Medical transcribing...is this legit? And other questions...

[Pariah]

I read an older post in this forum about going from training through an approved school right to a WAH transcribing position. This school says they're approved, does anyone have an opinion on it or could recommend a better school?

http://www.careerstep.com/

Also, how much can you expect to make doing this? I'm sure there are various things that factor into how much income to expect, but I'd like some sort of idea to see if this would be possible for me. Right now I'm working just under full time, outside of the house, at a job I hate, for $10 hourly and no benefits, so I guess anything is an improvement, especially if it is WAH...

[CallMeMommy]

I did mediical transcription for 8 years, but I went through a brick-and-mortar school for my training, so take this for what it's worth -

Career Step may be legit, but from what I remember it didn't have a very high standing with employers. MTEC (http://www.mtecinc.com/) was one of the best. Average starting wage is around 6 cents per line, based on productivity, and at first it's not uncommon for people to make minimum wage. You have to have really good spelling and grammar skills. From hanging around the MT message boards I heard lots of people say it's not productive to work with kids at home unless they're old enough to take care of themselves or you have someone home helping out.

I'd suggest hanging around some message boards (I think mtdesk, mtstars, and mtgab are still active) and just observe for a while - whatever you do, don't go in there saying "Hey, i want to work from home and I heard transcription is easy" or something like that because they will EAT. YOU. ALIVE. (not that that's what you're saying here, but I can't tell you how many newbies I saw come in and get ripped to shreds!)

[lilyka]

my friend did it (not sure where she got training or what) but she could not make good money at it while taking care of her babies. she needed 8 hours of dedicated time to focus on it to make a livable wage. and her imployer expected a minimum amount of work in order to keep her on (even though she was paid per line/word/however it is done.)

[Kikibell]

I would make sure there are actual job opportunities in the field near you. The few doctors offices I go to all use an automated software system to accomplish what used to be a human job.

[greenemami]

I trained through career step and have a WAH job that pays .08 cents a line-although I do pretty much only work when dd is being cared for by dp or asleep, so I wouldn't recommend planning on doing it full-time if you don't have a lot of help. It is tough to get a job, I got pretty lucky coming out of school. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions, must get back to work

[Ofwait]

I am seriously thinking about do this... I have filled out the FAFSA and applied to the program at the local school.
I already have a history degree, with a biology minor... hoping that will help me out, my kiddos are pretty little still, so that does concern me, but all go to bed at a decent hour so I have at least 5 hours an evening to work, plus time during the day, that is currently being pretty wasted. The college lookes like it does job referals, so hopefully a job will be coming.

[msekulsk]

Career Step actually has a very high standing with employers. Most of the time companies will waive their 2 years of work experience requirement if they see you have a CS education.

I know 2 people who went through their program and found work within a couple of mos. I'm about 50% of the way through the program myself.

[Maggi315]

My friend does this, has for several years and makes a decent living. HOWEVER, she is expected to work 8 hour days/5 days per week, so she needs her children to go to daycare part of the time (they are young, baby and toddler)...there is no way to do this with little ones, you can't pay attention to them and keep them out of trouble and be able to keep up the pace (there is a minimum per day she must do)...

She doesn't have the flexibility to work on the weekend, the work is due at the end of each day/week.

I think that if you want steady employment like her, you have to work regular hours. She always cautions people who think they will be able to do this and keep an eye on the kids...