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How long should a thorough, good coding program - take to complete. I know there are

Posted: Jan 16, 2015

variables involved, i.e. FT/PT, working, not working, etc. I'm just looking for a ballpark figure from those who have already completed a program. Thanks for any info!

Why do you ask? Not a good way to - select a school, IMO.

[ In Reply To ..]
How long a program takes is not a good indicator of quality or content. Coding courses do not all teach the same thing. The way they are taught affects how long they take, too. A really poor college course could take 2 or 3 years due to the need to wait for classes and sit in them for a semester, while a comprehensive program from a highly reputable distance school that taught twice as much could take a disciplined, motivated student only 9 months because it is self-paced. Another self-paced online program that purports to cover as much might give you 6 months of access, but if all the material is in one online screen after another students don't grasp it and few finish and fewer still get jobs.

Hence, wondering what your question is aiming at. Not sure if there is an answer the way it stands.

Asked because Career Step claims 3-4 months - and I just find that very hard to

[ In Reply To ..]
believe. They do say FT, but I just can't imagine it going that quickly and being adequately prepared. Am I wrong in thinking this ?

If you have a chance of going to a local school to do so I would - heres why

[ In Reply To ..]
I am assuming you want to work local. The people who are hiring you would much rather have someone who was trained at a familiar institution rather than some pie in the sky online school. Just make sure whatever course you pick allows you to sit for exams or you will have wasted your time and money because nobody will hire you if you aren't certified.

Are you a certified, employed coder? - ??

[ In Reply To ..]
I disagree about local colleges, because we do not hire from the local college. We know better. Their grads are pathetic.

We look for credentials and don't much care how the applicant got them. If you have a CCS, then your school must have been a good one.

No, you are not wrong in thinking that. - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
If all you want to learn is outpatient coding, you can do so in 4 months, but go with an AAPC course. Either their online course or one taught locally in affiliation with the local AAPC chapter.

If you want to learn both inpatient and outpatient, AND be qualified to sit for the AHIMA CCS exam, it will take about 12 months at Andrews. They have good results.

A community college *may* teach both, but is more likely to teach only to the CPC or the CCA, which is not well accepted by employers. That route will also take longer, because you cannot start until the next round of classes after acceptance, might have to complete prerequisites that can take up to a year, and courses might be full when you want to take the. A year long program could take 2 or more years and cost far morexthan even Andrews.

Thank you. This is what I was telling myself - but wanted to see if I was

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looking at it correctly. I appreciate the info!

It took me just over a year - please sm

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I'm not sure how long other programs take, but I went to Andrews and it took me just over a year. I was also working as an MT. I will tell you that I didn't have much of a life outside of working and studying, but it really was so worth it!

Thank you. Can you tell me approximaly how - many hours weekly you spent

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on school and studying with Andrews?

They recommend 15-30 hours - A different Andrews student

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per week. I have found that to be fairly accurate for me.

Hours - please sm

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I spent at least 30 hours a week studying. When there were no jobs available at the MTSO I worked for, instead of getting frustrated about it and wasting time trying to get a job here and there, I used that time to study. Towards the end of school, I was probably closer to 40 hours a week.

If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Thank you both so much. This is closer to what - I was imaging in terms of

[ In Reply To ..]
studying time. I just couldn't imagine doing all of this in 3 months as the career step program advertises. My initial plan was that I'd need a good solid 11-12 months to dedictate to this and your replies have helped me I wasn't far off in my thinking.

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