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The differences between collections associates and collectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a collections associate and a collector. Additionally, a collections associate has an average salary of $38,589, which is higher than the $34,872 average annual salary of a collector.
The top three skills for a collections associate include phone calls, customer service and UPC. The most important skills for a collector are patients, customer service, and payment arrangements.
| Collections Associate | Collector | |
| Yearly salary | $38,589 | $34,872 |
| Hourly rate | $18.55 | $16.77 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 20,297 | 23,948 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A collections associate is an individual who acts as a liaison between creditors and customers to collect outstanding payments and negotiates debt payments. Collections associates must contact debtors through telephone to negotiate debt recovery and prevent recurring delinquency. They must enact debt recovery plans and collaborate with other departments on debt collection strategies. They are required to research publicly-available resources such as loan documents and background checks to track down defaulters. They must also initiate legal proceedings when debt recovery fails and send statements of delinquency to the credit bureau.
Collectors are responsible for monitoring and providing immediate actions for client accounts with overdue payments. Collectors must be able to contact clients through phone or e-mail. A collector's duty also includes negotiating on payment procedures and offering repayment plans and alternative payment solutions to free the debt. Collectors need to document any agreements made to the client, updating and verifying contact information, resolving account discrepancies and client complaints, and report escalated concerns to the management.
Collections associates and collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Collections Associate | Collector | |
| Average salary | $38,589 | $34,872 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $63,000 | Between $27,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danbury, CT | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Uline |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a collections associate and a collector in terms of educational background:
| Collections Associate | Collector | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between collections associates' and collectors' demographics:
| Collections Associate | Collector | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 3.8% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |