Most medical billers and coders entering the profession hold a two-year associate's degree. Because this career path is in high demand, you'll find a variety of schools offering medical billing and coding degree options, including diploma, certificate,associate's and bachelor's degrees.

Employers said such factors as the accreditation of the college or university, the quality of its graduates and the name of the institution awarding the degree were among other things they considered to make an online degree more credible. Not all employers feel the same way, however.

Many online certificate programs in billing and coding can be completed in less than a year, but if you are looking for a degree, an associate degree program is two years, and a bachelor's is four years, classroom or online