if it's calling from their own personal cell phone; unless, of course, their computer is down and they don't have your phone number anywhere else.... I suppose it's possible, but any other excuse short of medical emergency on their part is very, very doubtful....

Actually... on my start date with TRS, the very first thing was supposed to be a phone call from the tech guy, to get the computer set up. When he did not call at the designated time, I e-mailed the recruiter (who was my only contact person up to that point), and in about 10 minutes, the tech guy DID call, apologizing abjectly--but he had an MT whose computer system was COMPLETELY down and he was trying to get her back up and running, and was it okay with me if he called me back in half an hour or so, because she really needed to get her work done, and again he was really really sorry, but it was an unavoidable delay. Of course it was okay, and we went on from there; everybody else called me EXACTLY when they were supposed to--trainer, supervisor, HR person.

I suppose I'd wait and see if they bother to contact you at all, and then see what kind of a lame (or maybe not so lame) excuse they offer; and take all that into consideration if they offer you a job. And listen to your gut; because if you can't trust your own instincts, who CAN you trust??
better thank YOUR lucky stars. You won't see that pay scale ever again.
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Let us know when you find a job. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones. nm
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Even some of us most experienced MTs don't make that. Make your
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I was lucky if I made $1 an hour my first week! sm
It was horrible! After a month, I am now up to $8 an hour.(I know that is still not much!) I would look up every single drug and doublecheck the dosages. Now, I am familar with many of them and it feels good not to have to look them all up. It is great that your company thinks you are doing good work!
Getting lucky w/a great account figures in greatly. You'll be
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Most people lucky enough to be paid hourly worked on-site first.
Otherwise those jobs are very rare.
aren't we lucky this site has you to correct our spelling/grammar usage.
maybe you should consider editing.
You're new and you're already frustrated?
You better find a new profession because doctors have always been lousy dictators and they always will be. It comes with the job. Nobody will ever say anything to the doctors about lousy dictating. They bring in the money to the hospitals. They can do anything they want. Get used to it.
make as many as possible
expanders equals $$$$.  But you have to be careful not to use the wrong one. If you have two that are similar you may end up with something ridiculous in your report so proofread well!   I like to make Expanders for entire physical exams and operations. Some operations by some doctors are so similar it's worth it to do that.
Low MT pay v. those who make $40k+

I see so many people complain about the current rates of pay for MT's and say that they're barely making it. Then, every once in a while there's a post by someone who says they've been working as a MT for two or three years and are making over $40k. What gives?


Are the MT's making this much money just "lucky", with the right company or in the right situation, or just very fast? Are they working for their own accounts with no benefits and have to take a lot of taxes out of that $40-45k? Are the people who complain most about pay just newbies? Or, do many of you consider that amount to be barely making it? I live in the midwest, and that salary could easily support a somewhat modest lifestyle for myself, my partner, and our baby while he goes back to school.


I have a pretty good understanding of all the variables that go into MT salaries and that it's slow starting out. I realize this isn't a profession you get into solely for the money. I'm just wondering if it's reasonable to shoot for (for example) making $40k/year as an MT three years after graduating from Andrews.


Try these guys. They make (sm)
all sorts of handy gadgets like that.
I'm sorry you couldn't make it
Business actually is growing at a record pace. I'm truly sorry that you weren't able to meet the standards (one error per page...50 pages, 50 errors). It is not unusual for disgruntled students to forgive their inadequacies and blame it on the Company.

However, once enrolled in our program you can always come back and display your "talents". If you have been inactive for 6 months, you can pay a $50 reinstatement fee, submit a new application, and resume.

If you are that talented, making all that money, what do you have to lose? Another client, hospital, clinic?

I really don't think I'll hear back from you, $50.00 reinstatement isn't "petty cash," right?

Lin
Then you don't have what it takes to make it

as an MT.  If you can't digest truthful information being given and have the courage to digest it, apply it to any areas of yourself that might need tweeking, then you will not last as an MT.  This industry can be pretty rough at times.  If you have thin skin, you won't make it.  I can only imagine how you will take QA feedback.


Good luck to you.


Did you make the wine?
Some friends of mine like to make muscadine wine, here in Georgia.
Make sure you present yourself at your best
There is a lot of competition out there. You have to make sure your resume reflects you at your best. Have someone review your resume for typos, spelling, grammar, puctuation, or other errors. Make sure it is as perfect as it can be. Make sure your cover letter is perfect as well. The MTSO I work for has commented more than once that when she gets a resume with errors (for example, run-on sentences, missing punctuation, typos, etc.), she just drops it in the trash. When she advertises a job, she gets so many applicants that she doesn't waste her time with those who don't even look good on paper.
Y would it make it MORE DIFFICULT?
Having NO school experience is worse than having school experience????? I find that very hard to believe.
Actually, someone did make the statement
above that if you graduated from M-Tec, Andrews, or CareerStep many employers will waive the experience requirement. I'm thinking that is where the discrepancy lies. The statement is being misinterpreted to mean that they will waive experience altogether instead of just waiving it for testing.
do you mean you make 9 per every 65 char?
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It isn't going to make much difference either way because
you're not producing a lot of minutes, a lot of lines, or a lot of pages. 
That sure is a lot $$ for the course. You can easily make
$15K/year, but getting that first job will be difficult.   I personally would not have invested that much money in taking an MT course. 
Yes, this does make sense...
 in the fact that I see the differences between these two sentences. The problem is, I don't know what to do with that information.
Forgive me, but WHAT do I have to do to make $40,000

a year?  After 18 months I am so frustrated...0.07 cpl at 1000-1200 lines per day.  Did I make the wrong choice or am I just not SHARP enough? 


 


 TIA


To make 40K per year,
You have to make roughly $20./hr for a 40-hour week (if my math skills are any good!). To do that, you need to either make a higher line rate, or produce more lines per hour. That means doubling either your lines per day or your cents per line.

I would venture a guess that most folks making 40K a year do NOT work for nationals, but have their own accounts which tend to pay more per line, which ups the $ per hour. Of course, with that comes a whole new set of headaches and probably more incidental hours (billing, delivering, bookkeeping...time spent maintaining an account in addition to transcribing hours.)

Unfortunately, by the time we see ads everywhere for big money opportunities (transcription, selling on ebay, raising alpacas, etc.) the prime time to get involved has probably already passed, and then folks who respond are stuck with disillusionment and bills for starting costs/prep.

Just my humble (and maybe a bit pessimistic) opinion.
You make more editing???
I make $22/h transcribing...interesting