Ophthalmic Technician Certification: What Changes After You Pass (And What Nobody Tells You Before)
22 Jun, 2026
When most people imagine healthcare careers, they picture nurses at bedsides, surgeons in operating rooms, or therapists guiding patients through recovery. But there's an entire ecosystem of professionals working behind the scenes who make those clinical moments possible. Healthcare coders and healthcare administrators sit at the heart of that ecosystem, translating medical encounters into the structured data and strategic decisions that keep hospitals, clinics, and health systems financially solvent and operationally sound. I've spent years helping job seekers on healthcareers.app find roles they didn't even know existed, and these two career paths are among the most frequently misunderstood — and underappreciated — in the entire industry.
In this post, I'm going to break down both roles side by side. Not because they're interchangeable — they're not — but because candidates often discover one while researching the other. If you've ever wondered what's healthcare administration really about, or whether a coding career could be your entry point into healthcare without years of clinical training, this comparison will give you the clarity you need to make a smart decision.
Let's clear up a misconception right away: healthcare coders don't just type numbers into a computer. They serve as the essential bridge between clinical documentation and the revenue cycle. Every time a physician sees a patient, performs a procedure, or orders a diagnostic test, that encounter needs to be translated into standardized codes — ICD-10-CM for diagnoses, CPT for procedures, and HCPCS for supplies and equipment. Healthcare coders review medical records, interpret clinical language, and assign the precise codes that determine how much a provider gets reimbursed by insurance companies and government payers like Medicare and Medicaid.
A single misapplied code can trigger claim denials, compliance investigations, or — in the worst cases — allegations of fraud. Healthcare coders are the last line of defense between a health system and millions of dollars in lost or improperly claimed revenue. That's why credentialed coders (those holding certifications like the CPC from AAPC or the CCS from AHIMA) are in consistent demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects continued growth in health information and medical records roles, driven by an aging population, expanding insurance coverage, and the digitization of medical records.
That last point is worth highlighting. Healthcare coders were working remotely long before the pandemic made it trendy. If location flexibility is important to you, few healthcare careers offer this level of geographic freedom.
If healthcare coders are the translators of clinical encounters, healthcare administrators are the architects of the systems those encounters happen within. Understanding what's healthcare administration requires looking at the big picture: these professionals manage budgets, develop policies, oversee departments, ensure regulatory compliance, negotiate contracts, and drive the strategic vision for healthcare organizations ranging from small private practices to sprawling academic medical centers.
Healthcare administration is broad by design. Entry-level roles might involve managing a single department's scheduling and staffing, while senior leaders (think Chief Operating Officers or Vice Presidents of Operations) are making decisions that affect thousands of employees and millions of patients. Common titles within this field include:
Notice that last one? Here's where these two paths intersect. A revenue cycle director needs to understand coding at a strategic level — not necessarily assigning codes themselves, but knowing enough about the process to manage a team of healthcare coders, identify trends in claim denials, and implement process improvements.
Healthcare coding careers often start with a certificate program or an associate degree, making them accessible for career changers and people who want to enter the workforce relatively quickly. Many coders later pursue bachelor's degrees in health information management to advance into supervisory or analytical roles.
Healthcare administration, by contrast, typically requires at least a bachelor's degree — often in healthcare administration, business administration, public health, or a related field. Many leadership positions expect or prefer a master's degree (MHA, MBA with a healthcare concentration, or MPH). This is a field where graduate education genuinely accelerates career progression, particularly for roles in hospital administration or health system strategy.
Here's something I find genuinely interesting, and it illustrates how non-linear healthcare careers can be. I regularly hear from candidates who earned an art therapy degree and are now exploring adjacent healthcare paths. At first glance, art therapy and medical coding seem worlds apart. But an art therapy degree gives graduates something valuable: deep familiarity with clinical documentation, diagnostic criteria (particularly in mental and behavioral health), and the healthcare delivery system. Many art therapy graduates have worked in psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation centers, or community mental health agencies where they've seen the billing and administrative side of healthcare up close.
