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The differences between loan specialists and collections specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a loan specialist, becoming a collections specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a loan specialist has an average salary of $43,081, which is higher than the $35,164 average annual salary of a collections specialist.
The top three skills for a loan specialist include loan applications, customer service and financial statements. The most important skills for a collections specialist are customer service, patients, and customer accounts.
| Loan Specialist | Collections Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $43,081 | $35,164 |
| Hourly rate | $20.71 | $16.91 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 29,041 | 40,277 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A loan specialist is in charge of processing loans to make transactions easier for the clients. They usually work in banks, lending firms, and other financial institutions. One of their primary responsibilities is to guide clients to understand what program works best for them, assist in filling out forms, gathering requirements, and verifying authenticity. There are also instances where a loan specialist must discern whether a client can uphold financial obligations using the information collected. Furthermore, it is also their responsibility to produce and submit reports to creditors or lenders.
As their name entails, collections specialists collect payments for the outstanding accounts receivables. Collections specialists list the names of those who were unable to pay their overdue bills based on their delinquency severity. They locate the customers through loan documents, background checks, credit bureau information, and other databases or paperwork. These specialists are expected to be excellent in their negotiation and communication skills. They should also be trustworthy, reliable, and act professionally to be considered as good specialists.
Loan specialists and collections specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Loan Specialist | Collections Specialist | |
| Average salary | $43,081 | $35,164 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $68,000 | Between $27,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mount Laurel, NJ | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | FNB | Kent Daniels & Associates |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a loan specialist and a collections specialist in terms of educational background:
| Loan Specialist | Collections Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between loan specialists' and collections specialists' demographics:
| Loan Specialist | Collections Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.9% Female, 69.1% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |