Looking for work as an medical transcriptionist

I have the training to do medical transcription, but not able to find a job because of lack of experience. I have also been told, no one uses medical transcriptionist anymore in this state. Also I have all the equipment to work from home.

There are lots of MT jobs listed here every day: www.mtjobs.com/

Spheris will hire new grads IF they graduated from a school that is highly thought of and if they do well on the hiring test...give them a shot if you haven't already.

Good luck! Don't give up looking.

I have heard to stay away from Focus Infomatics as well as Spheris.

I'm an MT with 16 years experience. Wages have gone consistently down in the past decade. Lately it's the worst it's ever been. There is no work. It's been taken by offshore outsourcing to India, etc.

While voice recognition hasn't replaced the human MTs as yet because we're needed to edit the "finished" reports and fix them, the corporate suits have decided that MT pay should be cut in half or more! Most MT jobs are being replaced by voice recognition jobs that require an MTs knowledge, skills and expertise to edit, yet you'd be lost to find any company that will pay you more than 3-4 cents a line to do it. POVERTY WAGES.

Experience counts for NOTHING in this business. MTs with 10, 15, 20+ years of experience get paid the same as the newbies just starting out, so don't expect your pay to rise with the cost of living. In fact, you CAN expect it to go down, down, down as low as the service owners and big corps will dare to take it.

There is no respect for this business or the MTs anymore. Education, skill, knowledge, experience counts for NOTHING.

I would advise against anyone looking into getting into this sad, sorry so-called "profession." There’s no money in it anymore. No respect. No life when you sit at the computer all day trying to squeak out enough work to pay for a loaf of bread come pay day. Yes, that's an exaggeration but not my much. Believe me; if I would have known 17 years ago that it would come to this, I would have NEVER gone into this business.

Anyone who goes into this fast-dying "profession" after researching the facts is a fool. Just go to any MT message boards and you will see how MOST MTs are struggling to make ends meet even after being in the business for decades. That matchbook mentality of "earning big money while working at home" is a sickening farce, an out-and-out LIE. You will NOT earn a decent living.

I've been an MT for the past 13 years and make very good money and love every minute of the job. The speech rec editors get paid less because they're editing, not transcribing. Editing takes less time and, with a good speech rec system, the pay comes out about the same. I've even talked to some MTs who say they get a little bit more doing speech rec.

There is an MT pay poll in my blog from last year. The cent-per-line pay rates were anywhere from 7.5 to 18 cents per line, depending on experience.

If you have decent skills and speed and can transcribe 200 lines per hour x 8 hours, you can produce 1600 lines per day. If you were to multiply that by a "middling" cent-per-line rate of 10 cents per line (see the rates in the pay poll in my blog), that comes to $160 per day, which isn't bad. If you were to multiply that 1600 lines by 12 cents per line, it comes to $192 per day, which is pretty good.

As I said, I make a very decent living and love the job. I'm treated with respect by the people I work with and have absolutely no complaints about MT.

Just wanted to put my two bits in, as there are some people who don't like the job and some people who do...I'm one who does.

Oh, and I wanted to add that I average 364 lines per hour which, at 8 hours, gives me over 2900 lines per day. I have a very good line rate and make very good money doing medical transcription.

Thank you for your comments. I have been reading this forum for quite some time and have been in this business for 34 years, supporting a family of 4, supporting many animal rescues and overall having no problems at all. Yes, the pay scale has gone down over the past few years, my last contract negotiations have asked me to lower my line rate, but I have consistent work and incredible respect. My major client who I have been with for 11 years, has just asked us to renew our contract for another 3 years and at the same time asked if we would move forward with them as they take on a new electronic charting system. I was also told by the company supplying the electronic system they have never had a client tell them they would only work with them if they used the hospital's current vendor (which is us). We are very very proud of what we do and yes, we would love to make more money, but honestly with 39 people working as ICs for my company, we are consistently working and all make a decent living - if not better.

So please understand, it does take time to make GREAT money, but there is no reason why most MTs cannot make decent money while not having the expense and hassle of having to go out to work on a daily basis, having to find caretakers, etc. All 39 staff members have been with me anywhere from 3 months to 10 years and have no desire to leave.

