How To Become A Collections Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a collections associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

As a Collection Associate, you are part of the accounts receivable team, and you will act as a liaison between customers and creditors to collect outstanding payments. You will also monitor assigned accounts, contact debtors to recover funds, and negotiate debt payments.

You may also prepare repayment plans, pull credit reports, and make credit decisions offered. A Collection Associate is a challenging position. Sometimes, you will have clients who yell at you or refuse to pay, and you may have to use court procedures to obtain money owed.

Your position can involve working with attorneys and also expect verbal abuse. A high school diploma or GED is required, and math or experience in bookkeeping or accounting will make a good impression.

Most of your training will be on the job, but it is good to take courses in accounting, telephone techniques, credit law, litigating, and insolvency. You can make a yearly salary of $37,000.

ScoreCollections AssociateUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,589

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 3.82%

Black or African American 12.28%

Hispanic or Latino 17.55%

Unknown 4.16%

White 61.70%

Gender

female 65.62%

male 34.38%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a collections associate

Explore collections associate education requirements

Most common collections associate degrees

Bachelor's

43.3 %

Associate

23.4 %

High School Diploma

18.2 %

Start to develop specific collections associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Phone Calls	16.43%
Customer Service	14.37%
UPC	10.19%
Time Card	7.49%
Retail Store	7.20%

Complete relevant collections associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New collections associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a collections associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real collections associate resumes.

Research collections associate duties and responsibilities

Plan and conduct sensitive HUMINT collection operations with an emphasis on managing and debriefing confidential sources.
Perform follow up on Medicaid accounts.
Execute assertive collection skills for inbound/outbound calls while meeting FDCPA guidelines.
Call center collections following FDCPA guidelines for third party outbound collections.

Prepare your collections associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your collections associate resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable collections associate resume templates

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