Welcome back to debt collection 101, your beginner’s guide to debt collection. In articles one and two, I wrote about the different types of debt collectors, how debt collectors will locate a consumer, and what they will do when they contact the consumer. In article three I described the strict rules and regulations that debt collectors, particularly third party debt collectors must abide by when they make each phone call.

In article four I spoke about what the job of a collection agent is like, and in article five I wrote about the expectations that bill collectors are generally required to meet on the job. Now I will write about the perks of being a debt collector, and what the collections industry can expect to see in the future.

The important thing for any debt collector just starting the job to keep in mind is to hang in there: the amount of experience that a debt collector gains is directly proportional to their rate of success, and more success, means more money in commissions. There is much growth potential for collection agents, as collectors who are successful will usually get bigger accounts that come with opportunities to earn more money.

In addition, collectors who have additional experience, training and skills are more likely to climb up the ladder. The majority of debt collectors work forty hours per week, with some working evenings and weekends, others working part time. Generally, the work schedules of a debt collector are pretty flexible.

In the year of 2008, studies showed that there were almost 411,000 collection agents. Twenty five percent were hired by businesses, nineteen percent were working for financial and insurance agencies, and eighteen percent were employed in the health care field. Researchers expect the amount of debt collection jobs to grow at a rate faster than the average of all other occupations. It is projected to grow by a staggering nineteen percent from 2008 to 2018. These researchers expect that new jobs will be created in industries like health care and financial services, and that jobs will grow for both in house bill collectors and third party collection agencies.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on national collection agencies.