Debt counselor vs debt collector

The differences between debt counselors and debt 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 debt collector takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a debt counselor has an average salary of $37,932, which is higher than the $33,865 average annual salary of a debt collector.

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

Debt counselor vs debt collector overview

	Debt Counselor	Debt Collector
Yearly salary	$37,932	$33,865
Hourly rate	$18.24	$16.28
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	27,258	23,385
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	High School Diploma, 34%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	2	12

Debt counselor vs debt collector salary

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

	Debt Counselor	Debt Collector
Average salary	$37,932	$33,865
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $51,000	Between $26,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz
Best paying industry	-	Construction

Differences between debt counselor and debt collector education

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

	Debt Counselor	Debt Collector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	High School Diploma, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Debt counselor vs debt collector demographics

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

	Debt Counselor	Debt Collector
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%	Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3%
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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between debt counselor and debt 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.

Debt collector example responsibilities.

Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Work with FHA, obama programs at the time.
Educate customers on ways to get medical assistance such as Medicaid, Medicare etc.
Prevent foreclosure by putting people on repayment plans, submitting requests for modifications, or deed in lieu.
File Medicaid, Medicare and commercial claims consisting of PPO discounts, nurse practitioner discounts, humanitarian discounts, etc.
Maintain security and confidentiality of company and client information, following FDCPA regulations.

Debt counselor vs debt 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 debt collector skills

Customer Service, 9%
Outbound Calls, 9%
Payment Arrangements, 8%
Delinquent Accounts, 8%
Credit Card Payments, 6%
FDCPA, 5%