# How long before giving up and pursuing another field?



## nathanolson01 (Jan 4, 2013)

I finished a billing and coding course last June. I passed the CPC exam last August after doing a 3 month internship. I've had one interview in the past 6 months. The reason I got that interview was because I knew a person at the company. I've applied to hundreds of offices in person and online. I am seeing no fruits of my labor. I live in southern california.

Should I pursue another field since this one appears to be a dead end?


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## artes_athamas (Jan 4, 2013)

I've said this before, but there are certain celestial laws that have to come in to play when starting new endeavors such as, new employment. I started reading up on how the moon affects us as humans & realized it has a major impact when starting new jobs. I learned that the waxing moon is the time to start new jobs & was shocked when I found out the dates of  when I started my last 2 jobs occurred during a waxing moon. I decided to wait till the next waxing phase to start networking & I landed a job in medical records! This is no coincidence. So don't count the days you contacted employers during non-waxing phases & try again. It has to be actual contact made not just sending an application online. You can send an app in anytime, but they probably won't contact you for an interview until the waxing phase. If it doesnt have a positive result then maybe your spirit is leading you in another direction.


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## sstover (Jan 5, 2013)

I hope you stay postive and don't give up. I feel the same as you do at times. I have over 8 years of EMR clinical experience and I am CPC certified at this time, I can not find employment as a coder. I have invested lots of money in a field that no one will give you an opportunity. However, i will not give up !!


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## npricercm (Jan 6, 2013)

*How long before giving up and pursuing another field*



nathanolson01 said:


> I finished a billing and coding course last June. I passed the CPC exam last August after doing a 3 month internship. I've had one interview in the past 6 months. The reason I got that interview was because I knew a person at the company. I've applied to hundreds of offices in person and online. I am seeing no fruits of my labor. I live in southern california.
> 
> Should I pursue another field since this one appears to be a dead end?



I feel your pain, I have been looking for a coding job as well.  Times are tough and there is tough competition in some job markets because you are competing with seasoned coders.  

Are you a member of your local chapter?  Have you contacted your local workforce office?  Have you signed with any temporary agencies?  What kind of experience do you have?   Is it related to medical billing and coding?  If your experience is not health care related what is it and can you relate it to medical billing and coding?  Have you gone back to the career center where you received your medical billing and coding education?  Where have you looked for work?  Are you limiting yourself to one certain kind of job as a coder, or are you willing to work your way up to that job?

You have to network to find those opportunities that are not advertised, let everyone you know that you are looking for work.  Linked in is actually a good way to get your profile out there and to link to other people that are looking or who are hiring. 

The field is not dead, it is saturated in some regions.  There will be opportunities in the future, you could get a degree or a certificate in a related field like Health Information Technology.  

Good luck with your job search.

Nancy Price, CPC
Denver AAPC
President


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## mpyatt (Jan 7, 2013)

*Employment*

I graduated first in my coding class in 2007. Passed the CPC exam first try. In the last five years I have had one job in billing which I had to leave because the pay was only $10 an hour and as a single woman I could not eat on that salary. I feel your pain and presently am in the same situation. My renewal is in March and at this point I am not sure if I am going to renew. I do not have enough experience to pass the required ICD10 test which will be coming soon. Good luck, hope it works out better for you!


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