Is a Medical Billing Career
Right For You?

A medical billing career provides challenges but also great rewards for those willing to make the effort required to be successful.

But first, it is important to find out if this business is right for you. The following are just a few questions you should ask yourself.



  • Do you like working independently?

  • Do you like to type?

  • Are you a self starter?



There are a lot of misconceptions about medical billing. Some online businesses that sell training courses would have you think that a medical billing career is an easy business that you can make a lot of money at without much effort.

This encounter demonstrates what I mean……

Recently, I was talking to an acquaintance. She knew that I owned a medical billing service and that I worked from home. She thought a medical billing career from home would be a great job for her sister. Apparently her sister had trouble getting up in the morning. She was always late for work, and consequently, she couldn’t hold a steady job.

Now, if one thing is for sure, her sister is a very unlikely candidate for a home business of any kind. Everyone likes the idea of working from home. It’s convenient, you don’t have to run out the door in the morning, you are your own boss, and you have freedom.

Sounds great doesn’t it?

What you need to know is this. Starting your own business is a challenge in itself. It is rewarding but it is a lot of work. Medical billing isn’t rocket science, but there is a lot of information to learn.

The bottom line is…… it helps if you love it.

You know the saying, “do what you love and the money will follow.”

So how do you know if you will love a medical billing career? Unless you are already doing medical billing, you won't have any idea.


Here are more questions you need to ask yourself:

Are you conscientious? Do you do the best you can on any given task?

Are you detail oriented or do you gloss over things quickly?

Do you have good clerical and organizational skills? Do you enjoy keeping paperwork in order?

Do you keep everything in it's proper place so it is easy to find later?

Do you have good people skills? Do you like talking on the phone?

If you had a task to do every week on a particular day, would you remember to do it on that day?

Are you a linear thinker? By that I mean, do you like to do things in order, finishing one task before going on to the next?

Are you analytical? Do you like to figure out why something is happening?

Can you sit at a desk for hours at a time working on a project?

Do you like researching things you don’t know? Would you go online and look up information to get answers to your questions?

Do you like working independently out of the public eye? Do you prefer working alone?

Are you patient? Does it take a lot to get you frustrated?

Are you professional? Do you consider yourself prudent when dealing with others?

Are you able to maintain confidentiality?

You should be able to answer yes to most of these questions. and it is important that you be honest with yourself so you don’t waste your time and money on a business you won’t enjoy.


The following are questions about your skills.


Are you interested in computers? Would you enjoy figuring out how to use them?

Can you type?

Have you taken high school classes or have job experience in mathematics, biology, or health.

Do you like numbers or bookkeeping?

How is your spelling?

Are you interested in computers? Would you enjoy figuring out how to use them?

Can you type?

Have you taken high school classes or have job experience in mathematics, biology, or health.

Do you like numbers or bookkeeping?

How is your spelling?



Here is Teresa. She started out knowing nothing about medical billing or computers but now she handles medical billing accounts independently. That is because she has a great work ethic, initiative, and a willingness to learn.

These are the most important qualities needed to have a successful medical billing career.