Q: I just started working and I feel like I am typing all day long. But I just got my first check and it is not as much money as I had hoped. I can’t live on this income and now I think I will have to look for another job.
A: Please do not make a hasty decision at the beginning of your career! You have invested time, energy and money in this career. There is a lot of false advertising out there that misleads people, especially when they are new. A medical transcriptionist gets paid for the typing – not for the research. When you are brand new, your typing is much slower, and you are spending far more time in looking things up or researching (time that you don’t get paid for). However, as with any job, the longer you do it, the faster you get. What now takes you 8 hours, will soon only take you 6 hours, then 4 hours. As you get more familiar with the doctor you are typing for, you learn and recognize terms and phrases that you no longer have to research, and your typing speed increases. That means that more time in your day is being spent on typing (what you actually get paid for) and less time is eventually spent on research (what you don’t get paid for). Instead of just throwing in the towel, find ways to increase your speed by adding “keyboard shortcuts” and set up your office so that research materials are at your fingertips. Don’t be a quitter right at the start!! Most MTs make a nice living at medical transcription work, but they have also developed the skills and tools they need to do so over a period of time.
Q: How much does an MT get paid?
A: I have found through my own research in this area that experience in this career plays a huge factor, as does where you are located or able to find work. The nice thing about our work is that you can live in one state and type for a company in a totally different state via the Internet, and I have discovered that some states pay more than others. The longer you work in this field, the more experience you have, means that you can demand higher pay. Most MTs are paid by the line and brand new MTs straight out of school with no experience usually start at 0.05 cents per line. Some companies claim to pay more, but you have to watch out for the number of characters in their line counts. I have found a few companies on the east coast that pay as high as 0.20 cents per line to MTs who have at least 8 years of experience. I have also had a few graduates who found jobs in their own community and the doctor preferred to pay them by the hour. In essence, the pay scale differs as much as the work, but is often extremely dependent upon the quantity and quality of your work and the experience you have.