Medical Transcription Earning Potential

If you're like me, you're going to ask "how much money can I make?".  Good question!  From everything that I've learned is that there is money to be made in this profession.  Lots of money.  But, there are keys to making money.  Personally, my goal is to be an IC (independent contractor)  so I feel that the ball is in my court.  So, the question becomes, how much do I want to work?  I like to think of this in the analogy of an athlete.  Repetition, Repetition, Repetition, Practice, Practice, Practice.  It takes work to get better, faster and to excel at what you are doing.  An athlete at the top of their game never needs to be told of his/her mistakes, they know what they have done wrong.  I see myself excelling in my career in the same way, with no barriers on my earning potential.  

But, in fairness, this is what the experts say are the potential earnings for a medical transcriptionist. 


Rate of pay will depend on onsite or online employment. Although onsite employment offers an hourly rate, experienced medical transcriptionists find online, production based pay to be more attractive due to the fact that they are paid exactly what they are worth.

Onsite medical transcriptionists are paid on an hourly basis. Doctor’s offices typically offer $12 - $14 per hour to start. A hospital usually offers at least $19 per hour to start.

Online medical transcriptionists are paid based on production. The industry standard for a new medical transcriptionist working online as an independent contractor is between approximately 6¢ - 8¢ per line to start. It usually takes a fairly solid 3 – 6 months to raise production levels and gain enough experience to make a decent income online. As there is a steep learning curve in anything new, production-based pay is often not great until you have gained experience and that is when you would really see your production start to pick up. You should be able to make at least $20 per hour at approximately 1-2 years of full time online experience.

Credit: CanScribe