Debt counselor vs account specialist

The differences between debt counselors and account 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 debt counselor, becoming an account specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an account specialist has an average salary of $42,586, which is higher than the $37,932 average annual salary of a debt counselor.

The top three skills for a debt counselor include outbound calls, inbound calls and customer service. The most important skills for an account specialist are customer service, patients, and account management.

Debt counselor vs account specialist overview

	Debt Counselor	Account Specialist
Yearly salary	$37,932	$42,586
Hourly rate	$18.24	$20.47
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	27,258	116,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	2	12

Debt counselor vs account specialist salary

Debt counselors and account specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Debt Counselor	Account Specialist
Average salary	$37,932	$42,586
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Virginia
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between debt counselor and account specialist education

There are a few differences between a debt counselor and an account specialist in terms of educational background:

	Debt Counselor	Account Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Debt counselor vs account specialist demographics

Here are the differences between debt counselors' and account specialists' demographics:

	Debt Counselor	Account Specialist
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 6.1% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between debt counselor and account specialist duties and responsibilities

Debt counselor example responsibilities.

Manage patient focuse reports, collection modules, provider/facility A/R, collections, patient discharge letters.
Comply with all of the FDCPA guidelines.
Perform numerous acts of repossession and litigation on a daily basis.
Complete standard legal garnishment forms for review, and forward to litigation department.
Provide administrative support by the filing electronic claims to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers for emergency and non-emergency transports.
Utilize FDCRA and NFCC guidelines.

Account specialist example responsibilities.

Cultivate productive long-term relationships with all assign accounts, and manage all reporting and presentation needs for RFP's.
Manage a portfolio of accounts end to end RFP program execution inclusive of pricing, contracting, process and technology solutions.
Manage the daily correspondence from assign practices with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
Deliver exceptional customer service to hospital accounts and internal sales representatives in accordance to revenue recognition policies and HIPAA regulations.
Experience with CMS 1500 and UB-04 claims using HCPC/CPT codes as well as NDC codes
Monitor CMS and real time aux codes.

Debt counselor vs account specialist skills

Common debt counselor skills

Outbound Calls, 20%
Inbound Calls, 15%
Customer Service, 14%
Delinquent Accounts, 9%
Payment Arrangements, 6%
Credit Reports, 4%

Common account specialist skills

Customer Service, 25%
Patients, 13%
Account Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
Catheter, 3%