[Moushumi Chowdhury]

Hi there!!

Can anybody tell me whether it is ok to begin online MT course at this point since we get to hear Speech Recognition S/W is all pervading and shrinking MT job market?
I am based abroad. Is it possible to get Home based job opportunities after successful completion of the course from an institute in India? Will there be any issue with the Cross-Geography Data sharing and sort?
Lastly, if I can get a guidance on choosing the Online course/institute please. Also, will there be any advantage if I complete the course from an Institute of repute like Andrews or M-Tech or Career Step from US?

[admin]

If you haven't started the training, I recommend not to join and look for other jobs. It takes few years to achieve perfection in this work and you should have an office-based experience to start HBT. This job has no future prospects. Earnings are limited. Finding a reliable HBT company is difficult. Stay away from this profession.

[S. Rajavelu]

If you haven't started the training, I recommend not to join and look for other jobs. It takes few years to achieve perfection in this work and you should have an office-based experience to start HBT. This job has no future prospects. Earnings are limited. Finding a reliable HBT company is difficult. Stay away from this profession.

Hi, I disagree on the above and advise to take up this profession. Any new field for this matter, if you start to learn will need certain amount of time and the perfection you need to exhibit in this field can be attained by practice provided the amount of interest shown is considerable.

As far as you are concerned, you have got the best opening (since you are settled abroad) and after completing the training, you can take up HBT not from vendors here in India, if possible from MT companies direct from USA, which will definitely help you to achieve what you are planning. Having said that, I advise you to make decision only after taking into consideration all the factors that may help or may not help your career.

[themt10@gmail.com]

Hi there!!

Can anybody tell me whether it is ok to begin online MT course at this point since we get to hear Speech Recognition S/W is all pervading and shrinking MT job market?
I am based abroad. Is it possible to get Home based job opportunities after successful completion of the course from an institute in India? Will there be any issue with the Cross-Geography Data sharing and sort?
Lastly, if I can get a guidance on choosing the Online course/institute please. Also, will there be any advantage if I complete the course from an Institute of repute like Andrews or M-Tech or Career Step from US?

Hi Moushumi,

First of all, no offense intended, but I found it odd that you had to come over to an Indian forum and ask for advise for getting into the MT line being abroad.

I go over every now and then to see what's cooking in Indeed.com and sometimes MTStar forum (USA), which appear to be the most popular MT forums in the States. Unfortunately, we Indians are not allowed to participate in these forums, especially MTStar, which forbids any communication from overseas.

To be honest, when you go into the forums, you come across numerous people who have paid plenty of money for training from "reputed companies", finished the course and then are sitting around twiddling their fingers for want of work.

I do advise you to go to Indeed.com where you can easily find out what the scenario is like regarding good or bad institutions. In fact, since you are abroad, you could try to become a member and put up your questions there and judge for yourself what it is all about.

What I sensed was that most companies ask for a minimum of 2 years of experience before signing on new comers. They want experienced people, though I am baffled. As so many of the potential MTs ask, how do you become experienced without first starting at the ground level? It is an awful waste of time and money to walk into this situation without knowing what you are in for beforehand.

My answer to this is: The old way is the best way, i.e, hard work. If you are fixated on doing MT work no matter what, then do it. Too many MTs seem unable to go the extra mile and just waste time on incrimination, pointing fingers at companies or individuals for their own shortcoming, etc. But then, the really good ones will definitely get what they deserve if they are good.

The question is: Do you have it in you to be not a mere run-of-the mill MT, but rise to a position where you simply cannot help being noticed for your motivation, dedication, accuracy etc.? Do you have the guts to go into this field knowing that miracles cannot happen immediately, but fix yourself a target period of say two years maximum to become a good HBT? More than anything else, you need plenty of exposure in the office itself to pick up stuff you will not be able to do so as an HBT, so working in an office would be excellent until you are confident you can handle things at home. There is plenty of scope to work from home.

As for speech recognition, I am doing it and I like it far better than transcribing though I have no problems with it either. Voice recognition is far quicker to do and hence more volume generated, though at lesser rates. But then, each to his/her own.

I just had to reply seeing the negativity of people, even the admin.

