August 31, 2025 • 9 mins
Do you have a specific salary range for coding roles?
Is $29.00 per hour ok for auditing? Tune in as I share the questions to ask when your coding services are requested or when looking for a potential coding role.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coding-break-with-tam-talk-podcast--4244224/support.
Is $29.00 per hour ok for auditing? Tune in as I share the questions to ask when your coding services are requested or when looking for a potential coding role.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coding-break-with-tam-talk-podcast--4244224/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Time to take a coding break. Hello, Hello, Hello coding pros,
and welcome back to another episode of the Coding Break podcast.
I am Tam taught your coding coach here to talk
about all things good, bad, and well as well as
the ugly as relates to the medical coding industry.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
So on today's episode, this is gonna be a ugly topic.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
This is definitely gonna be an ugly topic because I
wanna talk about pivoting, like when do you say no
to an opportunity see a medical coding opportunity? Or when
do you say yes to in a medical coding opportunity?
So you may say, well, Tamer, what are you talking about?
So I was presented with an opportunity to audit, so
(00:45):
of course I went through my tool boss asking like
what is the salary range or what is the salary
requirement and the individual are you already.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Suggested that it being twenty nine dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Now, don't don't get me wrong, twenty nine dollars an
hour is a good salary. However, it was not a
good salary for the work that I was asked to do, right,
So for me, that was a hard no. I'm going
to pass. This is not for me. And the reason
why I say that is because I currently work a
(01:21):
full time permanent role with an organization, and so this.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Particular role would have required.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Me to step away from my permanent role and dedicate
two months to training for a contract. Again, it there's
no guarantee it's gonna go longer than my permanent role,
and then of course the salary. So I it was
a hard note for me. Although it was remote, it
(01:49):
was a hard no for me. Now, had I not
had my permanent role, then I'm probably would have entertained it.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
But then again, it also.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Depends on the test that they are asking me to
commit to?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
What role? What ta? What tasks are you asking me
to deliver?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
And then also I take a look at my experience,
I take a look at my credentials. I also take
a look at the specialty that I am going to
be auditing. And because if you're new to coding, there
are different complexities for the coding specialties. They're very different complexities.
(02:29):
Some are very complex and some are straightforward. But nonetheless
I decline, so what are the things that I look for?
What are the questions that I ask when a potential
recruiter or h employer, healthcare organization is seeking my coding
uh experience or services? One I At course, off the top,
(02:50):
what is the salary requirement?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
What is the salary requirement? That's number one. As a
coding professional, you should have a coding salary range.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
You should have range for the different different types of
services coding services, whether that be an auditor, whether that
be in leadership, or whether that be just strictly coding.
You should have a salary range for each of those categories. Secondly,
is it remote? Is it short term?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Is it long term? Is it permanent? What's the scope
of this particular role?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
If it's short term, and then you know, okay, if
that's something you're willing to do, is it long term?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is it remote? Is it on site?
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So the again, these are things that you need to
be asking the recruiter or the interviewer or the person
hiring for the particular role. So the next thing you
need to be asking is the specialty. What specialty are
you coding? What specialty are you auditing? What specialty are
you leading? What department are you leading? Of course it's
(03:53):
going to be in coding, or it may be in
compliance to what what are the I guess the specifics
of that partil and usually what I do, I would
ask the recruiter or the UH employer to send me
a complete job description of the role and I can
look and see what it's going to entail. And if
(04:13):
they ask if they can represent me, or if they
ask about the salary.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Again, I have a salary range on mine.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I have a high dollar amount and then I have
a low dollar amount, and if I can get anywhere
in between that that is perfect. Now if I am
if if it's something that can be completed a part
time again, cause I have a permanent day roll, or
is it something that has to be done during I
call it the bankers bankers hours, which is like early
(04:41):
more nine to five hours, right, it has to be
on site or on time or during those hours.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
If it's something that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Again, if it is requiring, if it's something that's requiring
me to rel let go of my permanent role for
again a short term goal or a short term role,
It's gonna be a hard no for me. Again because
I'm looking at the pros and cons of the different
things that I what I.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Currently am doing versus what they are asking of me.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And so if pretty much, if it's not gonna be
above and beyond what I'm currently making or currently doing,
it's more likely it would be a hard no because
I have to start over again. That if I didn't
have a permanent job, or if I didn't have a
permanent role, or if I didn't if I was actually
seeking a role, I would probably take it because I
would be available to take to sit.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
For two I'm saying two months.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
But maybe two weeks or at least a month of
training with that company. I can sit still for that long, right,
because you're I'm getting paid for that. And then also
again it really depends on if I am available at
that time. So these are things that I would recommend
(06:00):
you having your tool boss or ask. Again, you should
have salary ranges for the different types of coding roles
that you're pursuing or someone is seeking from you. Are
number two. You need to determine if it's a remote job,
on site job, short term, long term, permitent. These are
questions you need to ask, and then also especially what
(06:21):
specialty will I be providing these colding services? Is it auditing,
is it just strictly coding?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Is it leading?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
What specially is it is it internal medicine or is
it general surgery? What type of specialty? But again because
there are complexities, different complexes, complexities to these different specialties,
so we must know what those things are again before
you commit. And then also my favorite, the assessment, the assessment.
Will there be an assessment and if so, what does
(06:50):
assessment encompass? Okay, don't give me an assessment for interventional
radiology if I'm just.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Coding and medicine.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Okay, don't give me an assessment for general surgery if
I'm only coding family practice.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You see where I'm going with this.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Don't spend your precious time at least two to three
hours taking another coding exam just to code family practice.
Don't spend your time, spend your wheels trying to code
international radiology services when you're only coding family practice. So,
(07:33):
if you are an assessment creator, take note that you
should be creating your coding assessments to gauge to surround
your day to day coding or your organization. So if
your coding organization does not provide international radiology services, there
should not be not one international radiology question on your
(07:56):
assessment and your assessment shouldn't be two to three hours long. Again,
I remember taking a coding assessment at an interview, So
imagine if I had to take spend two to three
hours to take a colding assessment at an interview, I was,
I interviewed, and I was presented an assessment. An assessment
should take on what at the most, thirty minutes. It
(08:19):
shouldn't take an hour or two three hours to complete.
That's a whole nother coding examination. So if you are
an assessment creator, take note that your assessment should not
be that long. If your assessments last longer than an hour,
dear sir or ma'am, you are trying to match it
to your level of coding experience.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And and and.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
This is gonna sound harsh, but your coding experience may
not coding level may not be at the level in
which you're trying to get out of another coder, especially
if you have beginning beginner coders who are trying to
seek employment, who are trying to learn, who are trying
to get their get in the door, to get their
feet wet so that they can because and experienced coldures,
such as yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So again, take note of that.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, so again, these are things that you should have
in your toolbox when you're trying to pursue a coding
role or someone is seeking the services from you.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
So that's all that I have of this coding break,
and as always, remember to code on.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Until next time, Stay blessed,
Time to take a coding break. Hello, Hello, Hello coding pros,
and welcome back to another episode of the Coding Break podcast.
I am Tam taught your coding coach here to talk
about all things good, bad, and well as well as
the ugly as relates to the medical coding industry.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
So on today's episode, this is gonna be a ugly topic.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
This is definitely gonna be an ugly topic because I
wanna talk about pivoting, like when do you say no
to an opportunity see a medical coding opportunity? Or when
do you say yes to in a medical coding opportunity?
So you may say, well, Tamer, what are you talking about?
So I was presented with an opportunity to audit, so
(00:45):
of course I went through my tool boss asking like
what is the salary range or what is the salary
requirement and the individual are you already.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Suggested that it being twenty nine dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Now, don't don't get me wrong, twenty nine dollars an
hour is a good salary. However, it was not a
good salary for the work that I was asked to do, right,
So for me, that was a hard no. I'm going
to pass. This is not for me. And the reason
why I say that is because I currently work a
(01:21):
full time permanent role with an organization, and so this.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Particular role would have required.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Me to step away from my permanent role and dedicate
two months to training for a contract. Again, it there's
no guarantee it's gonna go longer than my permanent role,
and then of course the salary. So I it was
a hard note for me. Although it was remote, it
(01:49):
was a hard no for me. Now, had I not
had my permanent role, then I'm probably would have entertained it.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
But then again, it also.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Depends on the test that they are asking me to
commit to?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
What role? What ta? What tasks are you asking me
to deliver?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
And then also I take a look at my experience,
I take a look at my credentials. I also take
a look at the specialty that I am going to
be auditing. And because if you're new to coding, there
are different complexities for the coding specialties. They're very different complexities.
(02:29):
Some are very complex and some are straightforward. But nonetheless
I decline, so what are the things that I look for?
What are the questions that I ask when a potential
recruiter or h employer, healthcare organization is seeking my coding
uh experience or services? One I At course, off the top,
(02:50):
what is the salary requirement?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
What is the salary requirement? That's number one. As a
coding professional, you should have a coding salary range.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
You should have range for the different different types of
services coding services, whether that be an auditor, whether that
be in leadership, or whether that be just strictly coding.