We clearly must be doing something right. I think for those who are not making a decent wage or are so unhappy then they should look at other careers or other accounts. Voice recognition is here to stay but will never be perfected. Outsourcing is here for a while but eventually will disappear - there are too many problems with outsourcing.

For those of you who want to make this a career, please look at it as such - not something you can stay at home and do as you please. It is a real career and you can make it your own if you choose to.

Just my 2 cents for what it is worth!

Disgusted MT:

I completely agree with you. I got into medical transcription in 2004 and have nothing but disgust for the career as a whole. Personally, the few companies that I have worked with promise me the world, and after a few weeks, they can barely provide me with enough work; therefore, I cannot get my line count up to bring home decent pay. When I do get paid, my check is somehow "short" and I have to continually go through a lot of emails and phone calls to have it corrected. Funny how it is never OVER the amount it should be!! I believe it is not worth the time or the $$$ for continuous updating of software, resource material purchases that are required to stay up to date, and becoming "certified"--that is a complete racket in itself, in my opinion. I would not recommend this career to anyone I know!

httrans in Boston - I believe you have something there with your words of wisdom. Thank you!

Out of mild curiosity, do you happen to know of any companies or MTSO's that might be willing to hire on and work with MTs who are nearly done with their degree program?

It's probably one of those things that we just need a list of EVERY company out there and to hit them up to find out if they would hire or not, but if you do have some inside information, I'd love to hear it ^_^.

Blog: nebraskanmt.blogspot.com

I have felt extremely disheartened since starting my career as an MT. I work from home for an agency and even when the work is steady which isn't very often, I work hard for 6 hours and barely make enough to buy a cup of coffee!! New MTs are told to persevere and you will get faster, but I now know there is no way I will ever be fast enough to make a decent living at this. I would make MUCH better money earning minimum wage working at McDonalds! Wish I had known before spending all that money on the course. So my recommendation to anyone thinking about becoming an MT, DON'T DO IT!

I love transcription. I have been working from home for over 2 years now as an independent contractor with great doctors. However, this week with no warning my doctors started using new software to do their own notes and are going to voice recognition. They gave me no warning. They have not mentioned keeping anyone on to do editing. I honestly don't think they plan to do any editing. For the first time in my life I have lost work through no choice of my own. These accounts will be hard to replace. I was getting 12 and 15 cents a line with steady work. Now nothing. I have looked at online servies but the rates are bad and friends of mine working there say they never get work. At this point, I feel like I have to look for something other than MT.

To httran, you have your own accounts, which is a whole different beast than being an employee or subcontractor. You will obviously make more $$ being a service owner/independent with your OWN contracts. Those are few for many MTs, especially in my town, where every doctor's office and every group office is already with a big transcription service with no availability for local contractors.

To MedTranHome, you paint a very pretty picture of the biz. My oh my, how simple it looks when typed out and presented so beautifully. Realistically, however, there are very FEW companies out there these days that have enough work to allow any MTs to get the line counts you state in your post. I know there are exceptions, but the majority of MTs out here looking for work are just not finding that kind of work. New hires get the short end of the stick, as a company who even has that kind of work will give it to their long-time MTs first.

Another thing about your post is that, sure, if you can do 200+ lines an hour, pay will be decent; HOWEVER, that only applies if you have been doing the same doctors over a substantial amount of time, get them daily, and have a chance to get used to them to bring your speed up. MOST companies who hire MTs now are placed in a pool of 50, 100, 200, 1000s of different doctors, mostly ESL, and rarely get the same doctor twice, if ever. Given that scenario, it's nearly impossible to consistently make 200+ lines an hour. One would be lucky to get even 50-100 lines! The platforms that MT companies use are yet ANOTHER hindrance.

I have 17 years experience. I made excellent money back in the day. These days I'm struggling to make ends meet. I know what I'm talking about. I used to do over 300 lines per hour, sometimes 400 lines per hour. Now, with lower pay, bad dictators, unfriendly MT platforms, I'm LUCKY to squeeze out $75 to $100 a day, if that, when I used to pull in $200 a day. It's bad

MedTranHome in Washington said: I've been an MT for the past 13 years and make very good money and love every minute of the job. The speech rec editors get paid less because they're editing, not transcribing. Editing takes less time and, with a good speech rec system, the pay comes out about the same. I've even talked to some MTs who say they get a little bit more doing speech rec.

