This blog is part of a series on transcription. If you haven’t read the other blogs in this series, make sure to check out the summary page for a listing of all transcription blogs.
For many people, the bottom line with MT work is how much they’re going to make per year. If you aren’t worried about the money, then you’re probably just wanting to find a hobby anyway. “How much?” is very common question from people investigating the medical transcription field.
The problem is, the answer can vary wildly, and it’s hard to give a definite anything to that question. Is the transcriptionist working full-time or part-time? How much is getting paid per line, and what is the definition of that line? How hard are the doctors to understand? How much can the text expander help out? Is the transcriptionist working as an independent contractor or as an employee? Does she have children at home she will be trying to take care of while transcribing?
It’s akin to having someone ask, “What is the temperature in America during the winter?” Well, that pretty much depends on where you’re at in America–there is going to be a world of difference between upstate New York and San Diego California during the winter.
So with all of those qualifications and “well-it-depends” out of the way, I would say that $20,000 a year for a full-time medical transcriptionist for the first year is quite reasonable. From there, it just depends on how willing the transcriptionist is to use their expanders (expanders as a general rule slow someone down at first, but make them much faster in the long run, so sometimes people don’t use them because they don’t want to put in the effort to do so) how hard the accounts are, how quickly the MT company gives raises, etc etc.
This is not a quick-rich scheme, and it takes time and perseverance to make a good yearly salary. But it is steady and satisfying work, and is a great job, for the right person.