ChyG89
New
I spent 10 years working in the restaurant industry as a cook, and I was told more times than I can count that I needed to get a certification or degree if I ever wanted to get a "real" job. Then the pandemic happened and, in the time of the initial lockdown, I was told that I physically and mentally no longer work as a cook as it was destroying my joints and was my mental health. So I looked up what I could do, saw that my local community college offered the medical coding certification program, and jumped at the opportunity. I only signed up for it because it stated in the course description that it was a sponsored class and would assist in job placement. Come to find out, that was either a lie from the start or the AAPC revoked sponsorship, but I finished the class anyway. I was told about how much of an in-demand job this was, how I would have no problem finding a work from home job.
I got my certification in August, 2023. I fully expected to be working by now. At first, I sent out as many resumes as I could, applying to whatever was available. That got me a couple interviews, but I was met with more rejection and non-responses than I was with interview offers. I had to cut back on how many resumes I had sent out because the constant rejection was taking a toll on me. Then I saw the AAPC offered a free webinar on how to get a job. That webinar was useless. Flat out, nothing they were saying was new, nothing they were saying was telling me anything I hadn't already googled for myself. And during said webinar, they dropped the bomb on a room full of CPC-A's that we might wanna get a job just in the general medical office setting if we can't get a coding job right away. How am I supposed to take that after spending thousands of dollars and countless hours pushing myself to get this certification? I tried to not let it bother me. I got a couple more interviews after the webinar, and they all ended up the same; I have to call in just to be told that I'm not getting the job.
It has been almost a year since I first signed up with the AAPC. I will not renew. If I happen to ever get a medical office job, I'll let the company pay for any certifications they want me to have. As it stands now, every single coding job I've applied for and interviewed for still have the same posting listed. All current posted coding jobs require an intermediate level of experience for an entry level job. The problem that is happening right now is that, for *some* reason, hiring entities are unwilling to hire qualified employees for their appropriate experience level. This is causing people in need of experience to be unable to get said needed experience. It kills me that I let myself fall into this trap. It all feels like a backhanded way to take peoples money to line their own pockets: the promise of a job, just pay for the class, the test, and the various webinars, seminars, and extra classes. They won't actually help you, they'll just let you believe.
It's time to call out this behavior for what it is: discriminatory. These companies are discriminating against people who weren't fortunate enough to "know someone on the inside", they're discriminating against people who didn't have the privilege of having relevant education and experience before trying for a coding job. The idea that anyone on the AAPC jobs board is an actual equal opportunity employer is laughable.
Five years of experience in any field is an intermediate level, folks, NOT entry level. Entry level is for those who have no experience, with the purpose of getting experience. Stop taking their lies
I got my certification in August, 2023. I fully expected to be working by now. At first, I sent out as many resumes as I could, applying to whatever was available. That got me a couple interviews, but I was met with more rejection and non-responses than I was with interview offers. I had to cut back on how many resumes I had sent out because the constant rejection was taking a toll on me. Then I saw the AAPC offered a free webinar on how to get a job. That webinar was useless. Flat out, nothing they were saying was new, nothing they were saying was telling me anything I hadn't already googled for myself. And during said webinar, they dropped the bomb on a room full of CPC-A's that we might wanna get a job just in the general medical office setting if we can't get a coding job right away. How am I supposed to take that after spending thousands of dollars and countless hours pushing myself to get this certification? I tried to not let it bother me. I got a couple more interviews after the webinar, and they all ended up the same; I have to call in just to be told that I'm not getting the job.
It has been almost a year since I first signed up with the AAPC. I will not renew. If I happen to ever get a medical office job, I'll let the company pay for any certifications they want me to have. As it stands now, every single coding job I've applied for and interviewed for still have the same posting listed. All current posted coding jobs require an intermediate level of experience for an entry level job. The problem that is happening right now is that, for *some* reason, hiring entities are unwilling to hire qualified employees for their appropriate experience level. This is causing people in need of experience to be unable to get said needed experience. It kills me that I let myself fall into this trap. It all feels like a backhanded way to take peoples money to line their own pockets: the promise of a job, just pay for the class, the test, and the various webinars, seminars, and extra classes. They won't actually help you, they'll just let you believe.
It's time to call out this behavior for what it is: discriminatory. These companies are discriminating against people who weren't fortunate enough to "know someone on the inside", they're discriminating against people who didn't have the privilege of having relevant education and experience before trying for a coding job. The idea that anyone on the AAPC jobs board is an actual equal opportunity employer is laughable.
Five years of experience in any field is an intermediate level, folks, NOT entry level. Entry level is for those who have no experience, with the purpose of getting experience. Stop taking their lies
