How To Become A Medical Coding Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a medical coding technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Eve Leija AAS, NCMA

Medical coding technician is the one who abstracts clinical information from a variety of medical records, charts, and documents and assign appropriate ICD-10 and CPT-4 codes to patient records according to established procedures.

To become a medical records technician, you should hold an associate's degree or postsecondary certificate in health information technology or a similar field. However, most employers prefer candidates who uphold additional course certifications in medical terminology, anatomy, health care reimbursement methods, and classification and coding systems. Additionally, you may also need six months to one year of previous experience.

The BLS reports that graduates who gravitate toward this field end up laying claim to annual earnings that top out at $36,492 or $18 per hour. The current median pay for a medical coding technician ranges from $28,670 to $39,660 in the US. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon your experience, skills, or organization.

What general advice would you give to a medical coding technician?

Eve Leija AAS, NCMA

Medical Assistant Program Director, Website

To maximize salary for a medical assistant obtaining certification from one of the credentialing organizations such as American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) can make a new hire more competitive. Continuing educations along with developing any specialized skills such as phlebotomy. Demonstrating professionalism initiative and reliability, along with gaining a strong reference from previous employers.

ScoreMedical Coding TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,307

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.25%

Asian 8.60%

Black or African American 9.15%

Hispanic or Latino 17.09%

Unknown 4.19%

White 59.71%

Gender

female 84.75%

male 15.25%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a medical coding technician

Explore medical coding technician education requirements

Most common medical coding technician degrees

Associate

29.6 %

Bachelor's

22.3 %

Diploma

17.2 %

Start to develop specific medical coding technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Medical Billing	13.57%
Data Entry	11.66%
Front Desk	9.80%
CPC	8.76%
ICD-10-CM	7.45%

Complete relevant medical coding technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New medical coding technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a medical coding technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real medical coding technician resumes.

Gain additional medical coding technician certifications

Medical coding technician certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific medical coding technician certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for medical coding technicians include Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) and Certified Coding Specialist (CCS).

More About Certifications

Research medical coding technician duties and responsibilities

Manage health records while applying ICD-10 coding to update and process insurance claims for time and accuracy to various insurance companies.
Assign appropriate ICD-9-CM and CPT-4 codes in compliance with recognize coding principles and department policies.
Remain current on medical coding guidelines and HIPAA laws and regulations.
Reconcile clinical notes, patient encounter form, and health information for compliance with HIPAA rules.

Get medical coding technician experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a medical coding technician. The most common roles before becoming a medical coding technician include cashier, customer service representative team lead and medical coder.

Prepare your medical coding technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your medical coding technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a medical coding technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable medical coding technician resume templates

Build a professional medical coding technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your medical coding technician resume.