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The differences between mortgage underwriters and brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a broker has an average salary of $124,861, which is higher than the $55,721 average annual salary of a mortgage underwriter.
The top three skills for a mortgage underwriter include customer service, work ethic and FHA. The most important skills for a broker are brokerage, financial services, and insurance products.
| Mortgage Underwriter | Broker | |
| Yearly salary | $55,721 | $124,861 |
| Hourly rate | $26.79 | $60.03 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 9,260 | 2,770 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 45 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A mortgage underwriter is responsible for reviewing mortgage loan applications and deciding on its approval or rejection by evaluating the submitted documents and the applicant's eligibility. Mortgage underwriters create assessment reports, research on the applicant's credit score, analyze potential loan risk, and request for additional documentation as needed. A mortgage underwriter must have extensive knowledge of the loan disciplines and processes, including its legislative procedures and regulations, to provide accurate decisions or discuss necessary findings to the loan officer for advice.
Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.
Mortgage underwriters and brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mortgage Underwriter | Broker | |
| Average salary | $55,721 | $124,861 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $80,000 | Between $68,000 And $227,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | New York |
| Best paying company | CTBC Bank | Child Guidance & Family Solutions |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a mortgage underwriter and a broker in terms of educational background:
| Mortgage Underwriter | Broker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between mortgage underwriters' and brokers' demographics:
| Mortgage Underwriter | Broker | |
| Average age | 45 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.3% Female, 60.7% | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 13% |