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The differences between debt collectors and accounts receivable specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a debt collector and an accounts receivable specialist. Additionally, an accounts receivable specialist has an average salary of $39,873, which is higher than the $33,865 average annual salary of a debt collector.
The top three skills for a debt collector include customer service, outbound calls and payment arrangements. The most important skills for an accounts receivable specialist are customer service, patients, and data entry.
| Debt Collector | Accounts Receivable Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,865 | $39,873 |
| Hourly rate | $16.28 | $19.17 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 23,385 | 61,988 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
Accounts receivable specialists are members of the organization's finance or accounting department. They are responsible for managing the collection of payments for the company. They prepare official receipts and coordinate with account payable specialists from other companies with pending payables. They ensure that clients pay on time, and they also follow up on payments when necessary. They are responsible for checking whether the clients have already paid in full. Accounts receivable specialists are in charge of updating accounting records as well to ensure that client records are up to date.
Debt collectors and accounts receivable specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Debt Collector | Accounts Receivable Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,865 | $39,873 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $31,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Mayor Ethan Berkowitz | InfosysPublicService |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Technology |
There are a few differences between a debt collector and an accounts receivable specialist in terms of educational background:
| Debt Collector | Accounts Receivable Specialist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between debt collectors' and accounts receivable specialists' demographics:
| Debt Collector | Accounts Receivable Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3% | Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 3.9% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |