Credit Counselors
FinanceO*NET 13-2071.00United States
Advise and educate individuals or organizations on acquiring and managing debt. May provide guidance in determining the best type of loan and explain loan requirements or restrictions.
- Median annual earnings
- $52,229
- Projected change
- +6.8%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 33.24K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
40% of the workforce
Growing to 35.5K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What credit counselors do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Calculate clients' available monthly income to meet debt obligations.
- Explain services or policies to clients, such as debt management program rules, advantages and disadvantages of using services, or creditor concession policies.
- Create debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets to assist clients to meet financial goals.
- Recommend strategies for clients to meet their financial goals, such as borrowing money through loans or loan programs, declaring bankruptcy, making budget adjustments, or enrolling in debt management plans.
- Assess clients' overall financial situations by reviewing income, assets, debts, expenses, credit reports, or other financial information.
- Prioritize client debt repayment to avoid dire consequences, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure or to reduce overall costs, such as by paying high-interest or short-term loans first.
- Explain general financial topics to clients, such as credit report ratings, bankruptcy laws, consumer protection laws, wage attachments, or collection actions.
- Interview clients by telephone or in person to gather financial information.
- Estimate time for debt repayment, given amount of debt, interest rates, and available funds.
- Prepare written documents to establish contracts with or communicate financial recommendations to clients.
- Maintain or update records of client account activity, including financial transactions, counseling session notes, correspondence, document images, or client inquiries.
- Negotiate with creditors on behalf of clients to arrange for payment adjustments, interest rate reductions, time extensions, or payment plans.
- Advise clients on housing matters, such as housing rental, homeownership, mortgage delinquency, or foreclosure prevention.
- Create action plans to assist clients in obtaining permanent housing via rent or mortgage programs.
- Advise clients or respond to inquiries about financial matters in person or via phone, email, Web site, or Internet chat.
- Review changes to financial, family, or employment situations to determine whether changes to existing debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets are needed.
- Recommend educational materials or resources to clients on matters, such as financial planning, budgeting, or credit.
- Refer clients to social service or community resources for needs beyond those of credit or debt counseling.
- Explain loan information to clients, such as available loan types, eligibility requirements, or loan restrictions.
- Teach courses or seminars on topics, such as budgeting, management of personal finances, or financial literacy.
- Conduct research to help clients avoid repossessions or foreclosures or remove levies or wage garnishments.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $38,228
- 25th percentile
- $45,619
- 50th percentile
- $52,229
- 75th percentile
- $64,230
- 90th percentile
- $81,090
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $52,229 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+6.8%faster than average
202533,236 jobs
2035 projected35,499 jobs
2,263 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 40%
- High school diploma or less
- 36%
- Certificate
- 12%
- Some college
- 8%
- Associate degree
- 4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Credit Representatives473 postings
- 02Loan Representatives388 postings
- 03Loan Processors236 postings
- 04Loan Servicing Representatives200 postings
- 05Loan Servicing Associates122 postings
- 06Collections Specialists97 postings
- 07Loan Servicers84 postings
- 08Collectors73 postings
- 09Loss Mitigation Specialists71 postings
- 10Commercial Loan Servicers62 postings
- 11Credit Union Managers60 postings
- 12Loan Servicing Supervisors60 postings
- 13Universal Bankers59 postings
- 14Credit Counselors58 postings
- 15Loan Officers/Team Leaders55 postings
- 16Mortgage Servicing Specialists53 postings
- 17Loan Operations Representatives52 postings
- 18Commercial Loan Servicing Specialists47 postings
- 19Loan Assistants45 postings
- 20Member Solutions Specialists43 postings
Top employers
- 011St Franklin Financial345 postings
- 02Farmers Home Furniture178 postings
- 03TEKsystems99 postings
- 04JPMorgan Chase82 postings
- 05Space Coast Credit Union71 postings
- 06Wells Fargo69 postings
- 07OneMain Financial65 postings
- 08Royal Bank of Canada65 postings
- 09Dollar Loan Center63 postings
- 10Huntington Bancshares55 postings
- 11Lendistry43 postings
- 12Redwood Credit Union43 postings
- 13KeyBank41 postings
- 14M&T Bank39 postings
- 15Robert Half38 postings
- 16Bank of America36 postings
- 17Calculated Hire30 postings
- 18PricewaterhouseCoopers29 postings
- 19AppleOne28 postings
- 20Fifth Third Bank28 postings
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