A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Need Opinions

Posted: Dec 11, 2013

To make a long story short, my hospital MT job paid by the hour was outsourced (not saying to who...and not really surprised but thought we had a bit longer before it happened). I now find myself at a crossroads.

I am considering going back to school, but am conflicted. I went back to school nearly 8 years ago for MT and now find myself searching a new career. I am considering cyber security through a local university, but am hesitant. I filled out my FAFSA to see if I qualified for grants or scholarships and because me and my husband have an income, I do not qualify for anything...nothing! I am still paying from where I went to school the last time. I am not sure I want to take on this debt. Frankly, I am not sure about a lot of things here lately. I have just transitioned from on-site to at home with my new employer and have a huge feeling of uncertainty about the future. I have been looking nearly daily at job ads on multiple sites like Monster, local government, etc. but the job market is pretty much played out until after the New Year.

My question is this: What would you do if you were me? Would you wait to go back to school or bite the bullet? What would be your deciding factor?

Any input would be greatly appreciated! I have talked to family, but I wanted to get an outside opinion.

;

Funny you should mention this and in particular - Just me

[ In Reply To ..]
cyber security. My husband's background is in that (well sort of but not exactly, something similar). He just read an article because he is searching for himself some sort of career path and he came across an article and the guy talking was saying cyber security is a dead end. Tomorrow when we're both awake (I'm getting ready to shut down), but I'll see if he can send me the article.

If you want to reply to me by email I'll be more than happy to send you the info. But every thing you discussed here (pretty much sentence by sentence) is exactly what we've been talking about. He is unemployed I'm the only one working and we're barely making it. Have had to cut back so much. He tried to get food stamps, he doesn't qualify based on my last years earnings (which this year I made about half). He tried for unemployment, he said because he has not working in over a certain number of years he doesn't qualify because they need to base what he would get on what his last job paid, so he doesn't get anything. I told him to go down to the office and talk to him because maybe I've got work coming in right now, but in this industry I could wake up one day and there would be nothing. He's trying to find some kind of path. He went to school to learn a skill that guess what? All the jobs are being shipped to India (not MT work, another field). He spent a year going through school and we have loans coming due, so we cannot take on more debt for him to go to school to learn another field. And in what? All the stuff he's been looking into he's reading more articles that those fields are going away.

I have some websites he's sent to me (free training) and articles and stuff I'd be more than happy to email you.

Your moniker sounds very familiar to me. Familiar as in we might have emailed each other before, but I'm tired right now, so unsure or if it's just I've read your messages on the board.

Send me an email or I can send you one and I'll pass on some info I've found.

It's tough I'll tell you that. It's just hard to know what direction to go. Everything we thought we knew about "what's hot and what's not" is changing all the time. Scary times, but I have to have hope that things are going to get better and I will keep chugging along surviving. Just call me Gloria Gaynor "I will survive" (oh no.....does that date me? LOL)

Anyway...will be happy to send you links and ideas of what we've found.

take the AAPC coding course - $1500

[ In Reply To ..]
It's the quickest and least expensive way to get started in coding. And keep looking for a job, but I've been doing that for over a year and have only gotten a couple of interviews, neither of which went very well.

Questions for you - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
How old are you? If you have a lot of working years ahead of you, I would go back to school. But, make sure you chose your major wisely. If something can be sent offshore, no way I would go there. I'm hesitant to encourage you to go into cyber security or coding as another poster recommended. What do you really love doing? Do you enjoy computers? I am a big advocate of education, but only if it's a good return of investment.

My thoughts - Anon2

[ In Reply To ..]
I would not recommend coding. The course may cost $1500 but it is $1500 down the drain if you can't get a job, and it's a difficult field to break into as a newbie, it also needs to be something that you think you would enjoy. You didn't really say what you wanted to do; you can't keep spending money on school until you have a career goal/path. If your MT income meets your needs, then yes, "bite the bullet." Most people will disagree, but I never see MT completely going away. The production pay jobs may diminish, but there are probably going to be jobs in quality assessment and other things on the periphery for quite a few years. Does it involve getting out of the house and going to the office? Yes. You mentioned cyber security. Would you be interested in something involving electronic health records such as health informatics? Many facilities hire EMR analysts, program managers, trainers and people to work on their systems in other ways. With more and more facilities going "paperless," that might be worth pursuing, Epic and Cerner are huge. If your university has a program in cyber security, maybe they have other courses you could take in that area. To train for anything new at all, you are probably looking at 24 months minimum. I would suggest meeting with a career counselor for advice; Skill Source and employment security usually offer those services free of charge. Local colleges usually have career counselors as well. Best wishes.

oh that's not so - coding

[ In Reply To ..]
the people on the coding board will tell you you'll be set for life if you learn coding.

I know what they say - Anon2

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm one of the people who learned coding and took a different job in medical records because I have not been able to find a coding job yet. It's been more than a year now, I have not given up. I'm actually hoping to get another interview. I just know it's not easy to get started which is why I can't recommend it, although I'm sure it is my fault because I'm not trying hard enough or didn't attend the right school.

Perhaps it is the attitude showing in that post - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
NM

do I detect sarcasm? - I hope? nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

They have never said that - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Saying that they have is evidence of "all or none thinking."

Over-the-road team truck driving - L&L

[ In Reply To ..]
They sure as you-know-what cannot offshore or automate that.

I had seriously considered it but would not do it w/o a partner.

My brother used to drive a truck and made a great living.

Down-side, I think the course is 4K.

Food for thought - Backwoods Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
Much of what is offered as far as college courses does not interest me or there is little to no money. I really love plants, but jobs this time of year are nonexistent and there is no money not to mention that its seasonal work. I have interest in computers and think that forensics would be great since I love science, but most forensic courses offered are only for law enforcement majors...i.e. police officer. At this point, it just seems to me that I will have to deal with a new career that has little interest but good pay.

I am still looking at schools and had contacted another school prior to the most recent one...University of Phoenix. It seems that almost anything could be outsourced electronic-wise these days and health records pose no interest to me. Im literally DONE with the healthcare field. I worked for my former employer for over 7-1/2 years and they didnt even try to place me or any of my coworkers within the company. Human resources was a joke and I have met with a career counselor at one of the local community colleges...which was of absolutely no help. Its like I finally figure what I want to do only to find that nope...not a good idea. Coding is available here, but I have no desire to work for my former employer again after the way we were treated.

I KNOW I have to do something for my future and if I know without a doubt that its what I should pursue, then great but thats the problem...I basically have little interest in anything offered. Plus that, attending a classroom on campus is not an option right now for various reasons. I have several decades left (in 30s now) to work, probably until I am too feeble to work or I keel over, whichever comes first.

If anybody gets a class A CDL that would be my hubby. He already has a class B, but it costs a considerable amount to get a class A not to mention the hours you have to have behind the wheel before they even consider giving you one. I wouldnt mind babysitting pets during the day, but I would have to do a lot of work landscape-wise at home to do it. Its definitely a thought, but not sure there would be enough money in it to make it worthwhile.

It really bites to find myself at this point and it leaves me with little hope for the future...that Im basically back to where I was nearly 8 years ago...stuck at a job with no advancement potential and at top of pay grade. I know I will be okay through February, but what after that? Im keeping my eyes open on the want ads, but thats played out for now. I dont like feeling this uncertain and insecure about things.

try the temp services - different things

[ In Reply To ..]
there you can try out different jobs and maybe find something you like, and you can learn on the job. They often have training courses too.

Money - Anon2

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are looking for someone to give you money to go to school to study something you are not interested in for a job you don't really want, best of luck. You can get a student loan. If you are only in your 30s, you have a long time to pay it back. You don't want to do anything in health care. You love plants. Well, you could try to get work with a florist or one of the big box stores. They sell plants year round and might need someone knowledgeable to help customers. Get a small business loan and start your own plant store; sell houseplants off season and offer a landscaping or lawn care service during the warmer months. If you are interested in law enforcement, maybe you could try for a police dispatcher job or maybe you could do legal transcription. Do you enjoy working with pets/animals? Perhaps you could become a veterinary assistant. The shelters usually need volunteers so you could try that first to see if you like it. Most of the things I mentioned could be temp or part-time while you continue to work as an MT so you can try them out. Sorry you didn't like the health informatics suggestion. It seemed logical to me with your background. Sooner or later you will figure out "what you want to be when you grow up."

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