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The differences between debt 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 $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 a recovery specialist are customer service, mental health, and patients.
| Debt Collector | Recovery Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,865 | $51,598 |
| Hourly rate | $16.28 | $24.81 |
| Growth rate | -8% | - |
| Number of jobs | 23,385 | 1,905 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 46 | 24 |
| Years of experience | 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.
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.
Debt collectors and recovery specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Debt Collector | Recovery Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,865 | $51,598 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $24,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Mayor Ethan Berkowitz | Prime Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | Construction | - |
There are a few differences between a debt collector and a recovery specialist in terms of educational background:
| Debt Collector | Recovery Specialist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between debt collectors' and recovery specialists' demographics:
| Debt Collector | Recovery Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 24 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3% | Male, 39.3% Female, 60.7% |
| 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, 14.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 4% |