A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Coding/Billing-worth it?! - newbie

Posted: Jan 30, 2015

okay ladies and gents--I got a lot of negative reviews on the MT world and have decided that is not a route worth going down....however, we have a small child, and come July will have two! We can't afford daycare full time for 2 babies. I was counting on working from home.

Do you guys think coding & billing is worth it? Do you enjoy your jobs? Are many of you able to work from home?

Is Andrews the reccommended school? About how long does it take to actutually complete the program? Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

Coding/Billing - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
First, coding and billing are two different things. Second, I can't imagine coding at home with one small child, never mind adding an infant into the mix. Coding takes an extreme amount of concentration.

To answer your questions, I don't know anything about billing, but coding has been worth it for me. Yes, I enjoy my job, although it can get frustrating when the documentation isn't great and I can't quite figure out what procedure they actually performed. Yes, I work from home.

Regarding schools, yes Andrews seems to be the most recommended, at least on this board. It took me just over a year to complete the program. Good luck in your decision!

Coding is not a mommy-job - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Coding is a great field which pays well and offers good advancement. It is not, however, a good "mommy job." It requires more attention and professional effort than envelope-stuffing, so to speak.

It is also difficult to get a remote job as a new coder. Yes, new coders who have excellent credentials *can* get remote jobs, but they may have to work on-site a while.

Frankly, I would not hire someone who expected to do day care while working a responsible job. That may sound intolerant or unkind, but that's the reality. Coding is not clerical work. Period. It involves a high degree of professional responsibility. You can't attend to it while chasing around after children.

The expectation that you would be able to do that is a bit insulting, too. It tells me that you think *my* job is something anyone can do with half their attention turned on it. Not a nice attitude, if you ask me.

Is coding worth it? If you have to ask that, you didn't do enough research into the field. You would not have to ask that if you had -- you would know exactly why it was worth it. Suggest you find the salary surveys.

I'm not sure it's ever a good idea to go into a career field because you can do home daycare at the same time.

mommy jobs - newbie

[ In Reply To ..]
The fact that you compare "mommy jobs" to envelope stuffing is quite insulting. I have my bachelor's degree, have been working in my field of choice, and am capable of quite a bit, thank you very much. Even for mothers that don't have a degree, it does not succumb them to only being able to do jobs that requite virtually no intelligence.

Secondly-I am looking into jobs that I can do from home. This does not mean that I will be providing my own day-care at the same time. Not that it is any of your own business, but my husband has a flexible schedule as well as my sister and we are trying to work it out so that neither of us have to take our children to random daycares.

"Frankly" its a good thing your opinion doesn't matter. So, check your own attitude and stop judging when you don't know the slightest bit about my situation or why I am looking into coding. I was simply asking for advice and guidance from those in the profession-hopeing to get professional answers, obviously some people lack that "professionalism".

Have a nice day. :)

You might have explained all of that - to begin with

[ In Reply To ..]
You might have explained all of that to begin with. The response would have been different.

As it was, all we had to go by was this statement "We can't afford daycare full time for 2 babies. I was counting on working from home." That pretty much looked like you were saying you needed to stay home to do daycare.

No one was dissing your education and abilities. You just came off looking like you wanted a minimalist job at home around which you could arrange your child care.

To Newbe - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Coders have a superiority complex and look down on anyone who doesn't belong to their exclusive elite club. They tend to think that they possess some special quality that the rest of humanity lacks. Don't take it personally. It's just the way they are.

Think maybe you misunderstood the term - "mommy-job"

[ In Reply To ..]
I think you misunderstood the term "mommy job" and thus took offense where none was intended.

It doesn't mean every job that mothers have, therefore doesn't reflect on you and your current job, whether you are a mother or not.

A "mommy-job" is generally understood to be a work-at-home, usually nonprofessional type of job of the sort advertised on mommyjobsonline.com, like call center work, answering services, typing, etc. The classic, original at-home jobs were, in fact, envelope stuffing and some types of craft work.

These types of jobs do not tend to pay well, so if you have a degree and a career in your field of choice, then you might try to get a remote position in that field.

I can work remotely for my employer, as do many of my colleagues, but those are professional positions in computer programming, HIM, coding, informatics, finance, etc. They are not at all flexible. We work regular hours just as if we worked in the office, interact with others as if we were in the office, and dress as if we were in the office for video calls.

With your bachelor's, you could complete a postbaccalaureate certificate in health information administration in about the same time it would take you to learn coding. That would enable you to code, but also to get an RHIA and work in HIA. There are a lot of remote positions in HIA. You would be able to work from home, but with a much better salary.

