There's no state exam for medical coding, but there are two credentialing organizations recognized by the medical community: AHIMA (CCS) and AAPC (CPC). They have other credentials that they certify, but those are the ones most widely preferred in job searches.
Most job postings do ask for experience, but employers aren’t just looking for years worked somewhere. They are also looking at whether the applicant can pass a pre-employment coding assessment and then explain the coding process clearly and methodically in the interview. They also aren't able to find experienced coders with the credentials they're looking for and the ability to test well on the pre-employment coding assessments, and some of the experienced coders don't interview well. So that means that if the new graduate has good skills, advanced skills enough so that they believe they will be able to do the work that needs to be done, they will interview and test them. That's how our graduates get (and keep) actual coding jobs when many others don't.
Advanced-level training, especially when a graduate has both the CPC and the CCS, puts that person in a much stronger position to test well, get the interview, and then show the employer how they go through the coding process.
Is it easy? Not usually. Yes, occasionally a graduate will get the first job they apply for, but most of the time it takes several months and an aggressive job search. Our graduates have a 96-98% placement rate. Many of our graduates get remote jobs as their first coding jobs. Not always, but often. I would estimate about 40-60% of the time.