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.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Economics and Accounting
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Advise clients or respond to inquiries about financial matters in person or via phone, email, Web site, or Internet chat.
- Assess clients' overall financial situations by reviewing income, assets, debts, expenses, credit reports, or other financial information.
- Calculate clients' available monthly income to meet debt obligations.
- Create debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets to assist clients to meet financial goals.
- Estimate time for debt repayment, given amount of debt, interest rates, and available funds.
- Explain services or policies to clients, such as debt management program rules, advantages and disadvantages of using services, or creditor concession policies.
- Interview clients by telephone or in person to gather financial information.
- Maintain or update records of client account activity, including financial transactions, counseling session notes, correspondence, document images, or client inquiries.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Social, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (31% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (31%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (33.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Credit Counselors is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 62% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 81% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 68% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 85% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 66% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 80% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 3.33%
- Contact with others about half the time: 10%
- Contact with others most of the time: 30%
- Constant contact with others: 56.67%
n = 30, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 13.33%
- Fairly important: 3.33%
- Important: 20%
- Very important: 23.33%
- Extremely important: 40%
n = 30, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 6.9%
- Fairly important: 10.34%
- Important: 20.69%
- Very important: 20.69%
- Extremely important: 41.38%
n = 29, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 3.33%
- Very little freedom: 3.33%
- Limited freedom: 16.67%
- Some freedom: 50%
- A lot of freedom: 26.67%
n = 30, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 3.33%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.33%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 43.33%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.67%
- Every day: 13.33%
n = 30, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 17.24%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 41.38%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.69%
- Every day: 6.9%
n = 29, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 3.45%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 51.72%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.14%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.79%
- Every day: 6.9%
n = 29, Occupational Expert 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 31.03%
- Fairly serious: 37.93%
- Serious: 10.34%
- Very serious: 6.9%
- Extremely serious: 13.79%
n = 29, Occupational Expert 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 13-2071.00 · SOC 13-2071 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8