Maybe it's because I want to work from home, but I cannot find a job. I have been looking for 6 weeks now. I have my resume posted at Monster, CareerBuilder, Jobrapido, Indeed, SimplyHired. I go to these sites everyday and look for openings. I spend at least two hours per day doing this. They have multiple postings for jobs at locations in other states, but no at-home work. I am starting to get very discouraged. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Caw,
Before I started with the course, I contacted a couple local facilities to see what their requirements were and I was told that they have you work for a couple of months in-house to get you familiar with their setup and forms, then they set you up at your home.

Good luck with your search.

It took me about 4 weeks and I applied to many different companies. I was getting discouraged as well. Finally, Nuance transcription contacted me. I work from home. I don't know if you want to try them.

Hi,
I'm new to this board. I am in the same position. Just graduated last week from MT Advantage Career Center and have been looking for work. Have put out 17 resumes so far and got 5 definite 'no, we need more experience' responses. It is frustrating. The vicious circle of "I need a job. You have no experience. How can I get any if you don't hire me?" I have been trying to get in with smaller companies but haven't had much luck so far. I really don't want to try MedQuist because I haven't seen good things about them on other forums. What has your experience been with Nuance? I've heard good and bad about them and had them on the back burner because they are also a large corporation. But, if I can get hired and get some experience, it may be the way I have to go. Thanks for any helpful input.

Tina

Hi,
I just graduated from At-Home Professions and applied at many places. Two of them called me back. And I was told that they would give me a job if the school was ahdi approved, and its not. I am so upset... Anyone else had this problem? What do I do now???
Any help would me much appreciated.

I think I would definitely call the school and ask why we aren't ahdi approved. I was under the impression that I would be able to get a job after finishing this course. Why haven't any of the previous grads been back on here, filling us in on their progress?? I sure would like to know if they have found jobs.

Yeah no kidding. I would love to hear from At-Home Professions grad who actually got a job. It seems like all of the companies are associated with Career Step and are hiring those grads without questions. By the way, I called the school and they did say that they are not ahdi approved, they are associated with ahdi and you can take the RMT exam through the ahdi website. Man, I wish I knew that before I paid 2500 for this school. Would have went to Career Step.

The school I graduated from, MT Advantage Career Center, is in the process of becoming AHDI certified and they told me it takes almost a year to get approved. It is a long process. Check out mtrecruiters.com. I saw an ad posted for them today and they said they have entry level work as well as work for experienced transcribers. I've been looking for almost 2 weeks so I can relate to your experience. Keep plugging away. Good luck.

tinaS

Caw, maybe you need to change your approach to finding a job. Use websites that list work from home or freelancing opportunities instead of these broad job search engines. You can also make use of professional networking sites like Linkedin.com and see if that gets you any results. You must have got your medical transcriptionist training from somewhere. A lot of schools offer continuing job placement services to their students. Can you not check with your MT school if they can help you find a job in some way?

I received my training from At-Home Professions. They do not offer job placement. I have been on multiple transcription company websites (InScribe, MedQuist, Superior Global)plus many, many more. I either do not get a reply back from them or they tell me I need experience. Thank you very much for your reply.

Hi Caw--are there any small, local transcription services in your area (even many miles away, since you would be working at home and sending your work via the internet)? Look in the yellow pages and see if there are any and ask them if they have anything for you. Maybe they have some overflow you can do to get your feet wet, and once they see you know your stuff they would be more willing to give you more work.

There must be some small services out there who will give newbies a chance because they know how difficult it is to break into the business.

I would also suggest networking--get to know other MTs--once they meet you and see that you are conscientious they might be willing to give you a chance. AHDI is good for networking. They even have an on-line chapter you could join and get to know people that way.

I'm sure it is very discouraging, but newbies do get hired. in the meantime keep your skills up and try to expand you knowledge base. Even reading sample medical reports would help familiarize you with some of the terminology and you could look up words and terms you weren't familiar with.

Good luck!

Thank you kkb, I appreciate the advice.

I just went throught this today. I called a local transcription company and the owner told me that she would NOT hire someone who went to AHP. About a month ago I called nuance and they told me they only hire from four schools, AHP isn't one of those four schools. So I called AHP and I was really mad, I almost feel bad for the guy who answered the phone. I wanted to know why I wasted all this time and money on this school if no one would hire me. The guy said he was suprised to hear that... blah blah blah... and that when I graduate I can call 800-359-3455 ex 6334 for grad services BUT I have to graduate first. He said that they would help me out in finding a job. I take all of this with a grain of salt. However, I will take any help I can get to find an at home job. So maybe you could call them and see if they will help you. I really really hope they will.

I am reading all of these posts and I am growing very concerned. I too am paying almost $3K for AHP course and now after reading all of this I may not be able to get work. The seminar I attended and spent a great deal of time talking with the instructors....UGH! It's not like I have all of this extra $$ lying around to be thrown out of the window. I feel that I have learned a lot and should get something in return.

Okay - so from what I keep seeing - and how much I've struggled in unit 5 - I am wondering if I am in the same boat as everyone else. I'm now looking for anything that I can at least use the Medical Terminology I've learned. I am struggling on #31 - even though it's self-graded, I still am struggling to understand it. Honestly - do we learn better through frustration because the accents are so strong and enunciation is so different? NOOOO!!!! At least I don't feel like I am learning - in fact it encourages me to feel dread to finish the course and it's not what I wanted. I still owe about $987 on this course and not encouraged it was worth the time it took either!!

http://www.fortherecordmag.com/job_bank.shtml might be an option to put your resume' out there. I've not graduated yet and frankly I'm pretty disenchanted with the AHP option for getting a job. I'll see if I get the assistance offered when I signed up. They now have re-vamped their program and if you follow their schedule and graduate within 13 months, have no employment - they'll refund your money. Of course it's after I have tried to work and do classes - shelved it for awhile - picked back up and finally was fazed out of my job via illness - so picked it back up and working it like a job - and still taking me forever. So....if you can gather from my rant - I'm frustrated too!!!

So they have re-vamped their program to reimburse those that do not find a job in 13 months !!!!!!!!!!! I wonder how true that will be, am sure there will be some loop-holes that will make each case different & make it NOT possible to get the refund.
Guess I should not knock AHP so hard. Should have done more research B4 I signed on, I know, hindsight is 20/20, and evidently my vision was not 20/20 when I signed up.
Am venting, may be it is just me, but I am not happy about the school not being AHDI approved, shows how dumb I was when I started, of course that was not mentioned at the seminar I attended.

I just went back to the website - and their banner for their 'special' is not there now. I've also seen where students received headsets and a foot pedal. I started and stopped - sent my curriculum back - then started up again when illness timed me out of my job I was working at full time. They never reset my date - so seems like I've been on it 3 years since I purchased the curriculum initially January 2009. 2009 was a hard year - and I didn't keep it. 3/2010 I started again - and also tried to work - so has taken me forever! I'm so burned out on struggling to understand the Dr's in course 5 that I procrastinate working on it! I will finish - just not happily

The best way to find a job - the way I did - is to test test test. Apply to companies with preemployment tests on their websites. If you score well - I mean really well, 98% or so - there's no reason why you shouldn't find a job. Of course some companies hire from specific schools - the one I work for does, in my case, Career Step and I was hired by MedQuist - but there are so many MTSOs out there that you should be able to find a job if you test well.

Has anyone taken the RMT test through AHDI?

I started the first of November, 2010 and sent off my last quiz, my final exam on December 22, 2011. I have my diploma and it is dated January 4, 2012. I did not get a foot pedal nor headset with my course. I did receive an copy of The Book of Style when I graduated, that was part of the program then, if you had your tuition pd in full & received a certain grade, you received the free Book of Style. I did receive my copy last week. You certainly have had a rough few years, lady. Hope that 2012 is gonna be better for you. You will finish, as long as you want too do so. It may take you longer than most, but you will do it. I should have been done sooner, as I am retired, but I did not study full time, as my husband works part time & did not like to be studying when he was home & from the middle of April through the middle of Oct. we leave Thursday noons and come home Sunday evenings. We have a 40 foot park model home at a resort on a lake, this will be our 10th year of going there, although, only our second full season of getting to go on Thursdays. I retired the first of June 2010 and my husband went part time then. Anyway, it took me quite awhile to get through the course. I really enjoyed it, do agree with you tho that the drs in course five are something else to understand. I am "trying" to do a test for Inscribe, hoping to get a job through them and the drs. in the AHP course are actually a breeze to understand compared to these drs. I am gonna keep trying & see IF I can figure them out. I love a challenge, but I am not in the position that you are, trying to get this done & working full time too. Good luck & if you need help be sure & post questions here. We are here to help. I will do anything I can to help except proofread entire reports.

I graduated from AHP in December with a final grade of 89, and have been working on my resume, business card,… I'm looking for a part time MT job. But I’ve gotten discouraged from all the messages I’ve been reading on this site – that it’s very hard to find a job and the jobs available don’t pay very much and that AHP isn’t accredited.
I’m in the process of taking the test from Inscribe and it’s really got me depressed. There are so many words I cannot understand – from the fast talking to the accents, even with Express Scribe. My test will have tons of blanks and this won’t get me any jobs. I definitely won't get a 98! I didn’t think I was this dumb. I may not even submit it because I’m so discouraged. Has anyone else taken this test? How did you do? Did I make a big mistake becoming an MT?

I have taken the test for Inscribe. I had blanks also but I had a 89% when finished. They told me that I didn't make it. Hope you do better.

I am working on the tests too, but am having a lot of blanks, am not sure if I am ever going to get it finished. Know I'll never get a good grade, if Judymae did not make it, I sure as H---, will never either. Frustrating

So.....any type of lead I had for a job fell through. Talk about frustrating! Every Dr.'s office in my area either does EMR's or outsources to India. I am now taking a test with inscribe. Its tough but I am so determined to ACE it and be able to get a job, because I feel like they are my only option. I graduated with a 93%. I thought it was going to be a lot easier then this!

They are looking for about an 98% correct rate. When I talked to the school about the different services out there, they told me that almost all of them require this rate. The best thing to do is to be self-employed....go out on your own.

BTW...@ .07 cents a line and a page is 46 lines that is only $3.22 per page.

Where's the money???????????????????

Good question, judymae.

The traditional definition of a "line," which most services use, is 65 characters--some places pay for spaces and some do not.

Back in the early 1990s it was 12 cents per gross line--that means if only the date was on a line, you got 12 cents. It eventually became 12 cents for every 65 characters transcribed. Then the hospitals started looking for ways to cut money and transcription is always ripe for the picking in their minds, because MT does not make money outright and is considered a necessary evil, and so began outsourcing and cutting pay.

I made 7 cents a 65-character line in 1996. Most national services want you to transcribe an average minimum of 150 lines (per the 65-character definition) an hour, so in 8 hours that would be 1200 lines @ 7 cents which would be $84 a day which is $10.50 an hour. Some services might pay 8 and if you are really, really lucky you could get 9 or 10. The national services don't pay those rates, though. The average is 7-8 cents a line, regardless of experience, the premise being that as you acquire more knowledge (i.e., don't have to stop and look everything up)you will become faster.

There are people who make more than $84 a day, but it's not as common as one would lead you to believe, and certainly a newbie is going to be hard-pressed to average 150 lines an hour.

That is why I got out of MT--I remember the "gravy days," and when I think about how MT rates have gone down it's just not worth it for me any longer. Think of how many things have gone up in price and yet they are paying 1996 wages????

Medical coding is much more lucrative, but there are not a lot of at-home jobs in that field as of yet. However, technology is catching up to where the at-home numbers will eventually increase.

As with medical transcription, you have to do your homework when making the decision of picking a coding school. There are some very good on-line coding programs. Part of the reason the pay is higher for coders is because having a credential is mandatory, whereas in transcription it is not. You cannot get a job doing medical coding without a credential from a recognized credentialing organization.

Some food for thought . . . not trying to be down on MT, just my thoughts from having been in the business since 1992.

