How Much Can You Earn As A Medical Transcriptionist?
In the beginning a medical transcriptionist (MT) just out of school can expect to make $12 to $15 per hour. After a year of experience, medical transcriptionists can expect to make from $16 to $20 per hour; a salary of about $35,260. With 5 years experience or more, the pay can be $22+ an hour; a salary of $48,190. This can vary depending on the location of the company you are working for, but it mostly dependent on your production. The more you improve your skills, the more you can earn.
Most new medical transcriptionists will not start out at a high pay rate. However, you can make a nice living working at home even during your first year. You have to think of it this way; if you went to college and got a degree, you would not expect the first job you started in your field to be at the highest pay range. That would come with time and experience. The same holds true for new medical transcriptionists.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics report reports that the Occupation Employment and Wages for May of 2021 for Medical Transcriptions and Medical Transcription Editor professionals- earn a median salary of $30,100 a year.
Medical Transcription Annual Wage 2021
| Year | Earned |
|---|---|
| Top 10% Earned More Than | $48,190 |
| Median Wage Earned | $30,100 |
| Lowest 10% Earned | $22,810 |
What is the Job Outlook for medical transcriptionists?
Employment of medical transcriptionists is projected to decline 7 percent from 2021 to 2031.
Different Types Of Medical Transcriptionist Salaries:
The rate of pay for medical transcriptionists can vary depending on your level of experience and your employer.
Hourly pay – If you are an employee of a doctor or medical service you almost always receive an hourly pay or a set salary.
Independent Contractor – As an independent contractor or employee of a medical transcription service, you are usually paid on a production basis (such as per-word, per-line, or per-record). There are many transcriptionists that are paid on production. This is why becoming comfortable with your client and typing speed are important factors in what you will earn. The more you type the more you make.
Calculate pay: 65-character – The most common way to be paid is by 65-character line with spaces- A 65-character line with spaces is calculated as (characters + spaces) divided by 65. The easiest way of determining the line count of a document is to find out the total number of characters in the entire document and divide it by 65. To find the number of characters in a document in Microsoft Word 2003, simply click on “Tools” on the top menu bar and then click on “Word Count”. If you have Microsoft Word 2007, the line count is at the left hand side (see example below) of your status bar. Click on “Words” at the left hand status bar and a pop up with come out displaying several features such as the word count, character count, etc.
Below is an example using “Microsoft line counting” to calculate line counts and what you would make if getting paid 8 cents per line:
First, get the characters (with spaces) 10,156. Divide characters (with spaces) by 65. So it is 10,156/65 = 156 lines. (Round number off to second decimal point if needed) and then multiple by 0.08. For this calculation the total amount earned is $12.48
Calculate pay: Visible Black Characters (VBC) – Characters without spaces.
Here is an example: The word “m t i n f o r m a t i o n” is bolded with a space between each letter, but this wound be counted as 13 characters even though there are spaces between each letter.
A 55 VBC line is roughly equivalent to a 65-character line that includes spaces. In my opinion, VBC count reduces your pay by about 30%, because you still have to hit the spacebar twice and return even though you are not paid for it, as in standard 65-character (with spaces) line count you get paid for everything. An MT compensation at 9 cents per line (CPL) based on VBC is roughly equivalent to 6 CPL based on a standard line. (This will vary somewhat, depending on formatting, document type and other factors.) My strong opinion is that the standard 65-character line rate is a better option.