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Credit Counselors
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. May help develop debt management plans or student financial aid packages. May advise on credit issues, or provide budget, mortgage, bankruptcy, or student financial aid counseling.
Also Known As:
Accredited Financial Counselor
Certified Consumer Credit and Housing Counselor
Certified Credit Consultant
Certified Credit Counselor
Certified Credit and Housing Counselor
Credit Counselor
Financial Health Counselor
Housing Counselor
Personal Finance Counselor
Wages
Annual wages for Credit Counselors in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
33,300
5% Change From 2023
Explore Loan Officers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Assess clients' overall financial situations by reviewing income, assets, debts, expenses, credit reports, or other financial information.
- Explain general financial topics to clients, such as credit report ratings, bankruptcy laws, consumer protection laws, wage attachments, or collection actions.
- Disburse funds from client accounts to creditors.
- Explain loan information to clients, such as available loan types, eligibility requirements, or loan restrictions.
- Maintain or update records of client account activity, including financial transactions, counseling session notes, correspondence, document images, or client inquiries.
- Refer clients to social service or community resources for needs beyond those of credit or debt counseling.
- Conduct research to help clients avoid repossessions or foreclosures or remove levies or wage garnishments.
- Create debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets to assist clients to meet financial goals.
- Advise clients or respond to inquiries about financial matters in person or via phone, email, Web site, or Internet chat.
- Create action plans to assist clients in obtaining permanent housing via rent or mortgage programs.
- Interview clients by telephone or in person to gather financial information.
- Advise clients or respond to inquiries about financial matters in person or via phone, email, Web site, or Internet chat.
- Advise clients on housing matters, such as housing rental, homeownership, mortgage delinquency, or foreclosure prevention.
- Prepare written documents to establish contracts with or communicate financial recommendations to clients.
- Explain services or policies to clients, such as debt management program rules, advantages and disadvantages of using services, or creditor concession policies.
- Recommend educational materials or resources to clients on matters, such as financial planning, budgeting, or credit.
- Investigate missing checks, payment histories, held funds, returned checks, or other related issues to resolve client or creditor problems.
- Teach courses or seminars on topics, such as budgeting, management of personal finances, or financial literacy.
- Calculate clients' available monthly income to meet debt obligations.
- Estimate time for debt repayment, given amount of debt, interest rates, and available funds.
- Review changes to financial, family, or employment situations to determine whether changes to existing debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets are needed.
- 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.
- 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.
- Negotiate with creditors on behalf of clients to arrange for payment adjustments, interest rate reductions, time extensions, or payment plans.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")