Debt counselor vs collector

The differences between debt counselors and collectors 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 a collector takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a debt counselor has an average salary of $37,932, which is higher than the $34,872 average annual salary of a collector.

The top three skills for a debt counselor include outbound calls, inbound calls and customer service. The most important skills for a collector are patients, customer service, and payment arrangements.

Debt counselor vs collector overview

	Debt Counselor	Collector
Yearly salary	$37,932	$34,872
Hourly rate	$18.24	$16.77
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	27,258	23,948
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	2	12

Debt counselor vs collector salary

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

	Debt Counselor	Collector
Average salary	$37,932	$34,872
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $27,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Uline
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between debt counselor and collector education

There are a few differences between a debt counselor and a collector in terms of educational background:

	Debt Counselor	Collector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Debt counselor vs collector demographics

Here are the differences between debt counselors' and collectors' demographics:

	Debt Counselor	Collector
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%
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, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between debt counselor and collector 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.

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.

Debt counselor vs collector skills

Common debt counselor skills

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

Common collector skills

Patients, 14%
Customer Service, 10%
Payment Arrangements, 10%
Excellent Interpersonal, 9%
Delinquent Accounts, 8%
Student Loans, 5%