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The differences between collections associates and medical 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 medical collector. Additionally, a collections associate has an average salary of $38,589, which is higher than the $36,235 average annual salary of a medical collector.
The top three skills for a collections associate include phone calls, customer service and UPC. The most important skills for a medical collector are patients, healthcare, and customer service.
| Collections Associate | Medical Collector | |
| Yearly salary | $38,589 | $36,235 |
| Hourly rate | $18.55 | $17.42 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 20,297 | 73,797 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 24% |
| 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.
A medical collector deals with collection of bills related to medical services. They handle healthcare-related debt, collect patient insurance information, and develop repayment plans to accommodate debtors that are unable to settle their accounts. Qualifications for this position include knowledge of accounting and training in insurance, business or finance.
Collections associates and medical collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Collections Associate | Medical Collector | |
| Average salary | $38,589 | $36,235 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $63,000 | Between $30,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danbury, CT | Arlington Heights, IL |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Illinois |
| Best paying company | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Addison Group |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a collections associate and a medical collector in terms of educational background:
| Collections Associate | Medical Collector | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 24% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between collections associates' and medical collectors' demographics:
| Collections Associate | Medical Collector | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% | Male, 18.0% Female, 82.0% |
| 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, 13.6% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 22.6% Asian, 3.3% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |