Any reviews for Career Step or Andrews Training Corp?

does anyone know about the CS medical billing and coding? I start this week and would greatly appreciate any info.

Hi, I am Bruce...

I'm studying with Career Step and I'm worried about the future. I was layed off from a retail company when they went bust back in January; I worked from home for the last 6 years with them making a salary of $43k. After being layed off, I decided to study medical transcription because I need a job that allows me to work from home. My question is that I have heard a lot of bad things about the national comoanies that Career Step promotes (i.e. Spheris and MedQuist). Is it impossible to make even $26,000 a year from these companies/national companies? What line rate on average do these companies pay? Is it 5 cents a line? I would like to make at least $26k a year is that even possible? I hope I didn't waste money paying for Career Step's MT Platinum package. I am doing this MT program to contribute to the family (my wife and 2 year old daughter). My wife is the breadwinner right now... thank God she gets paid extremely well as a speech language pathologist or I wouldn't be able to take an MT course.

Thanks for the help.

Hi Bruce,

I wish you would have picked someone besides career step. They really don't care if you get hired with anyone or not in spite of the fact that they say they offer help with job placement. I had the platinum program as well. I tried to get a job with Spheris twice because they say they will hire new graduates. I have applied to about 60 companies and I have really good grammar and typing skills and have not been hired yet. Everyone says they want 2 or more years of experience. I finally got an in house Medical Transcription job at a Hospital where I love it, but I still want to work from home. I think most pay/work from home is around 8 to 9 cpl, and you most require you to type at least 1200 lines a day! That is a lot but you would make some decent money if you can do that. Most hire either full time employee or IC (independent contractor) these don't pay benefits. Just keep testing when you get through and good look. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the help. I think that I'll apply locally first to get some experience. Then hopefully that will give me the experience needed to work from home.

You need to CALL graduate services at Career Step once a week. I did this and they found me three jobs. Just waiting for them to call you with an opportunity is not going to happen. There are at home positions.
LLANDMAN1@COMCAST.NET

Thanks "Primo in Houston/LLANDMAN1@COMCAST.NET". We'll see what happens when I graduate.

I am considering either the Medical Transcription program OR the Medical Coding and Billing course through career step. At first I was really leaning towards MT, but my concern is that I would be bored to tears with it. I don't want to pay for a course and then hate my job. My questions - is MT boring or does it keep you on your toes?

Also, does anyone here have any experience with the Medical Coding and Billing program from Career Step?

Jennifer in Menominee, Michigan said: Has anyone ever heard of At Home Professions? I attended a seminar last night on taking a course for become a MT. I have never heard of them before but their course seems very comprehensive. Please let me know if you have heard of them and what your opinions are.

At Home Professions is one of the worst courses out there. It is definitely NOT a comprehensive course, and I have seen literally HUNDREDS of people posting all over the internet that they wasted their money on At Home Professions (same thing for Allied School). The GOOD courses don't need to hold seminars to con people into signing up for their courses!

I am taking the Career Step MT course right now and I think it is hard but well worth the effort. There is a lot of dictation to practice with which I know will help me when I am working. I chose MT so I can work from home. With Coding and Billing, working from home is not as common. But I hear the Career Step Coding and Billing course is great too!

Here are some links to their demos of their courses:
www.careerstep.com/demo-mt/?uid=a1403 - MT
www.careerstep.com/demo-cb/?uid=a1403 - Coding and Billing

Have either of you enrolled in this through the community college? Are the benefits exactly the same as the Platinum package through CareerStep? I had been looking into this directly through them, but if this also includes help with placement, etc., it would be ridiculous to not do it through FTCC.
Thanks for any info.

Deb in Rochester, New York said: At Home Professions is one of the worst courses out there. It is definitely NOT a comprehensive course, and I have seen literally HUNDREDS of people posting all over the internet that they wasted their money on At Home Professions (same thing for Allied School). The GOOD courses don't need to hold seminars to con people into signing up for their courses!

My cousin in Ohio did At Home Professions for Medical terminology and she loves it.

What is the difference between online medical transcription & the med. transcription listed under medical office asst. training, if any?

I would definatly recomend looking into other options besides Career Step. I attended this program and it was a waste of money and my time. I completed the training and received my certificate and felt amazing until I was unable to get a job. I am starting all over again with a new training the good thing is, the company I am going through likes no experience so they are able to train you their own way. They prefer you have the MT knowledge but have not worked for anyone yet. I am thankful I found them and it was by accident talking to a lady in the grocery store who works for them. They are an independent contractor so pretty much unless you know someone thats working for them to recomend you its hard to just come accross one. They pay 10 cents a line. Not getting rich but at least I finally found a job. Career Step was WORTHLESS when it came to helping you find a job when you purchase the platinum package so if you do decide on them it is way to get SOME knowledge. Not so great getting a job afterwards.

Kat,

Could I send you a private email? I have a question for you.

Thanks!

Kat,
would you be willing to give me the name of the company you are working for? I am a new graduate and need a job in Medical Transcription, but most people want more experience than I have. I have some good training through a local college, but would love an on-the-job training type thing. Thanks!

Kat, if you could send me your email I would love to talk with you about your current position. Thanks.

I started the Career Step Medicl Billing and coding course about two months ago. I am trying to finish by November. I am going full time. As I was reading on here lots of people have said it was a waste of time and money. Can someone please email me or respond to me on here about there experience with medical billing and coding. Smcquirter@gmail.com
Thanks

Amen, I am so glad someone thinks that Career Step is a big rip off and waste of money besides me....they are terrible....I have not found a job yet, and I graduated from their program over a year ago. They don't tell you how hard it is to get a job with no experience; just school. I have tested and tested and no luck. Everyone I apply to says they need a lot of experience. I am getting down about not being able to find work. I would have taken the Medical Billing/Coding if they had it at the time.

Good luck to you...

bh in Midlothian, Virginia said: Hi, I am Bruce...

I'm studying with Career Step and I'm worried about the future. I was layed off from a retail company when they went bust back in January; I worked from home for the last 6 years with them making a salary of $43k. After being layed off, I decided to study medical transcription because I need a job that allows me to work from home. My question is that I have heard a lot of bad things about the national comoanies that Career Step promotes (i.e. Spheris and MedQuist). Is it impossible to make even $26,000 a year from these companies/national companies? What line rate on average do these companies pay? Is it 5 cents a line? I would like to make at least $26k a year is that even possible? I hope I didn't waste money paying for Career Step's MT Platinum package. I am doing this MT program to contribute to the family (my wife and 2 year old daughter). My wife is the breadwinner right now... thank God she gets paid extremely well as a speech language pathologist or I wouldn't be able to take an MT course.

Thanks for the help.

Hello, bh in Midlothian, my name is Jennifer from richmond,va, I"m also thinking about taking the career step course for medical transcription. email me if you'd like. (jldp1@aol.com)

you can make 26K a year doing this but like every career it takes time. i found three jobs through career step but work onsite now for the benefits. I get free insurance. Also, speech therapy is the best medical career.

obxmslee and Kat,

I am sorry you had such a bad experience with Career Step, but I do have to wonder what you expected when you went in? I graduated with Honors in October 2007. I did have the Platinum Course and used their help in sprucing up my resume. I also received email notifications of positions that became available, but it turns out that I did not need them because I found a job from a company listed on their web site and was employed approximately a week after graduation, a position that I still hold. Their Platinum Course is basically that, helping you with your resume, giving you tips on what to include, and sending information on open positions as they hear about them. That is all.

Do I think the extra help from being a Platinum student was worth the difference in money? No, but I simply did not need it.

As for the course itself, I was extremely pleased. I have always studied better on my own than with an instructor and feel that I received excellent training as an MT. As a matter of fact, the recruiter at my company told me that they love to hire Career Step graduates because of their excellent training. I had applied and received the test links immediately thereafter, and she called me 14 minutes after I submitted the tests to offer me a job because I scored so highly on each of them. Also, during my 6-month review, I averaged 99.4% accuracy.

So, while I sympathize with those who may have had a bad experience with Career Step, I would also like to caution other potential students regarding any bad reviews. There are many former students on the Career Step forum, and many, many more who just got too busy working to keep coming back, all of whom are happy and successful MTs because of the quality of the education they received from Career Step and also from their own initiative and abilities. If you can go to the forum as a guest, check out posts regarding a member named Hawke; she is the quintessential Career Step success story.

Thanks for your comments. I just enrolled for the Career Step course and will be starting on September 2nd....I enrolled with Career Step through a community college and they control the start dates even though it is online. I have looked into this for sometime and hope I have made the right decision on a school. I have attended two large women's career fairs here in Atlanta and Career Step has been at both. They have a good reputation and the majority of comments I have seen are positive. But in the end, I want to be able to get a job as an entry-level MT. I have several years of administrative experience but not in the medical business. This is a totally new career for me.
If you have any helpful hints, I would sincerely appreciate your input.
Thanks again!

Kat in Port Orchard, Washington said: I would definatly recomend looking into other options besides Career Step. I attended this program and it was a waste of money and my time. I completed the training and received my certificate and felt amazing until I was unable to get a job. I am starting all over again with a new training the good thing is, the company I am going through likes no experience so they are able to train you their own way. They prefer you have the MT knowledge but have not worked for anyone yet. I am thankful I found them and it was by accident talking to a lady in the grocery store who works for them. They are an independent contractor so pretty much unless you know someone thats working for them to recomend you its hard to just come accross one. They pay 10 cents a line. Not getting rich but at least I finally found a job. Career Step was WORTHLESS when it came to helping you find a job when you purchase the platinum package so if you do decide on them it is way to get SOME knowledge. Not so great getting a job afterwards.

Sounds like I am wasting my time looking for an online position. I graduated from Career Step in Feb. 09. I am working a full time job, and thought that I was not applying enough time to finding a job. I would be interested in knowing what other training you are currently doing. I would appreciate a reply.
Jane

I went to Career Step and if I had it to do over, I would still go to Career Step. I found a job about 1 month after graduating. I found it on my own, even though I had the Platinum. You get a lot of help from the Career Step forum in finding jobs. I highly recommend Career Step. It's a lot of work to get a job, with or without help. It all depends on hard you are willing to look. No, if you're just sitting there waiting for Career Step or someone else to get you the job, then this profession isn't for you.

bh in Midlothian, Virginia said: Hi, I am Bruce...

I'm studying with Career Step and I'm worried about the future. I was layed off from a retail company when they went bust back in January; I worked from home for the last 6 years with them making a salary of $43k. After being layed off, I decided to study medical transcription because I need a job that allows me to work from home. My question is that I have heard a lot of bad things about the national comoanies that Career Step promotes (i.e. Spheris and MedQuist). Is it impossible to make even $26,000 a year from these companies/national companies? What line rate on average do these companies pay? Is it 5 cents a line? I would like to make at least $26k a year is that even possible? I hope I didn't waste money paying for Career Step's MT Platinum package. I am doing this MT program to contribute to the family (my wife and 2 year old daughter). My wife is the breadwinner right now... thank God she gets paid extremely well as a speech language pathologist or I wouldn't be able to take an MT course.

Thanks for the help.

Yes it is possible to make more than 26,000 a year I know someone who works for Spheris and she makes over 46,000 a year, she has been there about 8 years now.

HTH
Dana

Barbara in Jersey City, New Jersey said: I went to Career Step and if I had it to do over, I would still go to Career Step. I found a job about 1 month after graduating. I found it on my own, even though I had the Platinum. You get a lot of help from the Career Step forum in finding jobs. I highly recommend Career Step. It's a lot of work to get a job, with or without help. It all depends on hard you are willing to look. No, if you're just sitting there waiting for Career Step or someone else to get you the job, then this profession isn't for you.

Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your comments, I'm looking forward to starting my Career Step MT course. It seems to make a pretty big difference for employment if you have graduated with either honors or high honors from CS. I saw in a past blog that you can retake the final test if you don't score high enough for either of those. Is that the case? Would there be an extra charge for that? As far as finding a job once I finish, I won't be sitting around waiting for someone else to find one for me; I'm a very self-motivated person.

Hi cashck, good luck with the course. Make sure you use their forums often. Everyone there is so helpful. Also, when you're ready to look for a job, there are lists and lists of MT companies on the forum so you will have plenty of places to apply. Honors or high honors is an advantage, but I still see lots of people getting hired with a standard graduation. They let you take the final three times, so you can always try for a better score. There is no charge for that unless your course has expired and you have to get an extension. The best score is the one they go with and it's the only one potential employers will see. Have fun. Good to be self motivated in this business.

I went through Careerstep a little over 3 years ago. While they did help prepare me for 99% of what to expect, it was that 1% that tripped me up a bit, but being 99% prepared for going into a career I had never had any experience with was very helpful. I had a job as soon as I graduated and then was hired by Spheris a couple of months after that. I now am an independent contractor and I make about $40,000 a year. Good luck with whatever you decide!

If you felt 99% prepared, I can deal with the 1%. This is a new career for me too, I'm looking forward to the challenge. I don't expect it to be easy, but nothing worth having every is.

Barbara in Jersey City, New Jersey said: Hi cashck, good luck with the course. Make sure you use their forums often. Everyone there is so helpful. Also, when you're ready to look for a job, there are lists and lists of MT companies on the forum so you will have plenty of places to apply. Honors or high honors is an advantage, but I still see lots of people getting hired with a standard graduation. They let you take the final three times, so you can always try for a better score. There is no charge for that unless your course has expired and you have to get an extension. The best score is the one they go with and it's the only one potential employers will see. Have fun. Good to be self motivated in this business.

All of you are so helpful, it is good to know you are "out there". Thanks for the info about the final, Barbara.

Yeah, I just did not want to come on here and say I was completely 100% prepared because, seriously, how prepared can you possibly be other than having on-the-job experience???

Sarah in Yakima, Washington said: Yeah, I just did not want to come on here and say I was completely 100% prepared because, seriously, how prepared can you possibly be other than having on-the-job experience???

So true.

I graduated from Careerstep in August 2007 with high honors and was hired by Spheris for acute care accounts, and I still work there. I had paid for the platinum upgrade, which it turned out I did not need to get a job, but I did receive help with my resume and emails from them regarding companies that were hiring. They had not promised more than that for help with job placement, so I was not disappointed. I was very happy to be able to get a job doing acute care straight out of school, as that had been my goal when I started the program. I do not think there are many schools you can graduate from and go directly into acute care - you usually would need a minimum of 2 years experience with clinic accounts before even trying to get into acute care, and even then it would take a lot of applying to land an acute care job with no experience with it.

It appears from returning to the Careerstep graduates forum regularly that it is currently a lot more difficult to get a job after graduation, but look at the economy, where is it easy to get a job right away straight out of school with no experience? Also, I think there are currently a lot of graduates from too many programs chasing too few jobs, and I do not believe that having graduated from Careerstep is a hindrance to getting a job, quite the contrary in fact.

I have no hesitation about recommending Careerstep and felt very prepared for the realities of the workplace after graduation.

I graduated with High Honors from Career Step in February, and found 2 jobs within 6 weeks. I had the Platinum program. They do not promise you a job. You do have to work to find one, but they do help with resumes and job leads. I would highly recommend Career Step.

Kelligirlmartin in Crescent City, California said: I've been looking in to taking the med. transcription course through this school and was hoping there was someone who could give me some feedback. It was referenced on the AHDI website which gives it creditability, but I really wanted to hear from someone who completed it and if it was worth it. I also heard a lot about Career Step. Both programs offer assistance with job placement. It would be nice to talk with anyone who had experience with either of these schools. Any feedback positive or negative would be very helpful. Thanks!
Kelli

I also am another graduate from Career Step in 2007. I took the course and I missed the Honors program by mere points, but I also had a job within two weeks of graduation. In fact, I had to wait for my certificate to send to the office and I had already started to work. I actually took two online tests and received offers for both companies. I think you will be very pleased with their program! Good luck! Lynn

I graduated from Career Step with Honors in January of 2009. I am also a Career Step Affiliate and I would not be one if I didn't believe in Career Step. After I graduated and after taking several tests/applying with over 90 different companies I landed my first job within 2 months from graduating. A month after that, I landed my second job. So I was working for 2 different companies as an IC - Independent Contractor within 2-3 months after graduation. Career Step does a fine job preparing you to become a MT but it is up to you as an individual to use the knowledge you obtained, test, and really work hard at trying to find that job. Career Step never said they would "hand" you a job after graduation. I don't know any school out there that has that policy. Why should it be Career Step's responsibility to find you a job anyway? They did their job when they provided you with an honest and AHDI approved MT education.

I believe you are all smart people so use the brains the good Lord gave you and go out after graduation and test/apply to find that job you worked hard to get while going to school. Nothing good ever comes easy. This is a very tough industry but it is one of pride and self accomplishment. You can obtain a decent career as an MT but you have to work for it, just as you have to work when you finally find that perfect job.

I graduted with High Honors last year and had a job before I even got my diploma. I worked at SGS for 9 months and then accepted a job with Spheris. I turned down two other offers in the meantime. I feel thoroughly prepared for this career and I love it!! But, I will say how you do on tests makes all the difference. So, my advice would be to take your time and learn all you can from the course. The score you make on the CS final exam really is a reflection of how you'll do on employment tests, and CS tells everyone that as well. Hope that helps some!

I am a stay @ home mom. I am interested in a career in MT, my only concerns are landing a job at home. I talked with a company that offers the course and they told me that I would have to work in office for 6-12 months before I was trusted enough for someone to hire me to work at home. I wouldn't mind doing that, but I stay at home with my daughter. I just wanted an opinion regarding if I could get work from home without having to prove myself in an office.

