Bill and Account Collectors
Also called: Collector, Debt Collector, Patient Access Specialist, Patient Account RepresentativeLocate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account, preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond, initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection, and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 11 of its 15 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 10.4% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 45% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $40,330 | $36,740 to $46,970 | 2,090 |
| Alaska | $60,810 | $48,630 to $63,450 | 310 |
| Arizona | $47,740 | $42,890 to $55,560 | 6,300 |
| Arkansas | $39,110 | $34,930 to $46,020 | 850 |
| California | $57,930 | $47,130 to $69,840 | 13,880 |
| Colorado | $50,090 | $42,630 to $60,620 | 1,670 |
| Connecticut | $57,930 | $48,010 to $64,840 | 900 |
| Delaware | $46,680 | $40,720 to $56,520 | 990 |
| District of Columbia | $62,230 | $58,160 to $84,990 | 240 |
| Florida | $46,410 | $39,280 to $52,380 | 13,180 |
| Georgia | $46,300 | $38,370 to $53,890 | 5,280 |
| Guam | $37,320 | $29,040 to $39,790 | 70 |
| Hawaii | $53,570 | $47,910 to $61,630 | 180 |
| Idaho | $41,880 | $37,990 to $49,340 | 510 |
| Illinois | $48,140 | $42,880 to $57,400 | 5,080 |
| Indiana | $45,240 | $39,060 to $50,180 | 2,690 |
| Iowa | $46,000 | $37,950 to $59,530 | 830 |
| Kansas | $45,760 | $37,110 to $53,700 | 1,350 |
| Kentucky | $48,330 | $42,060 to $55,950 | 1,740 |
| Louisiana | $39,130 | $35,730 to $47,100 | 1,690 |
| Maine | $48,890 | $46,290 to $56,860 | 410 |
| Maryland | $50,010 | $46,180 to $61,500 | 2,090 |
| Massachusetts | $59,800 | $50,780 to $63,720 | 2,510 |
| Michigan | $47,130 | $39,220 to $55,050 | 2,990 |
| Minnesota | $49,580 | $38,300 to $62,590 | 2,860 |
| Mississippi | $37,680 | $32,290 to $45,900 | 1,150 |
| Missouri | $41,760 | $34,230 to $51,100 | 3,770 |
| Montana | $45,420 | $40,610 to $49,930 | 640 |
| Nebraska | $43,210 | $37,000 to $48,210 | 730 |
| Nevada | $48,750 | $42,590 to $49,960 | 2,350 |
| New Hampshire | $44,450 | $40,430 to $54,390 | 1,120 |
| New Jersey | $52,510 | $45,210 to $62,130 | 3,310 |
| New Mexico | $46,560 | $41,020 to $54,840 | 440 |
| New York | $47,170 | $39,290 to $59,530 | 8,800 |
| North Carolina | $42,910 | $32,370 to $48,980 | 5,460 |
| North Dakota | $46,660 | $37,910 to $51,490 | 270 |
| Ohio | $46,230 | $37,590 to $54,610 | 6,620 |
| Oklahoma | $44,820 | $34,750 to $52,880 | 1,740 |
| Oregon | $50,880 | $47,220 to $59,480 | 830 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,660 | $39,440 to $56,150 | 6,680 |
| Puerto Rico | $25,570 | $22,380 to $29,570 | 2,850 |
| Rhode Island | $52,000 | $47,180 to $59,630 | 370 |
| South Carolina | $43,140 | $37,450 to $48,730 | 4,430 |
| South Dakota | $46,620 | $39,370 to $48,720 | 1,120 |
| Tennessee | $40,920 | $36,490 to $48,220 | 3,890 |
| Texas | $45,710 | $37,520 to $52,580 | 21,720 |
| Utah | $45,240 | $37,660 to $50,990 | 2,430 |
| Vermont | $57,630 | $50,510 to $61,980 | 80 |
| Virginia | $43,770 | $35,900 to $54,610 | 4,590 |
| Washington | $48,460 | $44,160 to $58,680 | 2,260 |
| West Virginia | $43,960 | $39,590 to $46,020 | 670 |
| Wisconsin | $49,090 | $43,680 to $59,940 | 2,570 |
| Wyoming | $42,110 | $38,950 to $44,160 | 180 |
Nationally: $47,030. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 11 of its 15 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts. | Not published |
| AI + software | Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment. | Not published |
| Not much | Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems. | Not published |
See all 15 tasks
| AI + software | Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts. | Not published |
| AI + software | Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise. | Not published |
| Not much | Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts. | Not published |
| AI + software | Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors. | Not published |
| AI + software | Perform various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers. | Not published |
| AI + software | Sort and file correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts. | Not published |
| AI alone | Contact insurance companies to check on status of claims payments and write appeal letters for denial on claims. | Not published |
| Not much | Negotiate credit extensions when necessary. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 15 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 15 tasks fall under 12 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #3 Respond to customer problems or inquiries
- #11 Provide information to guests, clients, or customers
- #30 Perform administrative or clerical activities
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide information to guests, clients, or customers | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements | |||
| Maintain sales or financial records | |||
| Collect fares or payments | |||
| Respond to customer problems or inquiries | |||
| Perform administrative or clerical activities | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Interview people to obtain information |
Show all 12 activities
| Collect data about consumer needs or opinions | |||
| Monitor financial data or activities | |||
| Sort materials or products | |||
| Maintain health or medical records |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation24%
- An email or message24%
- An explanation or answer18%
- A document or report12%
- An analysis or summary6%
How they worked with Claude
44% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for bill and account collectors specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 109,025 moves out
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 9%
- 2 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 4%
- 3 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 4%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 85,809 moves in
- 1 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 14%
- 2 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 3 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 4%
- 4 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
- 5 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Very high -6.0% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 2% less than high school
- 48% high school
- 1% postsecondary certificate
- 27% some college
- 21% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 22 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 5% less than high school
- 31% high school
- 33% some college
- 11% associate's
- 16% bachelor's
- 3% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,070 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
1 program: Banking and Financial Support Services.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
9.5% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | <0.5% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a license | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/43-3011.00