There is an MT pay poll in my blog from last year. The cent-per-line pay rates were anywhere from 7.5 to 18 cents per line, depending on experience.

If you have decent skills and speed and can transcribe 200 lines per hour x 8 hours, you can produce 1600 lines per day. If you were to multiply that by a "middling" cent-per-line rate of 10 cents per line (see the rates in the pay poll in my blog), that comes to $160 per day, which isn't bad. If you were to multiply that 1600 lines by 12 cents per line, it comes to $192 per day, which is pretty good.

As I said, I make a very decent living and love the job. I'm treated with respect by the people I work with and have absolutely no complaints about MT.

Just wanted to put my two bits in, as there are some people who don't like the job and some people who do...I'm one who does.

Who pays 0.10 to 0.18 cents a line anymore? I think that was the point of the person's comments before you. Seriously.. Please tell us who these companies/contractors are. I read posts like this all of the time from people who say, "If you can type 2000 lines per day and work 60 hours a week at 0.14 cents a line, look at all the money you can make!" WHO DOES THIS and still has a life? I am going to start asking everyone who states this to EXPLAIN exactly who pays this sort of money because I have never seen it. I personally love my job, but the pay stinks. There may have been a time when it paid well, but everyone I know working as an MT now says the same thing- we need better paying jobs!!

Dear HTTrans,

Are you hiring?

Looking for Transcriptionist, send info. pefferdc@yahoo.com

MedTranHome in Washington said: I've been an MT for the past 13 years and make very good money and love every minute of the job. The speech rec editors get paid less because they're editing, not transcribing. Editing takes less time and, with a good speech rec system, the pay comes out about the same. I've even talked to some MTs who say they get a little bit more doing speech rec.

There is an MT pay poll in my blog from last year. The cent-per-line pay rates were anywhere from 7.5 to 18 cents per line, depending on experience.

If you have decent skills and speed and can transcribe 200 lines per hour x 8 hours, you can produce 1600 lines per day. If you were to multiply that by a "middling" cent-per-line rate of 10 cents per line (see the rates in the pay poll in my blog), that comes to $160 per day, which isn't bad. If you were to multiply that 1600 lines by 12 cents per line, it comes to $192 per day, which is pretty good.

As I said, I make a very decent living and love the job. I'm treated with respect by the people I work with and have absolutely no complaints about MT.

Just wanted to put my two bits in, as there are some people who don't like the job and some people who do...I'm one who does.

MedTranHome in Washington said: Oh, and I wanted to add that I average 364 lines per hour which, at 8 hours, gives me over 2900 lines per day. I have a very good line rate and make very good money doing medical transcription.

You must be Superman.

You must be Superman. No one does 2900 lines per day. Unless you work 18 hrs a day.

I just need to add in my 2 cents here. I own a company where I have 39 staff and 6 of them, plus myself, average 4000 plus lines a day. All of them work 9 hours a day. They have the best templates and short cut programs around. One of these ladies consistently 5 days a week will transcribe 4300 plus lines a day and if she should work any extra shifts she usually can do at least 450 lines an hour. So it can happen. You just have to be extremely determined and know how to use the tools we have to the maximum. Our company is truly blessed with these ladies and they have all been with me anywhere from 6-10 years. So it can be done - and my point is, they do still have a life!! They work very hard but love their jobs. The other thing I do as the owner is block assign work so they are able to consistently pick up speed, build up short cuts, etc. We all work so well together. In my eyes, all these ladies are much more than superladies - they are the best in the business!!! Thank you for listening.

All I can say about that is anyone can say anything on the Internet.

You, hofftran, IF what you're saying is even true, are the EXCEPTION. Certainly the majority of MTs out there are NOT doing 4000 lines a day. Ridiculous. It's really hard to believe you, sorry. It's just not the norm and is certainly MISLEADING to anyone reading this thread who is looking into MT as a career. That is just plain WRONG. Shame on you.

