Career profile · 31-9094
Medical Transcriptionists
Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.
What the work can involve
- Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
- Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
- Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
- Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
- Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
- Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
Selected core tasks from O*NET 31.0. Responsibilities vary by employer, specialization and experience.
Preparation and entry routes
This broad O*NET group commonly involves vocational training, related experience or an associate-level route. It does not mean every course in a related subject meets the requirements.
Check the route for the specific occupation where you plan to work. Education, employer experience requirements, occupational licensing and industry certification can be separate steps.
Understand the different credentials →Skills used in this occupation
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Knowledge to build
- English Language
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Common work activities
- Working with Computers
- Documenting/Recording Information
- Getting Information
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
- Processing Information
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Training subjects to investigate
The federal education-to-occupation crosswalk connects this role to the subjects below. These links do not endorse a school or guarantee that any particular award qualifies a graduate for the job.
Working conditions to consider
These are the most common published responses to selected O*NET work-setting questions. They describe occupation-level survey findings, not every employer or a particular job.
| Work-setting question | Most common response | Share giving that response |
|---|---|---|
| Exposed to Contaminants | Never | 81.3%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections | Every day | 30.3%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Conditions | Never | 65.1%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Spend Time Sitting | Continually or almost continually | 36.2%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Spend Time Standing | Less than half the time | 44.9%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls | Continually or almost continually | 76.5%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Time Pressure | Every day | 73.4%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets | Never | 74.7%08/2021 · sample 16 |
| Work Schedules | Regular (established routine, set schedule) | 96.4%08/2021 · sample 16 |
O*NET 31.0 Work Context, selected topics. Only unsuppressed source responses with sample size at least 10 are shown. A most-common response need not be a majority. Sampling uncertainty applies; source dates vary. Ask employers about actual schedules, accessibility, protective equipment and working conditions.
Software used in the workplace
Use these O*NET examples to ask how a course builds practical digital skills. They are workplace examples, not a required shopping list or confirmation of a school’s curriculum.
- Billing and invoicing software: Patient billing software
- Calendar and scheduling software: Calendar software
- Data base user interface and query software: Database software, FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Access, dBASE Plus
- Desktop communications software: Sylvan Software DropChute Pro
- Electronic mail software: Email software, Microsoft Outlook
- Information retrieval or search software: Medical terminology databases
- Internet browser software: Web browser software
- Medical software: Allscripts healthcare automation software, Crescendo Systems Corporation MedRite-XL, Electronic medical record EMR systems, Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
- Office suite software: Corel WordPerfect Office Suite, Microsoft Office software
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
- Spell checkers: Spellex AccuCount, Sylvan Software Complete Medical Pharmaceutical Spell Checker
Selected categories and examples from O*NET 31.0 Software Skills. Products and employer requirements change. These examples are not endorsements; check the complete official occupation profile.
Pay & employment outlook
Salary estimates for medical transcriptionists
The median divides workers into two equally sized groups by pay. It is not a starting salary, a school’s graduate outcome or a promise of employment. Lower percentiles are not automatically new graduates.
National outlook: 2025–2035
- Typical education for entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Related work experience
- None
- Typical on-the-job training
- None
BLS national employment projections, 2025–2035. Openings include people leaving occupations or the labor force; these are not advertised vacancies. Education categories describe typical entry, not legal eligibility or a guarantee that any specific program is sufficient.
Compare wages across 50 state/DC estimates
| State | Annual median | Hourly median | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $35,340 | $16.99 | 410 |
| Alaska | $48,360 | $23.25 | 110 |
| Arizona | $36,550 | $17.57 | 700 |
| Arkansas | $35,100 | $16.87 | 280 |
| California | $45,050 | $21.66 | 5,860 |
| Colorado | $43,080 | $20.71 | 610 |
| Connecticut | $48,190 | $23.17 | 390 |
| Delaware | $34,070 | $16.38 | Not published |
| District of Columbia | $45,110 | $21.69 | 70 |
| Florida | $42,050 | $20.22 | 2,650 |
| Georgia | $28,330 | $13.62 | 950 |
| Hawaii | $44,310 | $21.30 | Not published |
| Idaho | $38,140 | $18.34 | 400 |
| Illinois | $45,490 | $21.87 | 970 |
| Indiana | $41,400 | $19.90 | 790 |
| Iowa | $45,010 | $21.64 | 180 |
| Kansas | $35,390 | $17.02 | 420 |
| Kentucky | $39,000 | $18.75 | 690 |
| Louisiana | $38,040 | $18.29 | 420 |
| Maine | $48,600 | $23.36 | 80 |
| Maryland | $39,900 | $19.18 | 230 |
| Massachusetts | $36,910 | $17.75 | 400 |
| Michigan | $37,280 | $17.93 | 1,130 |
| Minnesota | $50,030 | $24.05 | 270 |
| Mississippi | $38,600 | $18.56 | 300 |
| Missouri | $37,480 | $18.02 | 310 |
| Montana | $41,340 | $19.88 | 80 |
| Nebraska | $45,880 | $22.06 | 230 |
| Nevada | $39,350 | $18.92 | 210 |
| New Jersey | $39,020 | $18.76 | 1,710 |
| New Mexico | $37,480 | $18.02 | 210 |
| New York | $43,260 | $20.80 | 2,710 |
| North Carolina | $39,300 | $18.89 | 1,020 |
| North Dakota | $44,660 | $21.47 | 120 |
| Ohio | $37,060 | $17.82 | 680 |
| Oklahoma | $27,740 | $13.34 | 560 |
| Oregon | $46,280 | $22.25 | 510 |
| Pennsylvania | $41,510 | $19.96 | 1,130 |
| Rhode Island | $34,790 | $16.72 | 80 |
| South Carolina | $33,870 | $16.29 | 390 |
| South Dakota | $46,070 | $22.15 | 240 |
| Tennessee | $44,720 | $21.50 | 1,450 |
| Texas | $42,900 | $20.62 | 7,520 |
| Utah | $39,630 | $19.05 | 210 |
| Vermont | $33,030 | $15.88 | Not published |
| Virginia | $35,130 | $16.89 | Not published |
| Washington | $38,690 | $18.60 | 620 |
| West Virginia | $37,440 | $18.00 | 90 |
| Wisconsin | $49,150 | $23.63 | 590 |
| Wyoming | $48,100 | $23.12 | 40 |
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan wages
Search the 192 published local-area estimates for this occupation. Metropolitan areas can cross state lines; a city’s postal name is not necessarily the statistical area’s name.
Sources: BLS May 2025 OEWS public downloads and 2025–2035 employment projections, retrieved September 9, 2026. Unpublished estimates stay unavailable. “+” means BLS’s upper reporting threshold ($239,200 annually or $115 hourly). Wages exclude self-employment and nonwage benefits. How to interpret these figures.
Compare the route and prepare for work
Questions to test the fit
- What does an entry-level working day look like, and how does it differ from the experienced role described here?
- Which tasks, work environments and schedules would I enjoy or find difficult?
- What education, supervised practice and credentials do local employers actually request?
- Can I speak with someone in the occupation or arrange a suitable workplace visit?
- How does the complete training cost compare with my realistic budget and available routes?
Sources and attribution
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Trade School Guides selects and organizes the material and adds explanatory guidance. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. Occupation code: 31-9094.00.
Training connections: CIP 2020–SOC 2018 crosswalk. Snapshot: September 8, 2026. See the methodology.