Medical Transcriptionist's Salary - How Much Does an MT Really Earn?

Confused over transcription salaries. Need to know the truth, right! Well then, here is the truth.
One will be amazed at the complexities and range of what a transcriptionist usually earns, be it a medical transcriptionist, court transcriptionist, data transcriptionist or legal transcriptionist. Their salaries fluctuate widely and it is sometimes difficult to estimate their salaries and earnings. However, a general estimate can be drawn regarding the starting wages and earnings and the maximum to which they can earn.

As per US, Department of Labour statistics, medical transcriptionists median hourly earnings were $14.40 in May 2006. The average medical transcription earnings ranged from $12.17 to $17.06. The lowest earnings were around $10.22 per hour, and the highest earnings were even more than $20.15 per hour.

Some of the median hourly earnings as per different industries employing medical transcriptionists were; diagnostic laboratories $15.68, hospitals $14.62, MT business companies $14.34, outpatient centers $14.31, physician offices $14.00 per hour. Therefore, average wage for a medical transcriptionist should be around $13 an hour on the low side to around $20 on the higher side.

A new, inexperienced transcriptionist should ideally start around $9 an hour and as the experience and production quantity grows, earnings go anywhere from $14 to $20 an hour. Compensation methods for medical transcriptionists usually vary a lot. Some are paid based on the number of hours while some are paid on the number of lines they transcribe, usually 65 characters with spaces constitutes 1 line. Transcription companies usually pay around 8-10 cents per line for transcription and 3-4 cents per line for editing.

Companies are now switching over to speech recognition services for transcribing voice files. However, they still need to get such voice recognized-transcribed files edited. For such work, the current trend of payment is 3-5 cents per line. However, one may calculate, the median hourly earnings come to around $13 to $20 and as said earlier, it depends also on the speed and contractual payment per line.

Transcriptionists usually earn a production-based pay with independent contractors earning the highest. Under standard working conditions of 40 hours per week, an average transcriptionist should estimate his earnings from 40 (hours) x 52.17 (number of weeks in a year) x $13 = $27,128 annually (lower range) to 40 x 52.17 x 20 = $41,736 annually (higher range).
Does this amount look a lot smaller then what you had expected? Well, it is smaller but this is an approximation. There are transcriptionists who definitely earn more than this but it all depends on how many hours one works, production speed and the payment per line. With few years of experience, many of them easily scale up to $50,000 annually. Coupled with this for those who work from home, comes the comfort of working from home, being able to take care of your children and other stuffs, and spending more quality time with your family. When you add up all, this career does provide a higher earning potential along with a satisfactory, stress-free, enjoyable life.

Some of us would still not be happy at these figures and for those some of them, entering in to transcription business is an ideal choice. Transcription business can certainly load you heftily with money to the tune where it will defy your imagination. So, I won't speculate on that.
Now let's take a look at the salaries earned out of US, especially in India where now most of the outsourcing is going to. A new, relatively inexperienced transcriptionist in India usually starts around 7000/- Rupees a month. With a year of experience, they usually reach 10,000 to 12,000 rupees a month. However, the higher earners are usually the proof-readers and the editors. Proof-readers make a decent amount ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 rupees a month with the editor making most of it from anywhere between 20,000 to 35,000 rupees a month.

So, all in all, medical transcription does pay good though not big but it certainly provides a good lifestyle for those contemplating to work from home.

Read more about transcription issues at http://www.online-medical-transcription-course.com/ For those who are still thinking to be a transcriptionist, you will be amazed to find out about free online transcription course at http://www.online-medical-transcription-course.com/

NOTE FROM PUBLISHER: I recommend Michele's book, The Step-by-Step Guide To Medical Transcription At home http://www.startasecretarialbusiness.com/medical-transcription.html