Jessica in Vidalia, Georgia said: I am a stay @ home mom. I am interested in a career in MT, my only concerns are landing a job at home. I talked with a company that offers the course and they told me that I would have to work in office for 6-12 months before I was trusted enough for someone to hire me to work at home. I wouldn't mind doing that, but I stay at home with my daughter. I just wanted an opinion regarding if I could get work from home without having to prove myself in an office.

Jessica,

I can appreciate your concerns as they are very valid concerns to have especially when it comes to your daughter.

I too, am a stay at home mom and have been for 18 years. I am now an MT and I work out of my home. I really love the work I do and love the advantages that go along with being able to work out of my home.

I would love to talk to you some more about this career. You can email me if you would like.

Iowagirl

shaggythelma@hotmail.com

I'm wondering if those that were able to get MT jobs quickly after graduation were able to do so because there were less applicants when they graduated, let's say in 2007? With so many people having lost jobs since last year, perhaps there are many more taking MT courses from Career Step than before, so there would be more competition for positions. While reading through the posts it seemed that many who were hired quickly graduated a few years ago, i.e., 2006, 2007, even 2008, while those that are having trouble finding a job seem to be more recent graduates, within the last few months. I'd be interested in hearing how many recent graduates are working as MTs now, since I'm also thinking about taking the MT courst from Career Step, but since I'm currently on unemployment, I worry about finding a job quickly enough, at least before my unemployment runs out.

Connie134 in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania said: I'm wondering if those that were able to get MT jobs quickly after graduation were able to do so because there were less applicants when they graduated, let's say in 2007? With so many people having lost jobs since last year, perhaps there are many more taking MT courses from Career Step than before, so there would be more competition for positions. While reading through the posts it seemed that many who were hired quickly graduated a few years ago, i.e., 2006, 2007, even 2008, while those that are having trouble finding a job seem to be more recent graduates, within the last few months. I'd be interested in hearing how many recent graduates are working as MTs now, since I'm also thinking about taking the MT courst from Career Step, but since I'm currently on unemployment, I worry about finding a job quickly enough, at least before my unemployment runs out.

Connie,

I would be happy to address some of your concerns and questions about Career Step.

Feel free to email me at shaggythelma@hotmail.com

Cheers.

Primo in Sugar Land, Texas said: I highly recommend Career Step. You can contact me at llandman1@comcast.net.
Thanks!

I am thinking about applying for the MT platinum plan at CareerStep.com. I just don't want to make another mistake with these online schools. Do you feel they gave you a good education and that you got a job pretty quick after graduation? If I dedicate 4 months of my life full time with this course, will I get a job since all these companies and hospitals want "experience?"

Hi Everyone,
I am just a phone call away from starting the CS MT program. Still a little nervous about finding a WFH job afterwards, although I could work in an office if needed. Guess I just need that little boost from those of you who have honestly completed the course successfully and are working.
Thanks in advance!

Lori

Hi Lori,

Yes, me too. I'm only a phone call away from beginning the MT course also. I went over the brochure several times and listened to the CD once. It sounds like a comprehensive training program and there are sure enough companies who use Career Step's graduates for their employment pool. A friend of mine works for Spheris and she loves it. I called Spheris and they reaffirmed that their pool for employees comes from Careerstep.com unless you have years of acute care experience.

Lynette from Tucson, AZ

Lynette,
I started the course at the first of September. So far, I am very impressed with the way it is set up and I am thoroughly enjoying it and I am learning the material fairly easily. I am currently in the middle of Module 4, Medical Word Building. In the past, I worked for a large school that did both online and in-class continuing education, I have taken and reviewed several of their courses and I can tell you (in my humble opinion) that I feel this one is very good. I also did a tremendous amount of research on the different MT schools, attended two large career fairs where Career Step had a booth and representatives and came away feeling very good about my choosing them for my training. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Thank you very much for reaffirming my choice. I am glad to hear that you did a lot of research also and even went to career fairs. There are just so many scam artists out there that I am real shaky about doing something like this.

I loved Career Step. I work for Spheris and love, love, love it!!

Thank you so much for your reply. I just made the call. I will start Monday morning.

lrcdanceprincess@yahoo.com in Tucson, Arizona said: Thank you so much for your reply. I just made the call. I will start Monday morning.

Good luck!

any questions anyone has about Career Step, just email me at lfoxadams3@hotmail.com. I love being an MT and I remember having all those same questions as you all. I think CS is a wonderful course and I had four job offers in about a three week period.

Lisa