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#104796 - 07/24/08 12:26 PM
MT: A great part-time job for seniors
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Glory1863
Member
Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 440
Loc: Beyond Antares
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With the economy being like it is, ABC's Good Morning America gave this advice for seniors needing to increase their retirement income:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/Story?id=5437675&page=2
Don't you just love choice #5? As one of their own reporters is fond of saying: "Give me a break!"
_________________________
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. Abraham Lincoln
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#104804 - 07/24/08 01:22 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Glory1863]
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NCS
New Member
Registered: 07/20/08
Posts: 4
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Yes, I did watch the show and I agree that MT is an excellent field for a senior trying to make ends meet! The training is relatively short(depends on how much time you devote to it) and not expensive, again (depending on the school chosen). I recently started a program and I love it. I am 56 and planning for my future and I believe that I have made a great decision! Have a look at the website and the free e-book and get in touch with me through my e-mail or myspacepage.com. It's worth checking into!
Take care!
Nancy
MT Student
http://www.workathome.com
http://www.myspacepage.com/stlerz
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#104807 - 07/24/08 01:36 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: baldymom]
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tropsicleAfter
Member
Registered: 10/30/06
Posts: 2725
Loc: Vicksburg, MS
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Yes, again, and it is evident now that she is one of those that get paid for 'referrals'.
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tropsicle
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#104815 - 07/24/08 02:14 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: baldymom]
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NCS
New Member
Registered: 07/20/08
Posts: 4
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I am also from the Hampton Roads area and I was born and raised here. It really surprised me that one person could try to discourage another individual from doing what she loves to do. I love sitting at a computer and using my skills which I learned through an associate degree program. I have been a CNA,MA and love the medical profession, with all the terminology and new technology! I think this is a great decision for me and I would love to hear from someone encouraging!
Nancy
MT Student (and proud of it)
http://www.mtacc.net
http://www.myspacepage.com/stlerz
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#104818 - 07/24/08 02:23 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: NCS]
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baldymom
Member
Registered: 02/26/04
Posts: 644
Loc: Hampton Roads - Va
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We are not discouraging anyone from becoming an MT (though some will).
Everything you said is true of us. We love using the skills we learned to do our jobs. We find it rewarding and enouraging or we would not be doing it.
We disapprove of your school and it's tactics. MTACC has a reputation here. It has not been a good one. I know of one who finished your program and was one of the spamers for a time. I'm not sure she would have glowing reviews either.
So sorry, Glory, to have hyjacked your thread.
_________________________
What would you do with a brain if you had one? -- Dorothy -- Wizard of Oz
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#104835 - 07/24/08 04:47 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: NCS]
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Glory1863
Member
Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 440
Loc: Beyond Antares
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Nancy, I'm 54 and I've been an MT for 32 years. I'm afraid I'm not a candidate for your school. I hope what you're doing works out for you in the end, I really do, but I suspect that if you're still a student, then you're going to be in for a rude awakening when you graduate and go job hunting. A beginner's wage, particularly in a VR environment, is not that great. I've seen the changes in this industry over the years, and they haven't all been good ones, especially of late. The increased marketing of this profession as a stay-at-home mommy job (that is, fit it around your kids' overscheduled lives) or an earn a little extra pin money on the side job is part of the downward trend in my opinion. If I had the time and the money, I'd be back in school for something else myself.
How reasonable is it to market a job to seniors that requires sitting in one place (basically in one position) with legs dependent for considerable periods of time? How reasonable is it to market a job to seniors that requires acute hearing? How reasonable is it to market a job to seniors that requires good eyesight (or the ability to hear both incoming dictation and the screen reader voice at the same time)? No, not all seniors are sickly, but many are, and hearing loss and vision loss go with aging. The people GMA was marketing this to were not 50-somethings like us. It was being marketed to people who had already retired and found themselves coming up short, people in their late 60s, 70s and even 80s.
If you do, indeed, get paid for referrals to your school, then I suppose you could go post on GMA's website in the comments section for this story along with all the other work-at-home endeavors it has attracted - as well as the scam warnings.