This "profession" has turned into a sweatshop job for the lowly MTs who are trying to make a buck doing it. Thinking of becoming an MT? Well you certainly won't be able to live comfortably, have extra money for dining out, shopping, vacations, SAVINGS, and pay all your bills on time if you're going to be the family's only breadwinner. You need to have a significant other. Even then you'll be struggling.

Believe me. Trust me. I network with at least 50 other MTs who've been in the this business everywhere from 1 to 32 years, and they ALL agree that this profession is definitely in the toilet and has pretty much turned into sweatshop work. Most who are young enough to go to school and do something else are in the process of doing so. The rest consider themselves "too old" to change now, as it's all they've been doing for years, and will continue to transcribe despite the low pay and their unhappiness with what the industry has become. That is SO sad.

What I am saying is very true. Believe me we are more than blessed. We have been with this same account for over 11 years now and know it like the back of our hands. I totally understand this is not the norm, but I have been through a lot of bad times and we have finally hit some good times, even in this horrible economy. We have never wanted for work on this account. We have never had to fight for work. And yes, we have some of the best transcriptionists I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Not only are they great producers, but their quality is ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS less than 1 percent error rate. I just hate to see people get discouraged, but at the same time everyone needs to understand this industry has done a major turn around. We have fought long and hard to get where we are and never ever take it for granted. Believe me I know not everyone can do what some of my staff do but there are some exceptions and I believe it is because they want this more than anything. The rest of our staff who are not as productive as these 6 are still at 99 percent or better accuracy.

I guess my point is yes, this industry is totally different from what it used to be, and you have to go through a lot of really tough times, but if you care - truly care and want this bad enough and give your all to it, you can make it happen. Out of 39 staff, 24 have been with me for at least 6 years or more. So we must be doing something right.

People will believe what they want, but please do not get discouraged. Just look into your hearts and if this is truly something you want, then work hard and fight for it. It may take you some time, but you can make it happen. Thank you for your time.

"Fight for it...Make it happen..." ??? Fight whom?? While you are pumping up yourself and your staff, what about the rest of the country full of MTs who are struggling to make ends meet because it's all they've ever done and are now STUCK with lower pay than they made in 20 years ago??

Do you mean fight the companies that hire employees and independent contractors? Doesn't work! For every MT who tells a recruiter or hiring personnel that they will not accept less than X amount of pay per line, there are hundreds of others hungry MTs, a lot of them BEGINNERS, who will certainly accept their less-than-acceptable pay!

Get our own accounts? Doesn't work! Medquist and other multi-million-dollar corporations have taken over all MY local hospitals and health facilities, so nothing's happening there, either. Even the local MT service owner I worked for 5 years ago had to LOWER our pay because the medical facility threatened to go with some big corporation who would outbid her for a lower price.

IF what you say here on the Internet is true, then, as I stated above, you are the EXCEPTION. Do not try to mislead anyone, especially those looking for a GOOD CAREER, into thinking they will make it with becoming an MT ---- that is, UNLESS you're willing to HIRE those on this very board to prove they can. Are you willing to do that? If you're unable to, then those poor souls are going to just have to accept the standard LOW pay for MT that is going down, down, down every single year that passes.

No wonder so many who used to think of MT as a prosperous "career" are getting OUT of this business. I guess it'll be left to those who just need "extra money" anymore, those who aren't interested in a REAL "career," because it sure isn't the thing to get in to if you need a full-time income to take care of your family and pay the bills -- unless you're okay with living at poverty level or below.

I am with Janie on this one. Working 8-hour days, 4300 lines comes out to around 530 lph. I have NEVER heard of anyone producing this (unless using VR). Very hard to believe. I use templates, macros, and Instant Text and have never come close to 500 lph. Not to say that if I can't it no one can, but I seriously have never heard of anyone making those line counts and I think it is very misleading to those reading this forum looking to make their decision on a new career.

Thinking more on this, what is your line count? 65-character, 55-character, gross line? That could make a difference.

In the past, I was paid 11 cents a line on a 55-character line, including spaces. Now THOSE were the days, getting paid for experience AND quality of work. Guess what? Underbid by another company, lost the account, and the MTs were offered 7 cents a line on 65-character to keep working there. Sign of the times? Yes, unfortunately.

