Seriously though, it is a great field if you have the patience and knack for it. You can make good money, work at home, etc. It may not be for you if you prefer a more social atmosphere, and being so young, you may want to consider working for a transcription office, in house. Check for information at your local community college, or state college, to see what courses they offer.

That should answer any basic questions you have. It's a good career for people who don't mind sitting at a PC for 8-10 hours a day (some longer, some less), can work independently, are disciplined, enjoy medicine, have a good command of the English language and good grammar skills. I think that pretty much covers it.

Annie

jeni

If you want a social career, this can be very lonely. I am not a people person, so it suits me fine, plus I am older and sort of like vegging out now.

Try to find someone near you who transcribes at home and see if they will let you sit in on a session just to see what you think.

My daughter-in-law is 22 and she has told me she could NOT stand to do this.

Good luck with your career. You have a lot to look forward to.

However, I don't think it is for everyone. Your best bet would be to get some practical experience and see if you enjoy it. Some people really are not outgoing and don't want to interact much with others, and some find it impossible to be "plugged in" for 8 hours. I think it depends upon your personality.

If you do decide to become an MT, I think it would be best to work in an office setting to start out. I think it is very difficult to work at home in the beginning, as you really need experienced people around to help you out. There's nothing like another "set of ears" to listen.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Good luck in whatever you do.

cath

One of its greatest advantages is flexibility. If you want to go to college, grad school, law school, med school, whatever, and you know you'll need to work to pay your way, MT is the way to go. I finished my bachelor's degree as a full-time student while working full-time (35 hours a week) as an MT for a hospital. I worked three 12-hour days, 2 of them being Saturday and Sunday, and had the rest of the week free for classes and studying and life in general. Meanwhile I was able to pay a mortgage, support myself and loved ones (dogs and a horse, no kids), and maintain full insurance and vacation benefits.

Of course I was going to quit transcription the minute I got my bachelor's in journalism--but I made more money as a transcriptionist (and now as a community college transcription professor) than I would have working for a newspaper or magazine.

By the way, I get lots of students who are just a bit older than you (20 to 22) who are in the family-planning mode and want a way to make a decent living from home with the kids. They do just great in class and after graduation as stay-at-home MTs and moms.

If one starts at 18, they will find out very quickly if this is the career for them. If they start this young, then they really have a chance to get good training and background in order to really make this financially rewarding for them. If they start this that young, then they hopefully will have several years under their belt before starting a family and being able to make it all work at the same time.

I think that it is a great thing to do at any age, but more so at such a young age. I don't think sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day makes a difference at 18 or 38. You either like it and are good and enjoy it, no matter what your age or you don't.

Janice

PS: The only thing that can go either way with age is, that the older MTs will either adopt the little fledging and help them and make excuses for them because they are so young, or hold their young age against them and blame them for every little thing that they don't know because of their age. I have had it both ways since I was at least 15 years younger than the youngest MT that I met in my first 10 years of doing MT.

I agree--this job is not for everyone, but for those of us who "click" with it, it is sort of a best-kept secret!

Laura

I am only some years away from retirement and know that I have to have another source of income besides social security.

I look at becoming an MT as an exciting opportunity and a good plan for the future as well as a chance to interact with so many NICE people! I hope that in the years before retirement I can get the experience I need to eventually work from home.

I guess my point is that other professions can be just as tiring and boring and you can still work at a computer 7-8 hours a day. After all that, being an MT seems like a great profession to me! It's so interesting!

Submitted humbly (sp?) by Patsy