I'm very disappointed that ABC did not do a better job of reseaching this profession before recommending it to seniors. It doesn't feel good to have one's living put on a par with dog-sitting.
_________________________
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. Abraham Lincoln
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#104926 - 07/25/08 09:30 AM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Glory1863]
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moaab
Member
Registered: 02/02/08
Posts: 480
Loc: Chicagoland
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A very excellent post, Glory. 
_________________________
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.........Abraham Lincoln's mother
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#104942 - 07/25/08 11:27 AM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: moaab]
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mainely mt
Member
Registered: 02/15/02
Posts: 353
Loc: maine
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Amen, Glory!!! Well said! Someone ought to contact GMA and tell them what a mistake they made in recommending this and, more importantly, they should have looked a bit more into Medquist before taking their advice! Holy cow!!! Talk about pin money!
_________________________
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Helen Keller
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#104944 - 07/25/08 11:31 AM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Glory1863]
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moaab
Member
Registered: 02/02/08
Posts: 480
Loc: Chicagoland
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I got a visual of some poor senior trying to fit her headphones over her hearing aid while waiting for her arthritis medication to kick in before she can start typing. 
I mean this as no disrepect to seniors; I have the utmost respect for seniors in our country. I'm just thinking about how ridiculous the GMA piece is.
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Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.........Abraham Lincoln's mother
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#105115 - 07/26/08 02:08 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: NCS]
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imainfp
New Member
Registered: 08/13/06
Posts: 10
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Guess what! I'm a senior (age 64) and have been an MT for 20 years. I wouldn't recommend starting this job to anyone over 50, and or to anyone with any problems such as headaches, backaches, varicose veins, arthritis, wrist, finger, or arm pain, as certainly doing this job is going to aggravate any of those conditions and more. Every day as an MT for me is another day in hell. Believe it or not, this job is physically exhausting for your body, but also mentally exhausting. It is a total brain drain, and at the end of my day I feel brain dead. If this is the way you want to feel being an MT in your senior years, go for it but, sorry, I'm not one to encourage it.
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#105117 - 07/26/08 02:14 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: mainely mt]
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14tonks
Member
Registered: 10/25/01
Posts: 7170
Loc: Only 3rd world country in US
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they should have looked a bit more into Medquist before taking their advice! Holy cow!!! Talk about pin money!
Apparently MedQuist has happy visions of filling its depleted MT ranks with minimum-wage senior Wal*Mart greeters.
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#105118 - 07/26/08 02:36 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: imainfp]
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MicheleA
Member
Registered: 02/18/05
Posts: 1024
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Believe it or not, this job is physically exhausting for your body,
So true. I am only 38, but after a long stretch transcribing when I am nodding off, my eyes are burning, and I finally make myself go to bed, I find I can actually lie there and read for 30-60 minutes. Don't know how I can do it. Maybe it's just that with reading in bed only my eyes are engaged, not so much my brain (very light reading), hands, fingers, feet, butt, etc.
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#105121 - 07/26/08 03:23 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: imainfp]
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ahvasquez
Member
Registered: 02/07/03
Posts: 651
Loc: Texas
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Guess what! I'm a senior (age 64) and have been an MT for 20 years. I wouldn't recommend starting this job to anyone over 50, and or to anyone with any problems such as headaches, backaches, varicose veins, arthritis, wrist, finger, or arm pain, as certainly doing this job is going to aggravate any of those conditions and more. Every day as an MT for me is another day in hell. Believe it or not, this job is physically exhausting for your body, but also mentally exhausting. It is a total brain drain, and at the end of my day I feel brain dead. If this is the way you want to feel being an MT in your senior years, go for it but, sorry, I'm not one to encourage it.
