Debt collectors are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, debt collectors rate their career happiness 2.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 1% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy debt collectors are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Loan officer | 2.5 | $63k |
| Underwriter | 2.5 | $76k |
| Teller | 2.5 | $36k |
| Auditor | 2.5 | $77k |
| Insurance sales agent | 2.3 | $50k |
| Debt collector | 2.2 | $38k |
| Insurance appraiser | 2.1 | $63k |
| Telemarketer | 1.8 | $29k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are debt collectors happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do debt collectors find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as debt collectors?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are debt collector’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are debt collectors making the best use of their abilities?
Are debt collectors happy with their salary?
Debt collectors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.7/5. Debt collectors tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked debt collectors how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
624 debt collectors
8% of debt collectors rated their compensation 5 stars
20% of debt collectors rated their compensation 4 stars
28% of debt collectors rated their compensation 3 stars
23% of debt collectors rated their compensation 2 stars
21% of debt collectors rated their compensation 1 stars
Do debt collectors find their jobs meaningful?
On average, debt collectors rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.8/5. The majority of debt collectors struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked debt collectors how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.8 out of 5 stars
623 debt collectors
3% of debt collectors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
5% of debt collectors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
14% of debt collectors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
27% of debt collectors rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
51% of debt collectors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as debt collectors?
Debt collectors rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.1/5. The majority of debt collectors don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked debt collectors how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
663 debt collectors
17% of debt collectors rated their career fit 5 stars
27% of debt collectors rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of debt collectors rated their career fit 3 stars
17% of debt collectors rated their career fit 2 stars
15% of debt collectors rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a debt collector’s work environment?
As a whole, debt collectors rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.9/5. Some debt collectors are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked debt collectors how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
662 debt collectors
12% of debt collectors rated their work environment 5 stars
24% of debt collectors rated their work environment 4 stars
26% of debt collectors rated their work environment 3 stars
21% of debt collectors rated their work environment 2 stars
17% of debt collectors rated their work environment 1 stars
Are debt collectors making the best use of their abilities?
Former debt collectors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.3/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a debt collector.
We asked debt collectors how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.3 out of 5 stars
667 debt collectors
5% of debt collectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
13% of debt collectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
21% of debt collectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
29% of debt collectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
32% of debt collectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars