Debt counselor vs data collector

The differences between debt counselors and data 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 data collector takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a debt counselor has an average salary of $37,932, which is higher than the $35,626 average annual salary of a data collector.

The top three skills for a debt counselor include outbound calls, inbound calls and customer service. The most important skills for a data collector are audit type, grocery store, and retail store.

Debt counselor vs data collector overview

	Debt Counselor	Data Collector
Yearly salary	$37,932	$35,626
Hourly rate	$18.24	$17.13
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	27,258	80,812
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	2	12

Debt counselor vs data collector salary

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

	Debt Counselor	Data Collector
Average salary	$37,932	$35,626
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $31,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	EDC
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between debt counselor and data collector education

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

	Debt Counselor	Data Collector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Debt counselor vs data collector demographics

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

	Debt Counselor	Data Collector
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%	Male, 40.6% Female, 59.4%
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, 13.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between debt counselor and data 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.

Data collector example responsibilities.

Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Collect from all insurances (HMO, PPO, and MEDICARE).
Attend trainings and abide by HIPAA regulations.
Collect from insurance companies (PPO and Medicare).
Execute database queries in SQL in response to client requests.
Collect pricing information in grocery, office, pet and mass retailers

Debt counselor vs data 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 data collector skills

Audit Type, 31%
Grocery Store, 17%
Retail Store, 16%
UPC, 10%
PET, 8%
Inter-Rater Reliability, 2%