But back to the issue of hofftran's line count ... even with gross lines, 4300 lines in an 8-hour day? It may be possible, anything's possible I would assume, but, again, IF that is true and IF someone out there is 530 lph STRAIGHT for 8 hours (oh come on now....), it is positively, definitely the EXCEPTION and certainly not indicative of what the majority of MTs out there (newbies to experienced veterans) can do --- Very misleading, IMO.

Well, looking back, I see they work 9-hour days, so I guess it would actually be 477 lph. I agree that they are not in the majority. I was just giving the benefit of the doubt. If they are working off a shorter line or a gross line, then maybe I could believe. I know 2 MTs currently that are doing 400 lph consistently on a 65-character line, so I could possibly see 500 if the lines are shorter. Still agree though that this is definitely not the norm and, in fact, is a very rare situation these days. I would hope that new MTs or those thinking about this career would not go into this thinking they can transcribe 400-500 per hour when most MTs will never reach that amount.

I respect your ethic of hard work but still find your numbers a bit hard to swallow. If one has extra templates to add, of course the lines go up.

I agree with some of what the other people say that med trans. is hardly worth the effort for the money one makes. Maybe if our president stops all the outsourcing, we might be paid what we are worth.

I was laid off an orthopedic office after 5 years, but I do love transcription, and would do it even if I were not paid for it. I left nursing in 1998, and became a transcriptionist in 2001. I now say I would rather live under a bridge rather than go back to nursing.

Geez, Liptak! Enough! Nobody wants to work for your company. You spam every single job ad on every single MT board. You don't pay enough to make it worthwhile. Doesn't your company outsource offshore, too? Through a subsidiary? Your new accounts are responsible for the loss of over 50 jobs in my city. Thanks for NOTHING!

On the contrary, we have over 1000 MTs working for us Natiowide and we do not outsource any of our work overseas. That is an entirely different division. You are correct though, we post on every single board which helps our recruiting efforts. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. You will see a lot more of us on every MT board and forum possible!

Good luck!

It is annoying though that you post on threads that have nothing to do with Focus or jobs wanted. You interrupt the discussion that was going on. The least you could do is start your own thread.

I am tired of the spam ads too. This only turns me away from Focus as you act in a very unprofessional manner. Your company is the only one that needs to spam message boards to find workers. Wonder why?

Thanks for the feedback. You are the only one having an issue with this. We get plenty of applications.

LOL! Yeah, I am the ONLY ONE tired of your spam. If you get plenty of applications, then maybe you can start to cut back on the spam. We don't need to see the same ad on every board remotely related to MT.

"an entirely different division" So you admit that your company does outsource offshore, but because it's in a different division using a different name, it doesn't really count! Right? Bull! You still put 50 of my friends out of work, you still spam every single MT board I've ever visited, and you still don't pay enough for experienced MTs.

I don't think that many companies pay MTs what they are worth according to their education and experience. If we could stop outsourcing, maybe that would change.

I visit PLENTY of MT Boards, and, yes, Focus irritates us all with their spam.

I've read on the boards that former workers there complain that the pay is too low for what they're expected to do. Large turnaround, people don't stay; that's why all that ridiculous SPAMMING from FOCUS.

Focus is just one of the big companies that have brought our industry DOWN to the sweatshop MT labor mentality. Would NOT recommend them.

What about the State of California taking applications for doing their prison medical transcription? Aren't they restructuring that and placing that in Sacramento?

If you're looking for a job, a good resource is the Ultimate Transcription Jobs eBook. The link to buy it is store.payloadz.com/go?id=245386 <--it's a great resource for those looking for jobs, has over 450 legit transcription jobs--great eBook!

hofftran in Boston, Massachusetts said: What I am saying is very true. Believe me we are more than blessed. We have been with this same account for over 11 years now and know it like the back of our hands. I totally understand this is not the norm, but I have been through a lot of bad times and we have finally hit some good times, even in this horrible economy. We have never wanted for work on this account. We have never had to fight for work. And yes, we have some of the best transcriptionists I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Not only are they great producers, but their quality is ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS less than 1 percent error rate. I just hate to see people get discouraged, but at the same time everyone needs to understand this industry has done a major turn around. We have fought long and hard to get where we are and never ever take it for granted. Believe me I know not everyone can do what some of my staff do but there are some exceptions and I believe it is because they want this more than anything. The rest of our staff who are not as productive as these 6 are still at 99 percent or better accuracy.

