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

Trying to stay positive looking for job - Disheartened

Posted: Aug 22, 2014

I have graduated a year and a half ago from school, have my CPC-A and I am not having any luck finding a job. I have applied to so many jobs and I get the same answer all the time of needing at least 2 to 3 years of experience. While I am trying to be patient, I feel my skills are being lost. You HAVE to be able to code every day in order for guidelines to cement in your brain and to become aware of changes. I do practice by doing the Optum Code This! scenarios, (which I do well) but I just feel like I have made a huge mistake. Yes, I know people have and do get jobs right out of school, but maybe it's the area they live. I am in Oklahoma and I am not having any luck. Maybe I should try and apply for jobs out-of-state.

I am the sole breadwinner in my family as my husband is disabled and hvae 2 young children, so I don't know if volunteering would be something I could do since I work full time and 3rd shift. If any of you coders out there have any advice before I throw in the towel, I would sure love to hear from you. Yes, I know I could apply to other jobs just to get my foot in the door and I have been looking at those avenues, but the jobs I'm finding I could apply for only pay 10.00 an hour. I make more than that transcribing. So, I'm open to advice.

Thank you so much for reading.

Thank you in advance.

What kind of jobs are you applying for? - Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
What kind of jobs are you applying for? In-house? Remote? Hospital? Office? Other?

What school did you attend? What advice did they give you? Are they helping? Can you qualify to take the CCS exam?

Are you attending local AAPC and AHIMA meetings every month to network? That is where many jobs in my area are announced and selection is often from the members. Each meeting includes educational presentations, too.

$10 an hour is too low for coding, making me think that you are looking at the wrong kind of jobs.

Any time you move into a new career field, you start at entry level. You have to expect that you will experience a cut in salary for a while. Many people deal with that by working two jobs for a time, then phasing the old one out. That is what I did. I took the first thing I could get, irrespective of the pay, and worked both jobs. Interestingly, the minute I had the first coding job, it seemed like everybody wanted to hire me.

MTs have an unusual hiring situation in that they just send in an application and get hired. Many MTs expect coding to be the same, but it is not. Coding requires much more work, more personal marketing, more networking, better resumes, and interviews.

There are so few MTs, believe it or not, that all an MT has to do is announce her availability and an MTSO will take her sight unseen. It is on a trial basis, though you might not realize it. They risk little in taking you on and can drop you easily, especially if you are IC.

There are few coders, too, but hiring an inexperienced one is risky for an employer, who cannot give you a trial and drop you if you are unable to do the work. They are not hiring you as an IC, after all, but an employee. They also need you to be proficient and fully able to do your job because their revenue depends on it. They might not even have anyone who can explain the job to you, but they will be audited by Medicare on the basis of your work. Because of that, they do not want to hire without experience, which moves the risk onto the first employer.

If you want to be hired, then, you have to put more work into it than just sending out applications. Getting a job has to BE a job.

What you are telling us is that you are not applying or are turning jobs down because they don't pay enough.

From my perspective ... having been there and working with new coders ... first jobs should be considered an extension of school. You may need to take one of those $10 jobs to continue your education. You studied in addition to your job, didn't you? You can work two jobs for a while--lots of people do. Part time might work for you.

Once you take a job like that, you will see quickly why I said it was education. You will be amazed at how much you learn.

In the same boat - Waiting for the dislikes

[ In Reply To ..]
My experience was very similar to yours. I completed a coding program and got my CPC-A while I was working full-time as an MT. I knew my job was going out the window and thought coding was something I could do until retirement but after several interviews, coming close several times and not getting the jobs, I decided it was time to move on to other things. I am working in medical records for the employer where I did MT so my pay is pretty good and the job is not what I would call entry level, so it did pay to have both feet in the door. I also tried to keep up on my skills and for a while reviewed and practiced coding every day but I have a life outside of work so I guess I'm not as dedicated as I ought to be but what I studied as already becoming out of date. First jobs are not an extension of school, what a crock. And as far as working 2 jobs, anyone who does MT full-time is too burned out and stressed out to work a second job. For me, coding was not the end all, be all that it seems to be for a lot of people. I never had the burning desire to get a coding job that some people seem to have, I was just looking for another job to transition into easily that I could do for 5 years or so until I retire. I don't think the OP is turning down jobs because she considers them not good enough for her, but she did say she was self supporting and a person needs to pay the bills. Personally, I'd turn down a $10 an hour job if what I was currently doing paid as well or better and you probably would too. Sorry to be so blunt, but if getting a job has to be a job, I'd say forget it, it's coding, for heaven's sake. I also would ask for some clarification. Most job searches begin by applying for open positions, interviewing and then going from there. No one can afford to work for free, unless they have a second income in their household. So many employers only accept apps on line these days, it's a different world. Very few, if any employers would accept volunteer coders due to confidentiality issues. As someone who has had a similar experience to the OP, I can totally empathize, it is not for lack of trying and it is not worth obsessing over. For me, there is no local AAPC chapter and no local meetings to attend, so networking is not an option. A person's location makes a difference in regard to job availability too. Your statement about the shortage of MTs is just wrong. First of all, there are many MTs out of work now due to the transition to VR, less dictation due to EMR usage and outsourcing/offshoring that MTSOs are able to freely pick and choose candidates. No MTSO intends to hire someone on a trial basis, train them and then let them go. The reality is that foreign entities work for pennies on the dollar and that is where the work is going. You make it sound as if transcription is some no-brainer job that anyone can do but coding, well that's rocket science.

I am sorry to be so long winded and get on my soap box, but please do not blame the OP and say that it is her fault because she can't find her first coding job. I've been there, and I have heard different versions of this story over and over again. I know it is not because she has not been trying and to say otherwise is pretty insulting.

