Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between credit clerks and debt collectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a credit clerk, becoming a debt collector takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a debt collector has an average salary of $33,865, which is higher than the $32,870 average annual salary of a credit clerk.
The top three skills for a credit clerk include data entry, customer service and customer accounts. The most important skills for a debt collector are customer service, outbound calls, and payment arrangements.
| Credit Clerk | Debt Collector | |
| Yearly salary | $32,870 | $33,865 |
| Hourly rate | $15.80 | $16.28 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 86,922 | 23,385 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 51 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Credit clerks control their company's credit and collection policies and daily procedures. They use the database to improve their organization's collections and maintain records for internal control and compliance. They deal with collecting, investigating, analyzing, and correcting disputed accounts to serve customers better and increase their collection rate. These clerks work with a credit manager to identify which accounts need to be written off for bad debt and solve complex cases that require special collection attention. They sometimes negotiate with customers to discuss the terms of payment for their unpaid balances.
Debt collectors are also known as collection agencies and are responsible for recovering past due debts. Most of them are hired by companies to collect debt either for a fee or a percentage of the total amount recovered. Also, some debt collectors buy delinquent debts at a discount and seek to collect the debt's full amount. They have many strategies to collect debts, including calling debtor's phones, sending letters, and even visiting them at their home. However, if debtors fail to pay their due, debt collectors can either update the debtor's credit report or sue them over debt. Once sued and debtors ignore court hearings and lose by default, results could either be garnishment on debtor'debtors' wages or levies on their bank.
Credit clerks and debt collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Credit Clerk | Debt Collector | |
| Average salary | $32,870 | $33,865 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $40,000 | Between $26,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, OR | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | JBS USA | Mayor Ethan Berkowitz |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Construction |
There are a few differences between a credit clerk and a debt collector in terms of educational background:
| Credit Clerk | Debt Collector | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between credit clerks' and debt collectors' demographics:
| Credit Clerk | Debt Collector | |
| Average age | 51 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7% | Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |