Medical Billing and Coding Jobs in New Orleans on the Rise

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According to PayScale.com, medical billing and coding careers are smart paths to be on. Medical billing and coding jobs in New Orleans are on the rise, as they are nationally. This is partly due to the fact that our population is aging, and partly due to the fact that people are living longer thanks to constant improvements in medicine.

PayScale reports that New Orleans medical billing and coding jobs have a median entry level salary of over $33,000 per year. The jobs with the highest starting salaries are regularly found in hospitals. As your years of experience go up, so will your salary. For example, people with three to five years of experience in New Orleans make a median salary of $38,460. People with eleven or more years of experience make $45,999.

Again, those are the median salaries. Depending upon where exactly you find a job, you might make less, or you might make more. Ten percent of medical coders make $45,000 as their starting salary.

Jobs in medical coding and billing also have room to grow. After working as a medical coder for a while, you could gain the experience necessary to step into a job as a certified coding specialist (with a median salary of $41,164) or a medical coding auditor (with a median salary of $50,331). The cost of living in New Orleans is quite low, so a person could support themselves nicely on even an entry level medical coder’s salary.

Plus, the majority of medical coders and billers in New Orleans also receive job benefits. According to PayScale, 58% of entry level medical coders receive dental, medical, and vision benefits. 19% receive just medical benefits, and only 10% receive no benefits at all.

Medical billing and coding careers are an excellent choice for people in New Orleans. Whether you’re looking to start your first career, change career paths, or get back to work after a few years at home, a certification in medical billing or medical coding can be your path to a more successful future. In just eighteen weeks, you can complete the necessary courses to pass your certification exam, which is all you need (plus your high school diploma) to qualify for entry level medical coding jobs.

To learn more, contact us or stop by our campus. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.

Pharmacy Technician Job Statistics: These Careers are in Demand

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Pharmacy technician jobs are in high demand around the country, and we’re not just saying that. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), the choice to become a pharmacy technician will put you on a high-demand career path.

BLS is a government organization that offers unbiased data about different careers. According to their pharmacy technician job statistics, there were about 372,500 pharmacy technician jobs across the country in 2014. By 2024, the number is expected to go up by 9%, which is considered faster than average.

BLS also reports that the median pharmacy technician salary in 2015 was $30,410 per year. That works out to $14.62 per hour. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) offers similar statistics. This is the board that offers the pharmacy technician certification, which you must pass in order to get an entry-level job as a pharmacy technician. PTCB breaks down the employment numbers a bit further, sharing how much you can make as a pharmacy technician in different settings. For example, in a hospital the median annual salary for a technician is currently $35,280. In a department store, the median salary is $29,220, and in a pharmacy or drugstore the median is $28,360.

Depending upon what part of the country you work in and how much experience you have, your expected salary could be more or less. The top 10% of pharmacy technicians earn an average of $45,030 per year.

And again, more of these jobs are popping up every year. In fact, US News has listed pharmacy technicians in their rankings of the Best Jobs. They point out that the field is growing in part because Baby Boomers are aging and life expectancies are getting longer.

If you want to take a look at current pharmacy technician jobs available in your area, PTCB shares two resources for doing just that. Both the National Pharmacy Technician Association and the American Association of Pharmacy Technicians have online career centers that allow you to look for jobs in your area.

Ready to Become a Pharmacy Technician?

If you’re excited about the career possibilities offered by becoming a pharmacy technician, contact Allied Prep to learn more about our online pharmacy technician school. In just eighteen weeks, you can complete the necessary training to pass the pharmacy technician exam and qualify for entry-level positions at hospitals, doctor’s offices, pharmacies.

Can I Learn Medical Billing and Coding from Home?

Learn Medical Billing and Coding from Home


Perhaps you’ve heard that you can make great money and work better hours as a medical biller or a medical coder. Medical billing and coding careers are hot right now, because more of these positions are appearing all of the time. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that these careers will grow at a much faster rate than average over the next ten years.

But you already work a full time job, and you can’t take time off to go to school. Or maybe you have a young family that needs you at home. Who would watch your kids while you were in class? Or maybe you don’t live anywhere near a school where you can learn medical billing and coding.

Fortunately, you can learn medical billing and coding from home in just eighteen weeks. At Allied Prep, we offer online courses in both medical billing and medical coding. The course work allows you to access practice problem sets, lectures, help from the instructor, and practice certification exams, all from the comfort of your own home.

All you need is an internet connection, and you can start down the path to a more rewarding career. Online coursework gives you the flexibility to learn and study according to your own schedule. It cuts out the need for finding babysitters and sitting in traffic to get to class. Online classes are also more affordable than their in-class alternatives.

Medical billers and coders enjoy great career paths. Either job can lead to higher level positions in hospital or medical office administration. In these jobs, you can expect to work regular hours, have opportunities to work overtime at a great rate, and be in-demand around the country. The main obstacle to getting started is that you need to be certified to qualify for these positions.

But that doesn’t have to be an obstacle with online courses from Allied Prep. In as little as eighteen weeks, you can learn all the skills and knowledge that you need to pass the certification exam.

Learn more about our online courses by contacting Allied Prep today!

Announcing Allied Prep’s New IT Support Technician Program

Online IT Technician Certification


Allied Prep is pleased to announce a new addition to our course offerings. The IT Support Technician Program gives students the skills and knowledge that they need to become an IT technician at a large company, a small IT firm, or as a freelancer.

Our IT technician school is an 16-week in-class program that prepares students to pass the CompTIA A+ certification test. This certificate is nationally recognized, and it’s a necessary first step toward a career in IT support.

IT technicians are needed in virtually every major company around the country. IT technician jobs can lead to management positions. They can also lay the base for further technical training in the lucrative and growing field of technology.

The IT Support Technician program does not currently offer an online IT technician certification. Instead, students come to our state-of-the-art learning center to gain hands-on experience. The class is led by an instructor with over fifteen years of experience in IT. He has worked in both government and private industry positions, and he is Microsoft certified. Every time students come into class, they’ll be given opportunities to learn from his experience.

Classes deal with real-world problems and situations faced by IT technicians. The goal of the program is to not just help you pass the certification exam, but to also give you the practical skills and know-how to succeed in an entry level IT job. You’ll gain a solid understanding of the job itself, the work environments you’d be a part of, and the knowledge you’ll need to advance.

Of course, you’ll also have opportunities to take practice CompTIA A+ certification exams. Taking practice tests multiple times will help you become familiar with the format, the style, and the content you can expect to be tested on.

A new career could be just eighteen weeks away. Whether you’re struggling to find a job out of high school, can’t get anywhere with your bachelor’s degree, or are tired of your current career path, getting certified in a practical skill like IT can help you turn your entire life around. It technicians often work regular hours, enjoy employee benefits, have opportunities to advance, and make a great starting salary.

Learn more by contacting us today!

10 Reasons to Start a Career in Medical Coding

Career in Medical Coding


If you’re thinking about a career in medical coding, you probably have a lot of questions about the job itself and the benefits it might have. A medical coding career can be a doorway to a lot of great opportunities within the healthcare industry. Getting started requires a certificate in medical coding, but you can learn medical coding online through schools like Allied Prep.

Here are the top ten reasons to consider a career in medical coding:

1. Medical coders are in demand

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, medical coders are in high demand. The number of positions for medical records and health information technicians is expected to increase by 15% between now and 2024. That’s much faster than other types of work.

2. Medical coders make good money

Depending upon where you live in your level of experience, you can make between $12 and $24 an hour as a medical coder, according to PayScale.com. Annually, that works out to up to $50,000 a year.

3. Getting started only requires a certificate

Medical coding is a skilled position, but you don’t have to go to a four-year college in order to get started in this field. Instead, you can complete a medical coder certification course in order to gain the knowledge necessary to pass the AACP — the nationally recognized medical coding certification exam.

4. You can learn medical coding quickly

At Allied Prep, our medical coding program is only 18 weeks long. That means that in just a few months you could be starting a new career as a medical coder.

5. You can learn medical coding online or in classrooms

Allied Prep offers both options. Both the online course in the in-class option take 18 weeks to complete and should leave you fully prepared to pass your medical coding certification exam.

6. Medical coders work regular, stable hours

The vast majority of medical coders work 40-hour work weeks. Even in an entry-level position, you can expect to work from 9 to 5, which is ideal for many people, especially people with families.

7. There opportunities to earn overtime

Depending on where you work, you could have a lot of opportunities to work overtime. Your overtime rate, according to PayScale.com, could be anywhere from $15 to $36 an hour.

8. You can work anywhere in the country

The AACP certification is nationally recognized. That means that you could become a medical coder anywhere in the country. Medical coders are needed all over. They can work in doctor’s offices, hospitals, and private healthcare facilities.

9. Medical coding is a great steppingstone into other healthcare careers

As a medical coder, you’ll work with people who handle the operation and management of healthcare facilities. Your experience as a coder could help you move up into other types of healthcare management.

10. You’ll make a positive difference

Medical coders are truly an integral part of the healthcare system. You’ll be responsible for maintaining patient records and data, coding each patient’s diagnosis, handle insurance issues, and more. This back office functions are important and, with your help, healthcare professionals will have practices that run smoother.

Learn more about the many benefits of becoming a medical coder by contacting Allied Prep today.

Top 5 Benefits of Online Schooling for Medical Billing & Coding

Learn Medical Billing & Coding Online


 Online learning has a lot of great benefits, especially for people who want to learn the skills of medical billing and coding. With Allied Prep’s online courses, you can learn medical coding online or learn medical billing online in just 16 weeks. Here are the five top benefits of our online program:

1. Convenience

The main reason that people choose to take courses online rather than in class is convenience. With online coursework, you can listen to lectures and do assignments according to your own schedule. This is ideal for people who are currently working full-time jobs, people who have families that they need to look after, or both.

2.  Ease of access

Having all of your course work available online makes it very easy to study and take practice exams anywhere that you have an Internet connection. You can slip in some practice questions during a lunch break, listen to a lecture on your phone during your morning commute, or get some good studying in from the comfort of your own home.

3. Affordability

Online classes are a more affordable option than their in-class counterparts. You won’t see other students every day, but you’ll still be able to interact with your professor and have all of the same learning tools available to you.

4. Speed

The main reason that people give up on online learning is that their program is simply too long and they fall too far behind in their curriculum. At just 18 weeks, the Allied Prep medical coding and medical billing certification programs are designed to avoid this problem. They are jam-packed with information and carefully crafted to keep you motivated. You only have to dedicate 18 weeks to this program in order to gain the skills needed to become a professional medical coder or biller.

5. Skills you can take to the bank

Perhaps the greatest benefit of our online medical coding and medical billing programs is that they provide students with all the necessary skills to pass the AAPC certification exam. With this certificate in hand, students should qualify for entry-level jobs as certified professional coders or certified professional billers at a wide variety of medical offices. The AAPC certification is nationally recognized, so you can use this program to launch into a great new career anywhere in the country.

Learn more about our medical billing certification and medical coding certification programs by contacting us today!