In the second decade of the 21st century, work in the areas of account and bill collecting is projected to increase by nearly 20%. This represents a significant growth over the average for all types of jobs. A college degree is not required to become an account or bill collector. Job applicants with customer service experience will have an advantage over those without. There are approximately 500,000 collectors working in the United States. Of these, between 100,000 and 125,000 are employed in business support services. Nineteen percent work for financial or insurance groups and 18 % work for healthcare and social assistance providers.

There are two types of collectors:

• In-house
• Third-party

Third-party collection agencies employ account and bill collectors who are assigned collections when their agency purchases delinquent accounts from the original lender.
In-house collectors work for lenders, credit card companies, hospitals, utility companies, and mortgage lenders. In all cases, the work is the same. A collector is given a delinquent account.
Working with as much (or as little) information as they are given, collectors must locate debtors and alert them by telephone or in writing the amount of their debt and that they intend to collect it. When the parties have moved, collectors skip trace their location using sources such as the post office, credit bureaus, previous neighbors, and telephone companies.

Collecting outstanding debt can be difficult. Successful collectors know that learning the cause of the failure to pay helps them approach the debtor. Often, they are able to arrange a plan for repayment, reduce the interest amount, or otherwise help consumers who have overdue balances.

Assuming an acceptable repayment plan is established, one of the collector’s tasks is to follow up and confirm payment has indeed been made. If not, the collector must complete paperwork which notifies the credit department of the continuing delinquency. Some collectors are authorized to start the repossession process, interrupt service, or given the information to attorneys. Collectors must be cognizant of both federal and state rules and regulation regarding debt collection. Most companies organize the state and federal rules and regulations electronically to avoid collector error.

Collectors working for collection agencies generally operate from a call center. Those who are in-house work in an administrative center setting. Most of the work day is allocated to locating and contacting debtors. Call or dollar goals are often set, either by the hour, the day, or the work week. The hours are generally flexible because collectors are needed to work evenings and weekends.

Collectors must realize that many people feel angry or ashamed of their debt. Debtors may attempt to blame the company, using the collector as the representative. They may not be entirely truthful, and offer false information that ultimately leads nowhere. In order to succeed, collectors must possess a great deal of patience while remaining firm. Those who tend to take rejection personally are better off in another field.

While a college education is not required, most companies prefer that job applicants have experience working with consumers. Nearly all collection companies and in-house businesses provide on-the-job training. In addition to learning specialized software, effective negotiation skills and people skills are taught. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other applicable state laws are reviewed, as well.

Since delinquent accounts in healthcare and financial services are common, new collection jobs are constantly being developed in these areas. In-house bill collectors assume some of this workload. The remainder is sold to collection agencies. Affecting collections job growth is the degree of offshore outsourcing. However, domestic collectors have a higher success rate of debt recovery. Bear in mind that during times of national economic hardship, collections jobs multiply.

The median hourly earnings of account and bill collectors average approximately $15 per hour. At the high end, 10% of collectors earn a little under $25 per hour. At the low end, earnings are a little over $10 per hour. Added to this amount are commissions. The longer a collector works in this type of job, the more experience will be gained, resulting in increased commissions. The more successful a collector, the larger the accounts they are given and the more they will make in commissions. Advancement possibilities include supervisory or team leader positions.