No one wants to waste money on their education. You pay for college, you want to get something out of it. When it comes to learning medical transcription, however, not all colleges are worth it. Which online colleges for medical transcription give you the best value?

It takes a bit of research to find out. There are a few factors that will help you discover which colleges have a good reputation as a school and with employers. It’s that good reputation that will help you get your first medical transcriptionist job, combined with how well you do in your studies.

One way to check how employers feel about a college is to see if they regularly hire graduates from that college. Some will list employers that have hired their graduates on their sites, but you can also try contacting employers. Just remember that this does not guarantee that you will ever be offered a position with that employer, no matter how well you do in your studies. It also depends on if they’re hiring at the time and what your competition for the openings looks like.

The big national medical transcription services are some of the easiest employers to check with. They hire a lot more people, and so deal with a lot more graduates from whichever program you’re looking at.

The AHDI is another place to check. They have some colleges on their Approved list, which means the college offers what they consider to be a good training program. The college has gone through a review process with them and passed all the criteria, which go over course content, the inclusion of an experienced medical transcriptionist in the program, and other factors they believe go into making a college worth approving, and worthwhile for students to attend to learn medical transcription.

You should also consider whether the college allows you to go at your own pace, especially if the courses are offered online. Being able to go at your own pace is a huge help, especially if you’re working elsewhere at the same time. You can go faster or slower as your schedule permits. You don’t have to worry about getting to class on time.

You do have to make sure that you’re still getting the work done in a timely manner if you use a self paced training program. Go too slow and you can eventually run out of time. Colleges do not just keep you as a student until you’re done. There’s a time limit that should be plenty generous enough for the serious student, even if you work elsewhere at the same time. Set aside a couple hours several days a week at least, just as you would for a college class you would attend in person. If you aren’t doing any other work, try treating your studies as a full time job.

When you get right down to it, there are a few online colleges that will give you good value for your money. Even the best won’t give you good value unless you work at it. Don’t expect learning medical transcription to be a simple thing. It takes time and a lot of effort. Give yourself the time you need to really learn what they’re teaching you so that you make the most of your time and the money you’ve spent.