It's a boring job that will be offshored before - you even get your feet wet.

[ In Reply To ..]
There. I said it.

Lashing out? - Why the need?

[ In Reply To ..]
If you think it is a boring job that will be offshored, you must be thinking of something else.

Why the hostility and resentment?

A bit of encouragement for Newbie... - Tink

[ In Reply To ..]
I've never done coding (thought about switching to it a few years ago), but have done MT from home for 11 years now, even adding 3 new littles into the mix during that time. I've never hired a babysitter or daycare for my children (kind of defeated the purpose of leaving an office job I really loved in order to not have to pay so much daycare and be home with my kids!). I am professional with my work, pass my audits with great scores, and have even won several performance awards, so this kind of job CAN be done with littles at home, and we moms that do this aren't slackers or lax about the quality of our work. However, it is really hard to do. I have my schedule split up and work during naptimes, bedtimes, etc., and it was definitely harder during the newborn days, but we got through it. Working from home IS pretty lonely and I personally would be much happier with a job where I get to work with people, but it's been much better for the whole family for me to be working from home through these years, and I'm thankful that I've been able to stay home instead of dealing with the daycare nightmares we had with our older children. Everybody is different, so don't be discouraged by people saying that you CAN'T do it. Like I said, it's hard to juggle everything and you might personally end up giving up a lot, but it's whatever is worth it for you. Blessings!

Envelope stuffing - ac

[ In Reply To ..]
I think picking a career so you can work at home is an excellent reason. What better motivation do you have than wanting to raise your children? I'm sorry, but I think just because you are a sahm doesn't mean you cannot be a professional wahm. Envelope stuffing doesn't pay and would be an insult to a smart, degreed wahm as would be a home daycare Im sure.

No need to talk down to the OP - Whatever

[ In Reply To ..]
Just saying, your superior attitude is showing.

Forget it. Do your research, especially - on-the-dedication

[ In Reply To ..]
and time you will need to study and then pass exams. All you really are interested in is working at home. It does not matter if anyone else enjoys their jobs. Whether coding and billing is "worth it" is something YOU have to decide and it's clear you have not even given it a thought. You'd be better off learning how to open a daycare center in your home.

Coding - AC

[ In Reply To ..]
I am currently an MT. I work from home with 2 children, 1 toddler and an older child. I went to school at MTEC when they were around. Being an MT also requires a whole lot of concentration, and I do it fine at home with kids. I have found ways to work around it. Do I think 8 hours a day is doable? I don't think I would want to, but it probably is. I think coding is a great idea! Im actually close to starting at Careerstep. I have been going back and forth with Andrews. Career step has partnered with a company who hires remote upon graduation, off and on.

MT versus coding - AC

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are looking for a versatile schedule though, maybe you could do MT short term. It is kind of a blessing when you have kids to work around their schedules. Pay may be a bit low for some but many are making a decent wage at it. You can message me if you want more details on that.

Just to point out ... - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Just to point out something for the benefit of others ... Andrews graduates are being hired into remote coding positions. There are companies that like the quality of the grads they produce. Simple as that. Not due to an arrangement, but because the grads are competent and work-ready. They are getting real jobs, too, not another training program (I.e., working for free) in order to get to apply for a real job for which they might not be selected.

Andrews also prepares you for the CCS exam, not just the CCA, and meets the requirements to sit for the exam. That is partly why they are so highly qualified. It also enables them to get better remote and in-person coding jobs at higher pay. That benefit pays off forever.

Your chances of getting around to taking the CCS later are low and your chances of being able to prepare for it on your own are lower still. It is much better to be trained for it by qualified Iinstructors who did it themselves.

Andrews also has the nice practice of working with students until they are job-ready. I think they have a very high success rate. They don't hinge everything on passing one exam at the end. They don't have expensive extensions.

I am not an advertising shill or a hopeful wannabee ... I was trained by Andrews and am a successful coder because of it. I just think the discussion has two sides, so I am presenting the other.

Quality of Andrews Education - when it was MT - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
An MT company I used to work for was quite pleased with the ability of Andrews grads to be able to work at home after their MT training. No other school provided that, not even close. So, in my mind, if their MT course was that thorough, then I believe the coding also makes students job ready and possibly even remote job ready or close to it.

try customer service - they are not all bad

[ In Reply To ..]
I know someone who went to work as a virtual customer assistance rep for a national car rental company. She loves it. They had a good training program. She gets all kinds of bonuses.

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