Estimating Your Medical Transcription Salary

The medical transcription field is attractive to many applicants who want to work in the health care field in a supportive position. Unless your position includes some medical assisting responsibilities, a medical transcription job can help you break into the medical field, which is always in need of qualified applicants, without having to deal with potentially squeamish situations, such as handling laboratory tests or examining patients. The position is so flexible you may even be able to telecommute and work from home.

Before you try to get a job in the field or you consider medical transcription training, which can take one to two years, you may be wondering what kind of medical transcription salary you can expect in your pursue a career in this field. While there is no direct answer, the average annual medical transcription salary in the US is about $32,000, although you may find a medical transcription salary as low as $22,000 or as high as $45,000 per year.

There are four important factors that will help determine your medical transcription salary. Keep these in mind when looking for a job:

  1. Location: The medical transcription salary will be higher in areas of the country where cost of living is higher. This usually means that you’ll earn a greater medical transcription salary in metropolitan areas and a lower medical transcription salary in rural areas. The medical transcription salary differs by state as well. For example, the average medical transcription wage in Massachusetts is $20.62 per hour, while the average wage in North Dakota is $13.32 per hour.
  2. Type of Employer: There are a wide variety of places that offer medical transcription employment. In general, smaller clinics can’t afford as high a medical transcription salary as larger hospitals, but this is not always the case, especially if you work for a specialist and bring in skills relevant to that specialty. The type of employer can also impact your medical transcription salary. Medical and diagnostic laboratories tend to offer a high medical transcription salary—an average of $38,000—while physicians’ offices may offer less—about $32,000.
  3. Experience: The longer you successfully work in the medical transcription field, the greater medical transcription salary you can expect. You should expect your medical transcription salary to be on the low end when you first enter the field, although even an internship can help raise your prospects for a higher medical transcription salary.
  4. Education and Certification: Completing a one- to two-year medical transcription educational program as well as becoming accredited by an organization such as the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) can increase your chances for a higher medical transcription salary.

If you hope to earn a higher medical transcription salary, keep the location, type of employer, experience, and education and certification factors in mind. Getting educated and choosing a specialty are some steps you can take to earn more wages.