Collections technician vs collections specialist

The differences between collections technicians and collections specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a collections technician, becoming a collections specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a collections specialist has an average salary of $35,164, which is higher than the $32,521 average annual salary of a collections technician.

The top three skills for a collections technician include physical exams, phlebotomy procedures and customer service. The most important skills for a collections specialist are customer service, patients, and customer accounts.

Collections technician vs collections specialist overview

	Collections Technician	Collections Specialist
Yearly salary	$32,521	$35,164
Hourly rate	$15.64	$16.91
Growth rate	10%	-8%
Number of jobs	29,390	40,277
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	41	46
Years of experience	2	12

What does a collections technician do?

Generally, collections technicians take responsibility for collecting and managing outstanding accounts receivables from customers and clients. The technicians may work as health his/her torians for blood donations. They train other collection technicians on the procedures and protocols of the company. Part of their job is to demonstrate excellent customer service skills associated with external and internal customers. They take part in team-building or programs in different work environments and also data entry.

What does a collections specialist do?

As their name entails, collections specialists collect payments for the outstanding accounts receivables. Collections specialists list the names of those who were unable to pay their overdue bills based on their delinquency severity. They locate the customers through loan documents, background checks, credit bureau information, and other databases or paperwork. These specialists are expected to be excellent in their negotiation and communication skills. They should also be trustworthy, reliable, and act professionally to be considered as good specialists.

Collections technician vs collections specialist salary

Collections technicians and collections specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Collections Technician	Collections Specialist
Average salary	$32,521	$35,164
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $40,000	Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Santa Monica, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Clean Harbors	Kent Daniels & Associates
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between collections technician and collections specialist education

There are a few differences between a collections technician and a collections specialist in terms of educational background:

	Collections Technician	Collections Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 24%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Business
Most common college	-	-

Collections technician vs collections specialist demographics

Here are the differences between collections technicians' and collections specialists' demographics:

	Collections Technician	Collections Specialist
Average age	41	46
Gender ratio	Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8%	Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between collections technician and collections specialist duties and responsibilities

Collections technician example responsibilities.

Identify 2RBC products target for monthly QC or validation activities.
Set up mobile blood drives, maintain and perform daily QC on equipment.
Process, prepare, label, and store the units of blood to the FDA regulations.
Perform venipuncture and collect specimens in appropriate vials.
Demonstrate knowledge of a proficiency in venipuncture and capillary techniques.
Follow federal and state regulations including HIPPA to maintain patient confidentiality.

Collections specialist example responsibilities.

Manage university A/R processes and enforce tuition payment policy.
Manage accounts for healthcare clients, review detailed patient information for payment resolution while abiding HIPPA privacy and security regulations.
Review denied Medicare and Maine Medicaid insurance claims for accuracy.
Analyze hospital insurance claims of individual patients for errors and contact major insurance carriers for claims dispute resolution.
Analyze accounts for patients ineligible for private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid and indicating inability to pay balance.
Possess effective persuasion and negotiation skills, excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to deliver quality customer service.

Collections technician vs collections specialist skills

Common collections technician skills

Physical Exams, 45%
Phlebotomy Procedures, 7%
Customer Service, 7%
Vital Signs, 4%
Venipuncture, 4%
Data Entry, 4%

Common collections specialist skills

Customer Service, 23%
Patients, 8%
Customer Accounts, 6%
Payment Arrangements, 5%
Delinquent Accounts, 4%
Phone Calls, 4%

Collections Technician vs. similar jobs

Collections Technician related careers

Collections Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Collections Technician
Collections Technician vs Collections Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare support jobs