[venugopalarao]

Still transcription industry has very good future. One simple logic. You are investing to learn transcription between 5000 rupees to 15000 rupees depending on institute.
Within this year, more than 300 new medical transcription companies started in India, some (around 25+) companies invested more than 500 to 3000 crores eg Mmodel etc., without knowing future of MT industry at least of 10 years why they will invest?
If you are giving good quality, you can become proofreader easily and you can secure future in MT industry.
If you have more queries, send mail to venu333@gmail.com or call me 09866620123, I will guide you.

[pshyamalahyd]

Still transcription industry has very good future. One simple logic. You are investing to learn transcription between 5000 rupees to 15000 rupees depending on institute.
Within this year, more than 300 new medical transcription companies started in India, some (around 25+) companies invested more than 500 to 3000 crores eg Mmodel etc., without knowing future of MT industry at least of 10 years why they will invest?
If you are giving good quality, you can become proofreader easily and you can secure future in MT industry.
If you have more queries, send mail to venu333@gmail.com or call me 09866620123, I will guide you.

Remuneration in this industry is not commensurate with the effort and diligence required as well as knowledge and nowhere near the current cost of living.

[zenithscribe]

Hi there!!

Can anybody tell me whether it is ok to begin online MT course at this point since we get to hear Speech Recognition S/W is all pervading and shrinking MT job market?
I am based abroad. Is it possible to get Home based job opportunities after successful completion of the course from an institute in India? Will there be any issue with the Cross-Geography Data sharing and sort?
Lastly, if I can get a guidance on choosing the Online course/institute please. Also, will there be any advantage if I complete the course from an Institute of repute like Andrews or M-Tech or Career Step from US?

HI

The industry, like so many others, is skill based. Beyond a point, it is irrelevant where and how you got trained as long as your deliverables are market-ready.

So, wherever you choose to train yourself from, get the basics firm since quality in the long run outdoes everything else and rest of the things (like steady work, career progression, bolstered earnings) would automatically be taken care of.

Thanks!!

[glenpereira81@yahoo.com]

Companies are moving to India and the Philippines because US MTs are not willing to work for 5 cents per line. That is the reason companies are investing in countries with low cost of labor. US hospitals are facing severe budget cuts and are faced to reduce line rates. I can tell you that the average line rate for straight transcription has dropped from 14 cents per line in 2006-2007 to 8 cents a line in 2014. Speech recognition lines are down to 5 - 6 cents per line. There is strong competition between MT companies to get new work that is why they are offering hospitals very low rates and outsourcing this work! I do not foresee these rates going up any time in the near future.

[LEE76]

Companies are moving to India and the Philippines because US MTs are not willing to work for 5 cents per line. That is the reason companies are investing in countries with low cost of labor. US hospitals are facing severe budget cuts and are faced to reduce line rates. I can tell you that the average line rate for straight transcription has dropped from 14 cents per line in 2006-2007 to 8 cents a line in 2014. Speech recognition lines are down to 5 - 6 cents per line. There is strong competition between MT companies to get new work that is why they are offering hospitals very low rates and outsourcing this work! I do not foresee these rates going up any time in the near future.

Hi Moushami!

To be frank it is the perseverance, passion, patience, and last but not least adaptation that is needed to be an MT.  As truly said, MT industry is in major change process which nobody can predict like software but yes some work with dedication irrespective of personal issues will keep you going but what lies at the end of tunnel nobody can predict.  Unlike the software, which had its recession period, we do not have recession but changes are ever happening.  So if you are prepared for this, please take the leap since no returns are guaranteed and please go through MT stars forum also regularly.  Money and all other issues are ever changing. Hence just as a secondary job you can opt but if you are young and talented please think once again.

Hope this is understood by all our young Indian MTs.

[AuditVKR]

Hi,

If abroad in US, there is a good chance to make considerable income even home-based than Indian counterparts even doing part-time and there is a great demand in an effort to curb outsourcing, so go ahead.., this industry will always be there no matter what. There will always be manual dictations requiring skilled MTs. It may take a while until you get streamlined into production but whatever you do, do so with sincerity and wholeheartedly, as the benefits outweigh what you may be apprehensive about.

God Bless and Good Luck!