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The differences between developers and medical coders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a developer, becoming a medical coder takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a developer has an average salary of $100,076, which is higher than the $51,563 average annual salary of a medical coder.
The top three skills for a developer include javascript, python and java. The most important skills for a medical coder are CPC, medical terminology, and ICD-10-CM.
| Developer | Medical Coder | |
| Yearly salary | $100,076 | $51,563 |
| Hourly rate | $48.11 | $24.79 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 262,570 | 51,316 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Associate Degree, 37% |
| Average age | 39 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Developers are usually system or application developers in a company who work on specific projects related to networks or applications from conception to implementation. They attend planning sessions to ensure that the program is feasible. They are responsible for designing the system through coding and basic user interface design. They also work on troubleshooting any challenges that may be met at the testing stage of the program's development. They solve challenges and ensure that minimal problems will arise upon publishing the system or application. They also manage the evaluation to ensure that the program's goals are accomplished and that the end-users are satisfied with the results.
A medical coder's role is to interpret and analyze a patient's medical record and translate particular details according to the universal medical alphanumeric code. Moreover, a medical coder is primarily responsible for ensuring that the translations are accurate, as this will play a vital factor in processing insurance and receiving treatments. Aside from accuracy, it is also crucial for a medical coder to coordinate with other hospital personnel at all times, especially when there inconsistencies in the records.
Developers and medical coders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Developer | Medical Coder | |
| Average salary | $100,076 | $51,563 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $131,000 | Between $37,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Trenton, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a developer and a medical coder in terms of educational background:
| Developer | Medical Coder | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Associate Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Health Care Administration |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between developers' and medical coders' demographics:
| Developer | Medical Coder | |
| Average age | 39 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 9% |