You're absolutely correct, finding a coding job is challenging fo new coders. I suggest you try to find a job in a related area of the revenue cycle and not expect to find a coding job. Look for a position in charge posting, medical records, front desk, payment posting, scheduling, or precertification. Once hired in one of those positions, do the best job you can, offer to learn and be helpful, and when a coding position comes available, you'll be in a position to make a move. Also, make sure you're looking for the right kind of job.....as a new professional coder (CPC-A), you are not going to be able to land a job in a hospital that is looking for a facility coder. I see a lot of new coders apply for inpatient coding jobs; that's a position that reuquires entirely different training and many, many years' experience, and it does nothing but illustrate the new coder's unfamiliarity with how coding works. Be willing to work part-time or on a per-diem basis. Coding is not an entry level job, so if you are hoping to eventually make this your career, you have to take the opportunities that are available, whether or not that is what you expected. It's unfortunate that the coding schools tell students that they'll be making 40K right out of the gate, but that could not be further from the truth. I hire CPC-As frequently, but on a per-diem basis....part time, no benefits...specifically to see how they work, what they know, and to begin to train them for full time coding jobs. If they don't work out (and some don't), then I can more easily let them go. This is a business, not a charity, and I'm responsible for several hundred million dollars per year in coded charges, so I have to make sure that the coders that work for this organization know what the heck they are doing. It's not personal, it's just the way the industry works.
