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What is a senior collection specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

To repurpose the old saying "there are two things that people absolutely need to do in life, and that's die and pay their debts," a senior collection specialist makes sure that people do the latter. They usually work for a financial institution and ensure that the company collects its debts from the people that owe it money.

The day-to-day tasks of a senior collection specialist can vary depending on the company's needs. They can send collection notices, communicate with customers, and track data about collections. A senior collection specialist usually oversees a whole team of collection workers, trains new hires, and develops procedures to help the department work more efficiently.

Senior collection specialists need to have excellent customer service skills in order to communicate with account holders. Usually they have previous experience working with customer accounts, for example as a collector. These types of skills are usually learned on the job, in fact most senior collection specialists don't have bachelor's degrees.

ScoreSenior Collection SpecialistUS Average
Salary
3.5

Avg. Salary $45,150

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.9

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.9
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.48%

Asian 3.51%

Black or African American 12.30%

Hispanic or Latino 20.94%

Unknown 3.99%

White 58.78%

Gender

female 59.60%

male 40.40%

Age - 46
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46
Stress level
7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance
7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Senior collection specialist career paths

Key steps to become a senior collection specialist

  1. Explore senior collection specialist education requirements

    Most common senior collection specialist degrees

    Bachelor's

    41.0 %

    Associate

    29.2 %

    High School Diploma

    16.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior collection specialist skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Portfolio8.76%
    Customer Service7.54%
    Past Due Accounts7.53%
    Delinquent Accounts6.08%
    Customer Accounts5.84%
  3. Complete relevant senior collection specialist training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior collection specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior collection specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior collection specialist resumes.
  4. Research senior collection specialist duties and responsibilities

    • Manage re-billings for third party accounts including: commercial carriers, manage care, PPO, POS and HMO organizations.
    • Work comp, MV cases, Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurances.
    • Follow Medicare guidelines, posses knowledge of ICD and CPT coding, medical and reimbursement terminology, third party billing
    • Cross train fellow agents in store support and online product matrix, and train incoming agents in software and FDCPA guidelines.
  5. Get senior collection specialist experience

    Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a senior collection specialist. The most common roles before becoming a senior collection specialist include collections specialist, customer service representative team lead and collector.
  6. Prepare your senior collection specialist resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior collection specialist resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior collection specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior collection specialist resume templates

    Build a professional senior collection specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior collection specialist resume.
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
    Senior Collection Specialist Resume
  7. Apply for senior collection specialist jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior collection specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior collection specialist job

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Average senior collection specialist salary

The average senior collection specialist salary in the United States is $45,150 per year or $22 per hour. Senior collection specialist salaries range between $33,000 and $61,000 per year.

Average senior collection specialist salary
$45,150 Yearly
$21.71 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do senior collection specialists rate their job?

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Senior collection specialist reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

Resolving problems and the everyday challenge


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Cons

I have nothing I did not like I enjoy my job and sad that I can't continue to collect. The company sold out.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Cons

There is. Nothing I dont like!


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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