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#85496 - 11/18/07 04:02 PM
Canadian MT Issues
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bastet
New Member
Registered: 11/09/07
Posts: 13
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Will Canadian grads of Andrews or M-TEC (in particular) please let me know of potential important issues I will face? I am an US citizen living in Vancouver, BC (permanent resident).
Is there a Canadian equivalent of AHDI/AAMT? Do employers recognize either or both of the schools I am considering attending, and if so, will they waive the 2-3 year experience requirement for working at home?
I am uncertain what the issues might be, so please add any I missed.
I understand the schools will not be able to offer me employment assistance with Canadian employers. Will many (or any) US companies employ Canadians who work at home? (As a US citizen, I wouldn't have any work visa issues, I would hope).
I asked these questions on an earlier posting but thought a separate topic might be a better place for them.
I do not wish to enroll in a Canadian school unless there is no other option; I am simply in the last stages of choosing Andrews or M-TEC.
Thanks to all!
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#85506 - 11/18/07 10:33 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: bastet]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2917
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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I am not a grad of those school (I wish!) but I know that a large company named Accentus is in Canada and hires Canadians.
I found this listing, you might want to check out some of these places:
Companies that hire Canadians
Edited to add the disclaimer that although the link goes to a Canadian MT school website, I am NOT recommending the school, just pointing out the list of companies.
Edited by FarAwayDeb (11/18/07 11:23 PM)
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#85507 - 11/18/07 10:51 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: bastet]
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Jiffer
Member
Registered: 11/01/06
Posts: 132
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Hi bastet,
I wrote you quite a long reply a few hours ago, and then I must have done something wrong because it didn't go through. So I will give you an abbreviated version, and you can PM me if you like as I am sure our American friends here don't need or want a big long thread about the peculiarities of working in Canada (LOL).
I am a Canadian MT and an M-TEC grad. I was an MT before I started my M-TEC training, and I took the M-TEC course to upgrade myself. I believe that most Canadian companies are familiar with M-TEC and Andrews. I know the company I work for is familiar with M-TEC as they have a few, if not more, grads working for them. The name of the company is Accentus. Some Canadian MTs are very happy with them (myself included) and some have not been. This you will find with any company. I am not sure how well Andrews is known because I didn't go there, so therefore cannot give you an answer. As far as waiving the two years of experience, I think it would be best to contact a couple of the larger MT companies and see what they say. As I said, I already had MT experience before I was hired by Accentus. I would suggest you "Google" Accentus and Terra Nova Transcription, as well as Expedite. All three are fairly well-known Canadian companies. Talk to their recruiters directly and see what they say. If they mention the particular Canadian school I am thinking of, please DON'T GO THERE! There are also many smaller Canadian MT companies. If you wish to PM me further so we can "talk", please feel free.
As far as an AHDI/AAMT equivalent in Canada, I have never been able to find one. There is an informal network of us that post sometimes on an MT message board up here just for Canadian MTs, and if you want that site, I can give it to you. You can go in there and post your questions about various companies, etc.
Now I will offer my final comment. I have a feeling I know what Canadian MT school you are thinking of. I DO NOT recommend it. I will ONLY recommend, both as an MT and a Canadian, either M-TEC or Andrews. You will find a lot of Canadians will recommend this "other Canadian" course. That is because they don't necessarily know what they missed by NOT taking the M-TEC or Andrews course. I also can give you the name of a company, in my personal opinion, that you should stay away from after you graduate and are looking for work.
As I said, please feel free to PM me if I can be of additional help. There are some great Canadian companies who would love to have you with an M-TEC or Andrews background.
All the best.
Jiffer
Edited to say this did not turn out to be much of an "abbreviated version". My apologies to all my American friends. I hoped you stopped reading long before this!
Edited by Jiffer (11/18/07 10:53 PM)
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#85521 - 11/19/07 12:48 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: Jiffer]
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bastet
New Member
Registered: 11/09/07
Posts: 13
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Thanks to FarAwayDeb and Jiffer for your replies-
I am finally getting a better idea of the Canadian opportunities and challenges. In Canada we are "so close, yet so far away", sometimes...
Jiffer, I will try to e-mail you. I am new to chatting, posts, etc-so we shall see how it goes.
Thanks!
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#85556 - 11/20/07 01:45 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: bastet]
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CdnMT
Junior Member
Registered: 03/18/05
Posts: 88
Loc: Canada
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Hi bastet,
If I were living in Vancouver, I would contact the Fraser Health Authority. I know they hire new grads. If you were to secure employment with them, after course completion, you would gain valuable experience while enjoying a good wage and benefit package. I am assuming that having achieved permanent residence status you are eligible to work in Canada.
You are making a wise choice by choosing Andrews or M-TEC. Canadian schools don't have as much exposure in the MT market and if you choose to work at home you will have an easier time finding employment with a quality education.
One of the difficulties that I encountered when looking for work was the fact that many US companies consider Canada to be off-shore. This can limit some opportunities. It may make a difference that you are a US citizen, but your location of residence may still be an issue. However, considering the value of the dollar right now, you may want to work with a Canadian company. Getting the right education gives you choices.
Good luck in your decision!
