Re: Mid Life Career Changes
I am currently working in the healthcare field mainly in the precertification/Utilization Management for the past 15 years and have lots of healthcare experience. I wanted to make a career change to try and go specifically into the coding field. I had experience with medical terminology which helped but taking classes again at 40 it was definitely harder to memorize and remember the terminology and anatomy. Working and going to school was not easy but nothing good comes without sacrifice. You definitely have to be disciplined and make sure you carve out the time for studying and this may be selfish for a time and the house may not get cleaned or you may not have a social life for awhile but it's worth it. Being older I had more commitment and drive to succeed and to do the best I could. Each time I passed a class and passed the CPC test I felt like I had really accomplished a great deal which is a wonderful thing. My best advice would be to make sure you have a coding externship close to your house/speak to the person offering the externship/go to a chapter meeting and ask questions. No one really told me how difficult it was to find an entry level position. Now I am in a quandry because my current career pays alot more than an entry level coder or even a seasoned coder position that is if I find one. I believe AAPC is trying to build up the xtern program which is good. At my local chapter meetings they try and give you advice to take any entry level position. But why at age 42 would I take a receptionist position just to try and get into coding? In this economy I could not afford to do that. But on the flip side I am trying to keep up my coding skills and knowledge by going to the chapter meetings, publications and continuing education which does actually help with my current position. Also, I still am holding out hope in finding an externship because I really would enjoy working in coding and think it would be a great career. All in all my best advice is make sure you have good contacts and someone that will try and assist you in obtaining an externship in coding before spending money on classes, books, test etc...