Medical transcriptionist

Like many of the jobs in the health and medical industry, the demand for medical transcriptionists is booming.

As the Bureau of Labor statistics tells us the  demand will grow faster than average in the years to come. This is because as we all get older we need more medical treatment: it is also because medicine itself is becoming more complicated.

As a medical transcriptionist you would be taking the dictated notes of doctors and nurses making the treatments and typing them into formal documents. The training for this is more than just asking whether you can type: you do need to know the technical terms and have a general knowledge of medicine.

There are a number of ways of getting this training, including at vocational schools, community colleges (with a degree) and even at online schools.

Training to be a medical transcriptionist 

If you already have the necessary medical background then the training does not need to include school: a refresher course will be enough. If you need to learn all of that background then a one year certification course at a vocational school, or a two year degree course at a community college would get you to the required standard.

What about the job itself?

The pay is good, around $14 an hour (almost exactly the average for all jobs in the US) and there is one huge benefit to being a medical transcriptionist.

After a couple of years experience you can work from home which is great if you're looking for a degree of felixibility in your working life.

Source Bureau of Labor Statistics.