Edited to correct a typo
Edited by ahvasquez (07/26/08 03:24 PM)
_________________________
Anne
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#105194 - 07/27/08 11:10 AM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: ahvasquez]
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ArmyWifeMT
Junior Member
Registered: 01/21/08
Posts: 31
Loc: Wherever The Army Sends Us
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There are only two MT schools I would encourage anyone to attend, just like everyone else here. Neither of those school are cheap or short. I suppose both "cheap" and "short" are all relative though. You certainly get what you pay for and the education I am receiving is worth every single penny I had to scrape together. Everyone here already knows that though!I think GMA was a bit irresponsible in it's description. I hope it does not send a flood of senior students to schools that only care about getting their money. I do think it is pretty safe to say that the nearly $4,000.00 price tag on the top two schools is not what many would call "cheap." And neither of these school have a curriculum that is realistic to complete in 6-9 months!
Nancy, I hope it works out for you. The track record for finding gainful employment right out of school is just not very good for an MT who did not attend Andrews or M-Tec. I don't think anyone is trying to discourage you so much as paint a realistic picture for you.
Perhaps, if we can take a few moments away from studies and work, we should write a very polite letter letting GMA know what our education entails. 
_________________________
~Sarah~
Army wife, mom to four kids and a snake, MT student.
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#105215 - 07/27/08 03:17 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: ArmyWifeMT]
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Glory1863
Member
Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 440
Loc: Beyond Antares
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I did drop an E-mail to GMA through their contact box and indicated that I wished they had done more research. I mentioned the cost and length of schooling and that scams abound. I mentioned that some of the physical requirements for this job might be difficult for seniors to handle. I mentioned pay on production and how low that is with voice recognition. Oh, and I did mention that I have actually done the job for 32 years. There is only so much one can fit in 500 characters, though. I do know better than to think that they'll actually look in to any of it or change their recommendation, but sometimes I get the overwhelming urge to knock my head against a brick wall because it feels so good when I stop (she laughs).
_________________________
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. Abraham Lincoln
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#105251 - 07/27/08 08:27 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Glory1863]
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FarAwayDeb
Member
Registered: 03/15/02
Posts: 2956
Loc: just south of Rochester, NY
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Apparently, ABC got their information from here:
Women for Hire
_________________________
Good grammar ain't easy.
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#105310 - 07/28/08 01:32 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: FarAwayDeb]
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Glory1863
Member
Registered: 03/27/08
Posts: 440
Loc: Beyond Antares
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Tory Johnson, who is a frequent contributor to GMA, is the president of that company.
She did provide one useful piece of information: Those who choose to go to Career Step now know of a company that will apparently welcome their applications when they graduate.
_________________________
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. Abraham Lincoln
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#105454 - 07/29/08 03:47 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Glory1863]
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Wordcraftr
Junior Member
Registered: 02/11/08
Posts: 80
Loc: Midwest coast
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Jeez, Louise, I would not recommend this as a part-time gig for anybody my age. I'm pushing 60 and every day is a struggle. Luckily, I don't have any problems with my hands, but I have plenty of problems with my back. If I did not live in a tourist area where there is no industry and where the jobs consist of: greeter at Wal-Mart, retail sales at the local outlet mall, and waiting tables (none of which I can do with my back pain), I would be out of the house and doing something else.
Besides, more and more of what we do is being shuffled overseas, where I've been told that the training consists of three months before they're up and running at 5 cents a line. Income-wise, how can we compete with that?
_________________________
Gravity. It's not Just a good idea. It's the
Law.
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#105866 - 08/01/08 01:44 PM
Re: MT: A great part-time job for seniors
[Re: Wordcraftr]
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powermt
New Member
Registered: 07/28/08
Posts: 10
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Dear WordCraftR, I have gone through your post and I came up with many ideas for you as you are pushing 60s. But if you take it seriously and do what I suggest you to do. I am medical transcriptions for the last seven years and I am constantly looking direct work from USA etc. As you are older now and do have a back pain also, what you do is that you just send me the work and I will do it on behalf of you within the turn-around-time with 99% quality. I can easily work between 5 to 5 cents per line and can handle much load of work as well. I do not what rate you are getting, but I can work for 5 to 6 cents per line. It is okay with me and I will be happy with that.
So by doing this you can also earn handsome amount of money while just send work to me and I can too earn good amount in the same way...
regards
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