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Collector vs recovery specialist

The differences between collectors and recovery specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a recovery specialist has an average salary of $51,598, which is higher than the $34,872 average annual salary of a collector.

The top three skills for a collector include patients, customer service and payment arrangements. The most important skills for a recovery specialist are customer service, mental health, and patients.

Collector vs recovery specialist overview

CollectorRecovery Specialist
Yearly salary$34,872$51,598
Hourly rate$16.77$24.81
Growth rate-8%-
Number of jobs23,9481,905
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age4624
Years of experience12-

What does a collector do?

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.

What does a recovery specialist do?

A recovery specialist has various responsibilities depending on their line of work or industry. In a business setting, a recovery specialist is in-charge of devising plans and strategies to protect a company or brand's networks, systems, data, hardware, and software. They primarily function to prevent damages or losses by implementing precautionary and corrective measures. Furthermore, a recovery specialist needs to coordinate with co-workers and team members, report to a manager or supervisor, and adhere to its policies and standards.

Collector vs recovery specialist salary

Collectors and recovery specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

CollectorRecovery Specialist
Average salary$34,872$51,598
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $44,000Between $24,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CityLos Angeles, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateAlaskaNew York
Best paying companyUlinePrime Healthcare
Best paying industryFinance-

Differences between collector and recovery specialist education

There are a few differences between a collector and a recovery specialist in terms of educational background:

CollectorRecovery Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Collector vs recovery specialist demographics

Here are the differences between collectors' and recovery specialists' demographics:

CollectorRecovery Specialist
Average age4624
Gender ratioMale, 36.0% Female, 64.0%Male, 39.3% Female, 60.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 14.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage8%4%

Differences between collector and recovery specialist duties and responsibilities

Collector example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient focuse reports, collection modules, provider/facility A/R, collections, patient discharge letters.
  • Monitor all assign accounts by reviewing the client's aging, manage all potential bad debit, DSO, aging.
  • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
  • Provide customer service via telephone and correspondence for patients and authorize representatives regarding outstanding patient accounts in accordance with facility protocol.
  • Verify and run eligibility on the following insurance, Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal HMO, Medicare, Medicare HMO.
  • Provide excellent customer service while following HIPPA confidentiality laws.
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Recovery specialist example responsibilities.

  • Train and supervise newly recruit sailors to meet standard qualifications and achieve certifications.
  • Direct the defense and resolution of dispute liability in arbitration proceedings in order to minimize payout or achieve recovery.
  • Operate, maintain, and perform organizational maintenance on ground-handling equipment used for moving and hoisting of aircraft ashore and afloat.
  • Conduct daily intervention and formal groups, individual counseling, crisis intervention, behavioral programming and auxiliary support activities for patients.
  • Develop, organize and implement psychiatric rehabilitation group activities that address the need of persons with severe and persistent mental illness.
  • Supervise a team of sailors to perform maintenance on firefighting and life-saving equipment after every use; or manufacture recommendation interval.
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Collector vs recovery specialist skills

Common collector skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Payment Arrangements, 10%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 9%
  • Delinquent Accounts, 8%
  • Student Loans, 5%
Common recovery specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • Mental Health, 12%
  • Patients, 10%
  • Substance Abuse, 8%
  • Rehabilitation, 7%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%

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