Thanks, kkb.
Are you going into coding? I have finished the MT course and wished I'd check into the school more. At-Home Professions is not credited. They failed to tell you that, but they are credited in my state. But most companies are not located in my state.

The only way the school will help me get a job is to be self-employed.

I have even have applied for general typing jobs and still no luck.

I have often wondered if I made the wrong choice; transcription over coding.

I still haven't paid all the cost yet for the course and if I take a coding course that is more money that I just don't have right now. What should I do? Keep trying, praying, and maybe I will be lucky or give up and go into coding?

All the places I have found on the internet are wanting 3-5 years experience or a recent grad from a credited school. I am out money and no job b/c I don't have either.

I wish I could tell everyone who is thinking about taking At-Home Profession's course not to. It is the same course as Allied and a few other schools, but they still will not hire from AHP.

Thank you for your input. I'm venting right now. Now I know how caw feels. I have been searching for a job since Nov. It has to get better. Can't get any worse. Tomorrow I'm trying small clinics in my area. More money to spend on mail....lol.

kkb and Judymae,
I am so in agreement with you, Judymae. I truly wished I had done more research into schools B4 I started with AHP. I am from MN and so they are not accredited here. Oh yea, lucky me. Like Judymae said, they forgot to mention that at their seminar. I went for curiosity and should have stopped there. I have paid my full tuition, did so early when they offered a 20% off if paid in full. I was able to do so, so I saved a good amount. But I am no further ahead in getting a job than Judymae.

I too am venting and I do not know where to go from here. Do not want to spend more money to learn to be a medical coder. I guess "hind-site" is always 20/20 and we learn from out mistakes.

I am retired & do not HAVE to work, but I wanted something part time, that I could do from home and while attending the seminar, this seemed like the clear ticket. Must have had my blinders on at that point in time. Like I said, I do not have to work, have a part time substitute job driving a van for our school district and may just ask for a regular route and say the "heck" with this for now. But I spent lots of dollars on this course & would love to make some of it back.

I would not recommend spending money on a career as a MT at this point in time. According to kkb's comments, it has been going down hill for several years now & does not look like it is going to get better. If one REALLY wants to be an MT, make sure you research your schools B4 you spend any money on tuition. Just my thoughts !!!!!!!!!!

Sure hate to read this thread. Just received 4th course. Taking the course because I enjoy the work and will have to be home to take care of my wife sometime down the line. Did not go with coding because it would mean being away from home. I wonder how much I can take from this course to coding if that becomes necessary. Maybe more jobs will open up when the new health care kicks in.....? Hoping so anyway. Good luck on the test Lakelife and good luck at the clinics judymae. Thanks to both of you for all the help that I have gotten from you all!!

Rusty54,

You are entirely welcome. We are here to help each other, I have gotten a lot of help on this site & will gladly try & help anyone, just will not proofread nor review entire reports. We all have to make some mistakes, that is how we learn. Good luck with your lessons, remember we are here.

Do not want to discourage you, I guess I just get frustrated, since I spent so much time & money on this course & then read these posts, as you did. I have faith, I AM gonna find a job !! Guess I just needed to blow off a little steam. Now I am back down to earth & cooled off some.

Take care,

No, I'm not doing coding. I am actually getting another degree (got my first one 30 years ago) at a local community college.

I thought about it, though, and 2 of my displaced coworkers took a course that was not good. They knew more than the teacher because they had been doing MT for over 25 years and they were more familiar with the diseases and conditions than the instructor was. The instructor was not credentialed and had not passed the test that they were required to take at the end of the course! They had to hire a tutor in order to pass the credentialing test. They did pass but after taking the course they decided that coding was not for them. They did get the apprentice credential, though.

MT is a good skill set for coding because you have to know the terminology so that is a big help there.

If you want to be a coder, there are 2 organizations that certify coders--AHIMA.org and AAPC.com. At least they are the 2 biggest and the only ones I've heard of. Both offer on-line and in-class programs, I believe. There does seem to be some difference in their credentials. Some hospitals want AHIMA-certified coders and others want APC coders. I am not familiar with the nuances of why, but this forum thread might help:

http://www.aapc.com/memberarea/forums/showthread.php?t=11284

Both organizations offer multiple coding credentials. For example, you can be credentialed to code for a physician's office only or for a hospital--i.e., they have specialized credentials depending on what you are interested in.

