Hiring Credit Counselors

What do credit counselors do?

• 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.
• 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.
• Assess clients' overall financial situations by reviewing income, assets, debts, expenses, credit reports, or other financial information.
• 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.

Core tasks, O*NET OnLine, 13-2071.00.

What does it take to become one?

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

O*NET Job Zone 4, SVP (7.0 to < 8.0). O*NET OnLine.

Employers commonly list experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access for this role.

What do credit counselors get paid?

BLS OEWS, May 2025 publishes a wage for credit counselors in 68 of the metro areas in this build. The median ranges from $40,080 to $82,570 a year depending on the metro, with a midpoint of $54,150. This is what employers pay, place of work, not a single national figure and not what any one person takes home.

BLS OEWS, BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2071.

What does hiring one cost?

The same as any role: tier, not location or salary, sets the fee. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340 per search. For scale, the highest published median for credit counselors in this build is $82,570. A contingency firm hiring at that level would bill roughly $16,514 to $24,771 on the first year salary alone, 20 to 30%.

Frequently asked

How fast can a credit counselors search fill?

23 to 35 days, 2 to 3x faster than a typical contingency search, per the recruiting provider's published figures.

What if the hire does not work out?

A 45-day replacement guarantee, at 50% off a repeat search for the same role.