It's for the sake of security, but you can't have bags or phones at your desk. They have to be stored in a locker (free, with your own lock). So you might miss some notifications or emergencies. Good thing is if you're expecting an important call, leave your phone with a shift leader and they'll come get you when it rings.
But the absolute WORST thing about this is their break policy. When you log off, even to go to the bathroom for 2 minutes, the system keeps you out for at least 30 to 32 minutes. This really sucks for students who are on tight schedules and can't be dallying there for too long past their scheduled time. Make sure you go to the bathroom and are ready to sit down for at least 3 to 5 hours straight, OR schedule in an extra 30 minutes to 1 hour if you think you'll need to get up once or twice for whatever reason. (I asked the reason why, and they said breaks less than 30 mins have to be paid. So they force you to take breaks that are at least 32 mins to avoid paying you, otherwise people will be taking paid 29 min breaks all the time.)
Another point is the pay. It starts off at minimum wage, $8.10 an hour, and there's not much room for advancement. You get 25 cent raises for hitting the 200, 500, 1000, 3000 hour marks. That's a LOT of hours for only 25 cents extra. You get a productivity bonus, an extra $2 for every dictation hour, so in a 32 hour pay period (two weeks), you could get about $15-$30 extra, depending on how fast you type. But that is barely enough for this job. It's actually quite tiring on your fingers, sitting for long hours at a time hurts your body, listening to all the same stuff gets boring, and the long headphone use damages your hearing. It's not a job some people can do long-term, bc it's stressful to the body and taxing to the brain.
I don't know if it's just me, but I don't like wasting time taking forced 30-min breaks whenever you get up from your computer. So I go in and try to do all my hours at once, usually 4 - 5 at a time, no break. Which HURTS my fingers, shoulders, legs, everywhere, from sitting still and typing for so long. And ears, from the headphones and audio. So consider the strains of this job, and the minimum wage that it pays. It's not enough, to me. I was offered a position of QA, which is a step up from scribe. 25 cent raise, you clean up tough, garbled jobs. But I turned it down bc it required a 6 month commitment at least, and I don't think I can stay there much longer.