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#85624 - 11/21/07 06:26 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: CdnMT]
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jay jay
Junior Member
Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 52
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Hi Bastet, I am coming late to this discussion but if I can help you with any questions feel free to ask. I am a Canadian living in Coquitlam, just outside Vancouver and I am an Andrews Grad. As you have heard from your other thread and this one Andrews provides excellent materials, I use a lot of my books in every day transcribing. Still I have topped up my resources as my accounts changed. There are some American companies that do hire Canadians and there seems to be a large pool of Canadian companies available also. Feel free to pm if you would like.
Regards
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#85638 - 11/21/07 10:34 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: jay jay]
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bastet
New Member
Registered: 11/09/07
Posts: 13
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Thanks to everyone who replied to my messages-I feel better knowing the opportunities are out there for those of us in Canada! I greatly appreciate all the information and tips.
Bastet
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#88973 - 01/17/08 06:35 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: bastet]
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LorraineER
New Member
Registered: 01/17/08
Posts: 1
Loc: Canada
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I am new here so hello everyone! I am just now starting to research the MT career and I am trying to find out what school to sign up with.
I am Canadian and was planning on signing up with Canscribe and I would really appreciate it if anyone could tell me what they have heard or know about Canscribe and/or recommend the best course to take online for Canadians. This course is very expensive, over $4000 so it would be terrible to take the wrong course and not to mention waste my time on the wrong course!
Thanks very much,
Lorraine
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#88978 - 01/17/08 08:59 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: LorraineER]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2917
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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Canscribe is the Canadian version of Career Step.
You would be much better of getting your training from either Andrews School or M-TEC (I believe both these courses are available to Canadians.)
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#89000 - 01/18/08 10:56 AM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: LorraineER]
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karenr07
New Member
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 1
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Hi Lorraine,
I agree with Faraway Deb. I am Canadian as well and I looked long and hard at Canscribe as well as Thompson Career College, both are Career Step programs. I went with Andrews and have absolutely no regrets. It is the same cost as Career Step, although you do have the currency exchange.
Do yourself a favor before you sign with Canscribe and check out Andrews.
KarenR in Ontario
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#89763 - 01/26/08 01:56 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: karenr07]
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tleve
New Member
Registered: 01/26/08
Posts: 3
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I am another Canadian who is currently interested in signing up for the MT program. I am currently deciding between Canscribe, M-Tec or Andrews and am also curious as to why people are hesitating to recommend Canscribe. One of the main reasons I would choose Canscribe is because it is a British Columbia school and I live in BC. Also, I feel like I will have a better chance of employment as a Canadian if I take a course that has relationships with Canadian employers. I have concerns with taking M-Tec or Andrews and then not benefiting as much from the job placement assistance for graduates of their course.
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#89765 - 01/26/08 02:17 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: tleve]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2917
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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Like I mentioned above, Canscribe is the Canadian version of Career Step (but it costs more).
I am a CS graduate, and if I had it to do over, I'd choose Andrews School or M-TEC.
Almost all of the books you receive from CS are written by the lady who started the school. The other 2 schools use real reference books that contain a LOT more. That's one reason the other 2 cost more. Since graduating, I have purchased a few of the textbooks used by the other 2 schools. I am blown away by how much was NOT taught by CS, and I have learned a lot on my own with those textbooks.
Also, the other 2 schools have real instructors who go over your work and point out errors, and help you along. At CS, your work is "automatically compared" against the same report done at some unknown time and place by some unknown MT, who may or may not have done it correctly. All you get is a comparison between the two, it only shows the differences, like holding two pieces of paper up to the light to see if everything matches. Whenever there are differences, it's up to YOU to figure out which one is correct. The only time a real person actually looks over your work is when you take your final exam (which over 50% of students fail the first time they take it, and that statement comes directly from CS itself, not from me).
Yes, I did get a work-at-home job after graduating from CS. But I feel my first year (at least) of work was a lot harder, I spent a lot more time looking things up, there were a lot of things I would have learned at Andrews or M-TEC that I didn't learn at CS.
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#89768 - 01/26/08 02:24 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: FarAwayDeb]
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tleve
New Member
Registered: 01/26/08
Posts: 3
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Thank you so much for the information, it is very helpful. My only concern with taking Andrews or M-Tec would be job placement afterwards. I have emailed them to ask them what their job placement opportunities are for Canadian graduates and am waiting for a reply but would appreciate any information from posters here. I have also emailed CanScribe to ask what reference materials they provide.
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#98101 - 05/16/08 03:41 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: tleve]
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MTinBC
New Member
Registered: 01/09/07
Posts: 2
Loc: British Columbia
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Hi everyone.
I have been an MT for Fraser Health Authority in BC Canada for 4 years now. I trained on-line(and they have 2 campuses) at Selkirk. I had never heard of Andrews, and I am one of the first Selkirk graduates accepted into FHA. Prior to that the only accepted school was Vancouver Community College. FHA's Transcription Dept. has gone through a lot of changes since I started, one of them being more accepting of other schools.
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#98103 - 05/16/08 03:43 PM
Re: Canadian MT Issues
[Re: MTinBC]
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MTinBC
New Member
Registered: 01/09/07
Posts: 2
Loc: British Columbia
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I am looking into doing a little MT side-work on top of my FHA MT duties. Anyone have an idea of the best way to charge and what to charge? I have a colleague who charges $6 per page but that's only for a 35-line page.
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