I guess my point is yes, this industry is totally different from what it used to be, and you have to go through a lot of really tough times, but if you care - truly care and want this bad enough and give your all to it, you can make it happen. Out of 39 staff, 24 have been with me for at least 6 years or more. So we must be doing something right.

People will believe what they want, but please do not get discouraged. Just look into your hearts and if this is truly something you want, then work hard and fight for it. It may take you some time, but you can make it happen. Thank you for your time.

I would like to speak to hofftrams Boston privately, if possible. Please email me regarding your posts.

tornado woman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin said: I would like to speak to hofftrams Boston privately, if possible. Please email me regarding your posts.

if you wish you can email us privately at hoffmantranscription4@comcast.net

you can email me privately at hoffmantranscription4@comcast.net

Hi,

We are running a Medical Transcription Unit in Tamilnadu, India. Now we are looking for new transcription projects. If you have any projects. Pls contact..

E-mail: suresh@skyinfotech.org

We are doing medical transcription at present. Since the file flow is low, we are looking for new clients. We have 9 MTs and 3 Editors.

We may go for winding up with the previous client if we get enough files from you. Moreover we may start with the other transcription services also in the future.

Hi,
We received your mail, thank you. We have medical transcription projects. If you looking for new projects, please contact me.. suresh. suresh@skyinfotech.org

Hi,

I am intending to switch career. I am a PG diploma in management, but as i need my attention to be at home mostly, i was considering to undergo an MT couse and get into this field. Could any one advise me on this decision? Your inputs would be most appreciated.

I have been a medical transcriptionist for over 20 years. I have always worked out of the house but would like to work from my home but have been unable to find employment. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks

Have been a Radiologic transcriptionist for 27.5 years. After leaving my former employer, am having a problem finding a hospital/out-patient X-ray Center that needs an experienced medical transcriptionist. If anyone is out there that can help me, please do so.

Thanks

i finished medical course with knowledge of medical transcriptionist, it is 2 months after graduation and medical transcription job nowhere...i faxed and email my resumes you would not believe it.......it so sad that when you work hard at school it doesn't really pays off...............

It is like most any job search. Become familiar with the market, what is out there, try doctor's offices/clinics as well as hospitals. Sometimes the largest offices will take newbies. I got started in a large orthopedic practice. Broaden your searches.

Network with people in the field such as those employed in transcription, former students, and see if your school has a placement service.

You might also want to try some of those practice tapes in cardiology, general surgery, ESL to build up your skills. It builds confidence. Absoluteexperience.com or go to Ebay which sells them often.

Lastly, consider getting some advice on resume writing, preferably free of charge.

Above all, keep up your interest and enthusiasm for the field of transcription.

Hope this helps.

Please, contact us at uday_kumar_mt@yahoo.com for any medical transcription projects to be done. We are currently handling 5000 lines per day and we are looking expansion. Anybody interested can send their mail to uday_kumar_mt@yahoo.com. Our rate per line are very low compared to others. Please ask for quotation by sending a mail. We will send the quotation.

suresh in Madras, India said: Hi,
We received your mail, thank you. We have medical transcription projects. If you looking for new projects, please contact me.. suresh. suresh@skyinfotech.org

If you are interested in hiring me as a Radiology Transcriptionist, please email me and let's see what happens.
Thanks,
Evelyn
evekost@sbcglobal.net

Capt Ganesh, coimbatore, india in New Delhi, India said: We are doing medical transcription at present. Since the file flow is low, we are looking for new clients. We have 9 MTs and 3 Editors.

We may go for winding up with the previous client if we get enough files from you. Moreover we may start with the other transcription services also in the future.

Get in touch with me as I am a transcriptionist specialing in Radiology. Thank you. evekost@sbcglobal.net