Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder

Types of Degrees Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical insurance coding specialist/coder graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	5,432
Basic Certificate	2,411
Associate Degree	1,620

What Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in medical insurance coding specialist/coder should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Skills for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a medical insurance coding specialist/coder student include the following:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Major?

People with a medical insurance coding specialist/coder degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical Assistants	29.0%	$33,610
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	13.5%	$40,350

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder

Some degrees associated with medical insurance coding specialist/coder may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	32.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	34.2%
Some College Courses	15.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	19.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.3%

Online Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	296	92
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	94	42
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medical insurance coding specialist/coder.

Major	Number of Grads
Health Care Management	29,812
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	10,462
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	9,252
Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant & Medical Secretary	7,299
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,140
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,686
Health Information Management	2,960
Medical Office Management/Administration	2,810
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,008
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,278
Medical Reception/Receptionist	913
Clinical Research Coordinator	328
Healthcare Innovation	197
Long Term Care Administration/Management	182
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	140
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	114
Regulatory Science/Affairs	94
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist	79
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	35
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	32
Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security	8
Disease Registry Data Management	6
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	4

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.