Medical Transcription

Types of Degrees Medical Transcription Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical transcription/transcriptionist graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	94
Undergraduate Certificate	73
Associate Degree	31

What Medical Transcription Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medical transcription/transcriptionist majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in medical transcription/transcriptionist should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist Majors

When studying medical transcription/transcriptionist, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist Majors

As you progress with your medical transcription/transcriptionist degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Medical Transcription?

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medical transcription/transcriptionist majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	25
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Medical Transcription Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to medical transcription/transcriptionist is $36,350. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Transcription

Some careers associated with medical transcription/transcriptionist require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for medical transcription/transcriptionist careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	11.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	55.5%
Some College Courses	25.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.7%

Online Medical Transcription Programs

In 2020-2021, 77 schools offered a medical transcription/transcriptionist program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	46	7
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	10	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Medical Transcription Worth It?

The median salary for a medical transcription/transcriptionist grad is $36,350 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Medical Transcription

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical transcription/transcriptionist.

Major	Number of Grads
Health Care Management	16,886
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,149
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	9,623
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	8,186
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary	8,049
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,893
Medical Office Management/Administration	3,555
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,088
Health Information Management	2,688
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	1,870
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,176
Medical Reception/Receptionist	781
Long Term Care Administration/Management	275
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	224
Clinical Research Coordinator	127
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	94
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	23
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	20
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	15
Disease Registry Data Management	8

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.