How To Become A Certified Medical Transcriptionist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a certified medical transcriptionist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Eve Leija AAS, NCMA

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a certified medical transcriptionist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.49 an hour? That's $50,935 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -3,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a certified medical transcriptionist?

Eve Leija AAS, NCMA

Medical Assistant Program Director, Website

To maximize salary for a medical assistant obtaining certification from one of the credentialing organizations such as American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) can make a new hire more competitive. Continuing educations along with developing any specialized skills such as phlebotomy. Demonstrating professionalism initiative and reliability, along with gaining a strong reference from previous employers.

ScoreCertified Medical TranscriptionistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,935

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

3.6

Growth rate -7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 14.44%

Black or African American 6.72%

Hispanic or Latino 8.92%

Unknown 4.67%

White 65.11%

Gender

female 89.59%

male 10.41%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

3.6

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a certified medical transcriptionist

Explore certified medical transcriptionist education requirements

Most common certified medical transcriptionist degrees

Associate

32.3 %

Diploma

20.5 %

Certificate

18.9 %

Start to develop specific certified medical transcriptionist skills

Skills	Percentages
Vital Signs	14.96%
Patient Care	12.85%
Patients	11.17%
Injections	6.62%
Office Procedures	4.99%

Complete relevant certified medical transcriptionist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New certified medical transcriptionists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a certified medical transcriptionist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real certified medical transcriptionist resumes.

Research certified medical transcriptionist duties and responsibilities

Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Preform blood draws, EKG's and vaccinations.
Utilize transcription equipment and software to transcribe medical dictation for doctors and hospitals.
Ensure HIPAA privacy and security compliance.

Prepare your certified medical transcriptionist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your certified medical transcriptionist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a certified medical transcriptionist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable certified medical transcriptionist resume templates

Build a professional certified medical transcriptionist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your certified medical transcriptionist resume.