Bravo! - metoo

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm right there with you, went to coding school while doing MT, got my CPC-A more than a year ago now and not been able to find a job. Maybe it's time to move on like you have. At this point, I haven't coded in awhile and I think I just hang on out of guilt because I spent so much money on the school. It's time to forgive myself and let go. I bought into the hype that there would be lots of coding jobs once ICD10 kicked in, well it just never happened. If and when it finally gets here, I may try again, do a bootcamp and get recertified, but for now, it's over.

Thank you, waiting - Disheartened

[ In Reply To ..]
I appreciate your input on this. When you can't even be called for interviews and then sometimes you "Might" get the, we have reviewed your application but you do not fit our requirements, it starts to mess with your head and your self-esteem. I do wish I would have chosen another path. I wanted to go to nursing school, but it really takes having more time to dedicate to the schooling for clinicals and I don't think working 3rd shift on a full time basis would allow for the clinical hours. I know we MTs are trying so hard to find something to transition to easily and it's really hard for us to. Before MT, I worked at a casino and used to do both MT and the casino job and it was so taxing to do both with having one child, and then I had my second. So, working two jobs I don't think would work out right now. You are so right about burn-out! Thank you very much for your story. I know I'm not alone.

Answers to your questions - Disheartened

[ In Reply To ..]
"What kind of jobs are you applying for? In-house? Remote? Hospital? Office? Other?" I have applied to all of the above. I normally don't even get an answer after applying, so I don't even get called for an interview much less to test. I work for a transcription company who also has coders, I have gone so far as to ask if I can test for them. They have told me unless I have 3 years of experience I will not be considered.

"What school did you attend? What advice did they give you? Are they helping? Can you qualify to take the CCS exam?" I went to Andrews. I learned a lot there, but as far as their leads to jobs, they really don't have any. There is a job posting board on the school site, but it never has many updates on jobs. I know there are a few who have lucked out from the school who have gotten jobs. People rarely ever come back and let anyone know how they are doing after they graduate. I have asked advice and they say to apply to any and all jobs, even if it is isn't in coding to get a foot in the door. The jobs I am qualified for do not pay as much as I make now. Yes, I would never work as a coder for 10 dollars and hour. The jobs I do find in medical records pay too low for me to work, as I have a family to support.

I have not taken the CCS exam because I cannot afford to take it. Money is very tight in our family right now. I have been putting back money here and there for it, but I probably won't be able to pay for it for another few months.

I do wish I had done a lot more research on the difficulty in finding a job before I had chosen this career field. While I didn't expect jobs to fall in my lap, I at least expected to be given a chance to test. Hopefully things will change, but right now I am just frustrated.

Thank you for taking the time to response to my questions.

You are not alone! - anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
I, too, am in the same boat as you. I have been a transcriptionist for 9 years and then took the CPC course at a local college, passed the CPC exam on the first try but got branded with the scarlet letter (the A after your CPC) and have not been able to land my first coding job either. I just hit the 100 mark as the number of resumes I have sent out, hearing all the same things you heard or not hearing anything at all, as if my resume fell into an abyss.

I had posted on this forum not too long ago asking for advice and I too got an answer from someone on their high horse who picked apart every word of my post and told me the same things, I wasn't looking for the right kind of jobs, I should volunteer (by the way, who on this earth can afford to be a "volunteer coder"), and I put the wrong abbreviations on my resume making potential employers think I was from India, etc, etc.... and the list goes on.

I eventually stopped responding because I didn't appreciate the condescending tone and wasn't getting any real advice.

I just wanted to post to tell you that there are alot of us in the same situation and it IS very discouraging. I think we just have to keep trucking along and sending in resumes to any company we can find that hires coders, all we need is one employer to give us a chance and then we can get the scarlet letter taken off our credentials and be considered for bigger, better jobs!

Disheartened - Working Coder

[ In Reply To ..]
Finding a position in any new field is never easy. When you don't have experience you need to make sure that you show your expertise by having credentials.

I graduated from Andrews many years ago and was told when I started school that in order to be marketable I would need my CPC-A and the CCS. The exams were difficult, stressful and expensive but well worth the trouble.

The CCS credential proves to the employer that you have mastery level of coding knowledge. This means there is less risk to the employer.

You need both credentials in order to be ready for anything. The CPC is fine for physician office/outpatient work and sometimes hospitals will hire CPC's for outpatient coding. With a CCS hospitals will hire for inpatient coding. With both you could do inpatient or outpatient.

At my facility we will hire a coder with a CCS even if they don't have experience as an inpatient coder. A CPC would be hired only as outpatient. There are several good remote coding companies that will hire without experience as long as you have both credentials.

I followed the advice I received from Andrews and applied at many places before I was hired. I didn't expect them to find me a job - they taught me the skills I needed to find my own.

Have you contacted a recruiting company like Simply Hired? They have several coding positions listed and they will email weekly updates.

If this is the career that you want don't give up just because it's difficult. I'm glad I didn't.

You need the CCS - ac

[ In Reply To ..]
Even the school tells you to be marketable you have to have your CCS and CPC.

she said she's looking for jobs to get her - foot in the door

[ In Reply To ..]
probably not actual coding jobs but the kind of thing always recommended on this board, medical record type jobs so that she then has a chance to move into coding.

Suggestion - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Something like 25% of inexperienced CPCs cannot find jobs.

Getting a CCS in addition to that is often the key to getting an employer to hire you. In coding, credentials are not optional, nor are they just "nice to have." They are critically necessary TO THE EMPLOYER.

By getting both credentials, you show that you can do the work, but more than that you give the employer something he needs. You also make yourself appealing to all kinds of coding employers ather than restricting yourself to outpatient.

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