I would definitely suggest doing further research for anyone who decides to go that route--check with employers in your area and see what the consensus is as far as what credentials are required and/or in demand.

This is a good time to get into coding because next year there are going to be BIG changes in coding--I believe ALL coders will have to be recertified to code in ICD-10, which, from what I have read, is very different from ICD-9 which is what they have used for several years.

Forgive me if some of my information isn't totally correct. Not trying to sell coding (and I have nothing to do with any coding organization or school, nor am I a coder), but it might be a viable alternative to MT and I don't want people who are interested in coding to select a school where they are not taught what is necessary to get the credential.

As I said in the previous post, there aren't a lot of at-home opportunities for coding yet, but with electronic medical records becoming more the norm, technology will likely make this more common. I do know of one hospital that has all of their coders at home.

I do hope all of you who have been disappointed with your job prospects have better luck--don't forget the economy isn't helping in your search, either!

Very good information kkb,thank you very much. That thread is very interesting, and to me, a true novice at any of this, looks to me like the whole accreditation system needs reorganized and consolidated. (imho). It is encouraging that all this effort is not wasted, that it can be used somehow or another. Thanks again!

I am new to this forum and because of the posts that I have read, I called AHDI wednesday morning and spoke with a representative. She told me she has never heard anything bad about AHP. She told me AHP is a member and uses their software packages to grade our reports. I told her I have completed 2/3 of AHP and she encouraged me to finish the program with AHP and to join AHPI for $55 a year. She told me I would have unlimited access to all the materials to test for RMT. She said having an RMT would trump "the experience" all of you are hearing out there.
Also, I requested a list of grads of AHP. I got in touch with a grad who has 8 years of experience and she told me AHDI never came up in interviews and RMT credentials do not mean extra $$$ in your pocket. She is ticked about what you folks are hearing from these companies. She claims AHP is an nationally credited program. She also encouraged me to graduate because she does not regret going through the program.
I called AHP and asked if they were a credited program and her response was "Yes", and mentioned the same acronym (sorry can not remember the acronym) as the grad. If I was referring to AHDI she said no. She told me there are companies out there who only affiliate with AHDI approved schools. She also mentioned there are a lot of companies out there that do not. With regards to AHP, she told me they are submitting AHP's curriculum for AHDI approval but the process takes three years.
Last, I spoke with a grad with a unique story. Her local clinic advertised for an MT position. She stood in line for twenty minutes and was turned away because she did not have experience and was still a student. She asked the woman to take her resume "out of respect" for standing in line for twenty minutes. Three days later she received a phone call from the clinic offering an internship position for six hours on Sunday. Three months later she was offered a job.
So, this is the b---s--- I have been through this past week trying to figure out what is the next move. I am sorry to hear about the stories of those who have been looking for a position and can not find one. Hang in there, the last grad I talked to told me the hardest job I will find in the MT field is the first one.

OOH this is very disheartening to read! Ugh-I am a mother of 5 daughters, my husband works hard to support us all because I had to quit my "day job" to stay home with kids because daycare is too expensive-thought this was gonna be my ticket (stay at-home MT)!!

Thanks for your post. I am submitting letters to everyone I can find in my phone book. I have gotten tired of the turndown on the internet. I figure I will try and see if I can't get a MT job on my own. I don't know how it will work out, but I'm giving it a try. I have my fingers crossed.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I think I will do as Judymae suggested & send letters to everyone around. I am finding that most places around this area are looking for full time, weekends, nights, holidays and 24-hour positions. That is my problem, as I retired from a full time job & do not want that anymore. I only want part time & from what I heard at the seminar that I went to, places are always looking for part time MTs. NOT what I an hearing out here. But I am not giving up, will keep plugging away at it. IF I NEEDED a job right now, I would be very disheartened. Feel bad for some of the gals that have graduated & are in that position. Wish all of them the best of luck at finding work soon.