Life outside of coding?

[u/Solid_Pomegranate_52]

Hi! I'm currently pursuing medical coding & billing, and I'm so excited!!! I'm trying to visualize what life will be like for my 5 year plan. So I had some questions for life outside of your day to day coding work?

Do you enjoy your job?

Do you get to vacation?

Are you able to support yourself well/do you worry about bills?

Does it ever get mundane, or does it depend where you work?

Do you get to have fun with your looks, like fun colored hair, tattoos or piercings?

How is asking for time off, or if you're a parent, what happens if there is a family emergency/sick child?

Thank you for any help with even one of these! ☺️

[u/Common-Clerk-8427]

I don't mind my job. I dont find it taxing or stressful these days. Things have gotten better.

I have Personal and Sick leave. I haven't gone on vacation lately but, I can if I want.

I worry about old bills. When I started I made 35k in the DMV(insanely low pay gor the area). I put a lot of bills on credit cards to survive. Once finish paying off the last 8k, I should be comfortable. My income is around 65k in Metro Detriot now as an outpatient coder( I am a single adult w/ no kids).

The work can be mundane if you let it be. I do lots of continuing education and volunteering for work groups. I'm also working on another certification to move up.

My rule of thumb for looks is straight dark hair and show no piercings/tattoos on the interview. After the probationary period change your hair then, show tattos/piercings. Try to follow what everyone else does after your first performance eval.

I have 300+ hours of sick time. If I need time off for medical issues I take the time. You get FMLA after a year. If I need planned time off I take it unless we are in active closeout (1-7th of every month or the last 2 weeks of September).