Some of these professionals pivot into healthcare coding — particularly in behavioral health coding, where understanding psychiatric diagnoses and treatment modalities gives them a genuine edge. Others leverage their clinical exposure and organizational skills to move into healthcare administration, especially in program management for behavioral health or community health organizations. An art therapy degree isn't a dead end; it's a launchpad into multiple healthcare career tracks if you know where to aim.
Healthcare Coders: Certificate programs (6–12 months), associate degrees (2 years), or bachelor's degrees in health information management. Professional certification from AAPC or AHIMA is strongly recommended and often required by employers.
Healthcare Administrators: Bachelor's degree minimum, master's degree preferred for leadership roles. Programs are offered through schools of public health, business, and health sciences nationwide.
I won't fabricate specific salary figures here, but I can share directional trends. Entry-level coding positions typically offer competitive wages that increase significantly with specialization (for example, risk adjustment coding or surgical coding pays more than general outpatient coding). Healthcare administrators generally earn more at the mid-career and senior levels, reflecting the broader scope of responsibility and the higher educational investment required. Sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently show health services managers among the higher-earning non-clinical healthcare occupations, with strong projected job growth through the end of the decade.
Healthcare Coders: Reviewing medical charts, assigning codes, querying physicians for documentation clarification, staying current with annual code updates, collaborating with billing teams, and auditing for accuracy.
Healthcare Administrators: Attending leadership meetings, managing budgets, analyzing operational data, handling staffing challenges, ensuring Joint Commission or CMS compliance, and communicating with medical staff and board members.
Healthcare coders have one of the strongest remote work profiles in healthcare. Many employers — especially revenue cycle companies and large health systems — offer fully remote coding positions. Healthcare administration is less universally remote, though certain roles (compliance, consulting, project management) can be performed remotely or in hybrid arrangements.
This is the question I help people answer every day on our platform. Here's a framework I find useful:
Consider healthcare coding if:
Consider healthcare administration if:
And if you're coming from an unexpected background — an art therapy degree, a liberal arts education, military service, or another clinical role — don't count yourself out of either path. Healthcare is one of the most transfer-friendly industries in the economy, and the skills you've already built often map more directly than you'd expect.
Not necessarily. Many healthcare coders enter the field through certificate programs or professional certification alone. However, having an associate or bachelor's degree — especially in health information management or health informatics — can open doors to higher-paying positions, supervisory roles, and specialized coding opportunities. I always encourage candidates to start with certification and add education as their career goals evolve.
Healthcare administration encompasses the management and operational leadership of healthcare organizations. Medical coding falls under the broader health information management function, which is one component of healthcare administration. Many healthcare administrators oversee coding departments, revenue cycle operations, or compliance programs that depend on accurate coding. Understanding what's healthcare administration helps coders see the career ladder available to them beyond the coding desk.
Absolutely. An art therapy degree provides clinical exposure, familiarity with diagnostic criteria (especially in behavioral health), and experience navigating healthcare settings. Graduates can pursue coding certification to specialize in behavioral health coding, or they can leverage their organizational and clinical knowledge to transition into healthcare administration roles — particularly in mental health and community health organizations.
Healthcare coding is one of the most remote-friendly careers in all of healthcare. Many organizations were offering remote coding positions well before the pandemic, and that trend has only accelerated. Certified coders with a few years of experience are particularly well-positioned for fully remote roles. On healthcareers.app, we regularly feature remote coding positions from health systems and revenue cycle companies across the country.
The two most recognized credentialing organizations are AAPC (which offers the Certified Professional Coder, or CPC, credential) and AHIMA (which offers the Certified Coding Specialist, or CCS, credential). The CPC is widely recognized in physician-based and outpatient settings, while the CCS is particularly valued in hospital and inpatient environments. Many employers list one or both certifications as a requirement in their job postings.
Healthcare coders and healthcare administrators share something important: they both prove that you don't need a stethoscope to make a meaningful impact on patient care. Whether you're drawn to the precision of translating clinical encounters into coded data or the strategic challenge of leading a healthcare organization, these careers offer stability, growth, and the satisfaction of knowing that the work you do keeps the entire system running. And if you're coming from an unconventional background — even something as seemingly unrelated as an art therapy degree — there's a place for you in this field. We built healthcareers.app to help you find it.
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