You should have a salary range for each of those categories. Secondly,
is it remote? Is it short term?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Is it long term? Is it permanent? What's the scope
of this particular role?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
If it's short term, and then you know, okay, if
that's something you're willing to do, is it long term?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is it remote? Is it on site?
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So the again, these are things that you need to
be asking the recruiter or the interviewer or the person
hiring for the particular role. So the next thing you
need to be asking is the specialty. What specialty are
you coding? What specialty are you auditing? What specialty are
you leading? What department are you leading? Of course it's
(03:53):
going to be in coding, or it may be in
compliance to what what are the I guess the specifics
of that partil and usually what I do, I would
ask the recruiter or the UH employer to send me
a complete job description of the role and I can
look and see what it's going to entail. And if
(04:13):
they ask if they can represent me, or if they
ask about the salary.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Again, I have a salary range on mine.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I have a high dollar amount and then I have
a low dollar amount, and if I can get anywhere
in between that that is perfect. Now if I am
if if it's something that can be completed a part
time again, cause I have a permanent day roll, or
is it something that has to be done during I
call it the bankers bankers hours, which is like early
(04:41):
more nine to five hours, right, it has to be
on site or on time or during those hours.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
If it's something that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Again, if it is requiring, if it's something that's requiring
me to rel let go of my permanent role for
again a short term goal or a short term role,
It's gonna be a hard no for me. Again because
I'm looking at the pros and cons of the different
things that I what I.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Currently am doing versus what they are asking of me.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
And so if pretty much, if it's not gonna be
above and beyond what I'm currently making or currently doing,
it's more likely it would be a hard no because
I have to start over again. That if I didn't
have a permanent job, or if I didn't have a
permanent role, or if I didn't if I was actually
seeking a role, I would probably take it because I
would be available to take to sit.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
For two I'm saying two months.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
But maybe two weeks or at least a month of
training with that company. I can sit still for that long, right,
because you're I'm getting paid for that. And then also
again it really depends on if I am available at
that time. So these are things that I would recommend
(06:00):
you having your tool boss or ask. Again, you should
have salary ranges for the different types of coding roles
that you're pursuing or someone is seeking from you. Are
number two. You need to determine if it's a remote job,
on site job, short term, long term, permitent. These are
questions you need to ask, and then also especially what
(06:21):
specialty will I be providing these colding services? Is it auditing,
is it just strictly coding?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Is it leading?
Speaker 1 (06:28):
What specially is it is it internal medicine or is
it general surgery? What type of specialty? But again because
there are complexities, different complexes, complexities to these different specialties,
so we must know what those things are again before
you commit. And then also my favorite, the assessment, the assessment.
Will there be an assessment and if so, what does
(06:50):
assessment encompass? Okay, don't give me an assessment for interventional
radiology if I'm just.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Coding and medicine.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Okay, don't give me an assessment for general surgery if
I'm only coding family practice.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You see where I'm going with this.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Don't spend your precious time at least two to three
hours taking another coding exam just to code family practice.
Don't spend your time, spend your wheels trying to code
international radiology services when you're only coding family practice. So,
(07:33):
if you are an assessment creator, take note that you
should be creating your coding assessments to gauge to surround
your day to day coding or your organization. So if
your coding organization does not provide international radiology services, there
should not be not one international radiology question on your
(07:56):
assessment and your assessment shouldn't be two to three hours long. Again,
I remember taking a coding assessment at an interview, So
imagine if I had to take spend two to three
hours to take a colding assessment at an interview, I was,
I interviewed, and I was presented an assessment. An assessment
should take on what at the most, thirty minutes. It
(08:19):
shouldn't take an hour or two three hours to complete.
That's a whole nother coding examination. So if you are
an assessment creator, take note that your assessment should not
be that long. If your assessments last longer than an hour,
dear sir or ma'am, you are trying to match it
to your level of coding experience.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And and and.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
This is gonna sound harsh, but your coding experience may
not coding level may not be at the level in
which you're trying to get out of another coder, especially
if you have beginning beginner coders who are trying to
seek employment, who are trying to learn, who are trying
to get their get in the door, to get their
feet wet so that they can because and experienced coldures,
such as yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
So again, take note of that.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Yeah, so again, these are things that you should have
in your toolbox when you're trying to pursue a coding
role or someone is seeking the services from you.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
So that's all that I have of this coding break,
and as always, remember to code on.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Until next time, Stay blessed,
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