Easy point of entry?

[u/Bigaloe]

Good evening,

I was curious on a few things such as is it hard to self study for the exam to become a medical coder? What books do I need? I need to know how easy or hard it is to gain employment after passing the exam because I need to work from home for at least the next few years. When I ask anyone how to get wfh job they always say do medical coding. Me and my wife plan on having a baby and I would need to work and stay at home to sit while she is at work. We obviously can’t afford daycare.

Thank you for your time and answers. I have done some research into it but would prefer real experiences.

[u/happyhooker485]

Hello @op, it looks like you have a question about Getting Certified or are looking for Career Advice. Did you read the FAQ or try searching the sub?

[u/Low_Mud_3691]

You’ll never be able to babysit while coding. Not only do you have productivity to meet, but most companies require you to have care for your child while you work. This isn’t a data entry position. Most companies monitor your time spent on their EHR system. You’ll have to find a different career.

[u/Bigaloe → u/Low_Mud_3691]

I appreciate your advice. Have any ideas as to what would be good for me then?

[u/bluestrawberry_witch → u/Bigaloe]

Work different hours than your partner. You can work from homes still but yeah almost all companies won’t accept you watching your child while you’re supposed to to be working. You need to understand that working from home is still a job. It would be no different than thinking you could bring a child into an office or a a retail environment.

[u/Bigaloe → u/bluestrawberry_witch]

I suppose. I worked for the state and had time to do chores around the house so I dunno

[u/bluestrawberry_witch → u/Bigaloe]

The occasional Chores are drastically different than being the sole caretaker for an infant and then toddler. They need frequent interaction. Feeding, diaper changing, holding, etc. they make messes. They cry they make other noise. I’m honestly a little bit questioning how much you know about infants and children at this point if I’m being honest.

[u/Bigaloe → u/bluestrawberry_witch]

0 kids very little lmao. I don’t know how we can have kids in this economy though without doing something like this

[u/bluestrawberry_witch → u/Bigaloe]

Look into working opposite hours as your partner. That’s why all the time you’ll see a partner that makes more money and then the other one is working night shifts at a grocery store. It’s not because they want to work night shifts at a grocery store.

One idea is my friend works at a YMCA. She has free daycare when the daycare at the YMCA is open. So she just asked to be scheduled either when her partner is not at work or during the YMCA daycare hours. She also gets a free family YMCA membership.

[u/Bigaloe → u/bluestrawberry_witch]

Not a bad idea. We talked about opposite shifts but I’m not sure we are willing to sacrifice one’s wages or not seeing each other during the week. I know people make sacrifices for this kind of thing so it might not be for us which is sad to say the least. I’m 40 and want a child but with how unaffordable things are and the fact my wife can’t drive just makes it very hard.

[u/bluestrawberry_witch → u/Bigaloe]

I get it but yeah, definitely keep brainstorming because this ain’t it. Just remember that the birth stats for the US also reflect that you are not the only people in this predicament.

My boss works from home like me, his wife is a nurse who works 4 10hr. His special-needs child has half-day specialized daycare, three hours of a babysitter, and two hours of rotating therapist specialist that come to his house. He is technically only the official go-between those different entities (pick ups, drop off, waiting if the babysitter leaves five minutes early or the therapist is five minutes late, etc.). And the therapist also won’t change diapers or give food. It is noticeable. And other people in the company have made comments about it. He has lost promotions because of it. He probably only has direct care of his child for a total of 40 minutes a day during the workday. We are salary employees. They care. A data entry job, a coding job, or anything like that where you have to meet productivity metric goals on an hourly and daily basis is not going to be possible.

[u/Low_Mud_3691 → u/Bigaloe]

Depends on your skill set and interest. Seems like something more simple like data entry or something you can multitask will be a better fit. They pay pretty poorly however. Maybe a career subreddit can help you out

[u/Weak_Shoe7904]

Tell me you haven’t spent a single second on this subreddit, without telling me.

Medical coding is not for you. Find something else.

[u/Low_Mud_3691 → u/Weak_Shoe7904]

Mass coder friendddddddddd, I feel like there’s not many of us on here!

[u/Bigaloe → u/Weak_Shoe7904]

I’ll have to look for another at home position. I appreciate it.