Becoming an at home medical transcriptionist, typical doubts.

[MartezJ]

I know I am probably the 100th person here to ask this, but is going to an accredited school for medical transcription work it in 2012? Will I be able to find a work from home job? I am a 18 year old male(even though this forum is for wahm's lol) and I have a disability. However, I am positive I would be able to this job. I am just worried that I won't get a transcription job. I hear that people need 2-5 years of experience in an office before landing an at home transcription position. In addition to the experience needed I have also heard that medical transcription is a dying career. So my question is going to school for medical transcription worth it in 2012?

[pawp11]

Is there a specific reason you're considering medical? General and legal are also options. I orginally thought medical was the only possibility. Was I ever wrong! Just a thought that maybe you might want to research the other options first. I don't have any real input on the medical stuff as I decided not to explore it after all! Best of luck whatever you decide.

You can be a Work-at-Home Man instead of mom. Not all of us here are moms. I'm not. Nor am I a man. Hmm. Work-at-Home Madwoman suits me I think.

[MTHome]

Originally Posted by MartezJ

I hear that people need 2-5 years of experience in an office before landing an at home transcription position.
In addition to the experience needed I have also heard that medical transcription is a dying career.

1. No, most MTs work at home right out of school.

2. A lot of MTs work as speech recognition editors now, often in combination with traditional transcription. I always recommend going into acute care rather than clinic transcription. I retired from MT recently and in the last few years did speech rec editing and enjoyed it quite a bit.As mentioned above, you can go into general transcription without special training.

[CLP]

Originally Posted by pawp11

You can be a Work-at-Home Man instead of mom. Not all of us here are moms. I'm not. Nor am I a man. Hmm. Work-at-Home Madwoman suits me I think.

Awwww, pawp11 - you took the words right out of my mouth.

[MartezJ]

Originally Posted by pawp11

Is there a specific reason you're considering medical? General and legal are also options. I orginally thought medical was the only possibility. Was I ever wrong! Just a thought that maybe you might want to research the other options first. I don't have any real input on the medical stuff as I decided not to explore it after all! Best of luck whatever you decide.

You can be a Work-at-Home Man instead of mom. Not all of us here are moms. I'm not. Nor am I a man. Hmm. Work-at-Home Madwoman suits me I think.

The only reason I was considering medical is because I didn't know there was an option to do general and legal. What exactly is general though? I'm still a little bit confused. Is legal dealing with typing court documents, and if so how does one get started in this profession? I'm so lost! Haha

EDIT: I guess I'm a work at home man then lol!

[MartezJ]

Originally Posted by MTHome

1. No, most MTs work at home right out of school.

2. A lot of MTs work as speech recognition editors now, often in combination with traditional transcription. I always recommend going into acute care rather than clinic transcription. I retired from MT recently and in the last few years did speech rec editing and enjoyed it quite a bit.

As mentioned above, you can go into general transcription without special training.

Wow, if that's true why am I seeing so many people on forums saying it's hard for them to find a job?

I will definatley look into working as a speech recognition editor as well in combination with traditional transcription. Thanks a lot!

[MTHome]

Originally Posted by MartezJ

Wow, if that's true why am I seeing so many people on forums saying it's hard for them to find a job?

Are you thinking of medical coders? They have to work in-house before working at home, and I do see a lot of them saying they can't find work. I've never known an MT who couldn't find work unless they weren't trained well enough to pass employer tests.

[pawp11]

General can mean lots of things. Let's see what all have I done? Interviews of every possible kind including PhD research and more, wiretaps, focus groups, sermons, speeches, closed captioning, copy for internet ads, voicemails, classroom recordings, presentations, webinars, and so much more. Also when you call somewhere and it sayd, "This call may be recorded for quality assurnace," you can bet it IS being recorded and a transcriptionist may be typing it up if it is ever needed.

Legal can mean different things to different people. It can mean actual hearings, depositions, interrogatories, and a multitude of other things. Personally, I have only worked on legal stuff in an informal sense. I have transcribed probate hearings and legal interviews. I have never done court reporting, scoping, or anything like that.

Look at this folder at the very top. Go through all those first few listings. There are lots of links, lists, and info in those posts.

[MartezJ]

Originally Posted by MTHome

Are you thinking of medical coders? They have to work in-house before working at home, and I do see a lot of them saying they can't find work. I've never known an MT who couldn't find work unless they weren't trained well enough to pass employer tests.

No, I'm talking about medical trasncriptionist. I have seen of different forums that they have trouble finding jobs because of lack of 2-5 years experience. Are you saying that once one completes school for medical transcription they often get hired immediately for at-home positions?

[MTHome]

Originally Posted by MartezJ

No, I'm talking about medical trasncriptionist. I have seen of different forums that they have trouble finding jobs because of lack of 2-5 years experience. Are you saying that once one completes school for medical transcription they often get hired immediately for at-home positions?

Many MT employers will state in job ads that they are looking for MTs with 2-5 years experience, but some will test graduates from certain schools and hire them immediately to work at home if they pass the test.

I always tell new grads to send their resumes to companies that are hiring even if they don't match the job ad experience requirements.