Overview
All Debt Collectors
-
$1,231 Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
3,800 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
73% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
40 hours Average full-time
-
38 years Average age
-
62% female Gender Share
Debt Collectors collect consumer, commercial, insurance and other forms of debt for clients, make arrangements to settle overdue accounts, formalise payment arrangements and follow up until accounts are fully paid.
Also known as: Mercantile Agent, or Debt Recovery Officer.
Specialisations: Collection Agent, Collection Officer, Repossession Agent.
You can work as a Debt Collector without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university qualifications in areas such as accounting, business, management, banking and finance.
Tasks
- liaising with clients, credit staff, accounts receivable departments, process servers, Private Investigators, Barristers and Solicitors to find solutions to payment problems
- identifying, locating and notifying debtors of overdue accounts in writing, by telephoning and in person, and arranging for payments to be made
- tracing addresses of debtors who have moved
- arranging new repayment plans for debtors having difficulties making existing repayments
- referring debtors' disputes to creditors
- issuing instructions for the commencement of legal action and enforcement to recover money
- arranging for money and goods collected to be transferred to creditors' possession, and preparing statements of account for creditors
- recording amounts collected and noting any further action required
- complying with debt collection guidelines and relevant legislation
Prospects
There were 3,800 Debt Collectors in 2020. The number of workers:
- fell over the past 5 years
- is expected to fall over the next five years
- is likely to reach 3,700 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Debt Collectors work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Administrative and Support Services; Financial and Insurance Services; and Public Administration and Safety.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,231 per week (below the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Many work full-time (73%, higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 40 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 38 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 62% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as a Debt Collector without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university qualifications in areas such as accounting, business, management, banking and finance.
Registration or licencing may be required.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Debt Collectors who have a high attention to detail, are professional, courteous and responsible.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-3011.00 - Bill and Account Collectors.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-3011.00 - Bill and Account Collectors.
All Debt Collectors
-
$1,231 Weekly Pay
-
Decline Future Growth
-
3,800 workers Employment Size
-
Lower skill Skill level rating
-
73% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
40 hours Average full-time
-
38 years Average age
-
62% female Gender Share
Debt Collectors collect consumer, commercial, insurance and other forms of debt for clients, make arrangements to settle overdue accounts, formalise payment arrangements and follow up until accounts are fully paid.
Also known as: Mercantile Agent, or Debt Recovery Officer.
Specialisations: Collection Agent, Collection Officer, Repossession Agent.
You can work as a Debt Collector without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university qualifications in areas such as accounting, business, management, banking and finance.
Tasks
- liaising with clients, credit staff, accounts receivable departments, process servers, Private Investigators, Barristers and Solicitors to find solutions to payment problems
- identifying, locating and notifying debtors of overdue accounts in writing, by telephoning and in person, and arranging for payments to be made
- tracing addresses of debtors who have moved
- arranging new repayment plans for debtors having difficulties making existing repayments
- referring debtors' disputes to creditors
- issuing instructions for the commencement of legal action and enforcement to recover money
- arranging for money and goods collected to be transferred to creditors' possession, and preparing statements of account for creditors
- recording amounts collected and noting any further action required
- complying with debt collection guidelines and relevant legislation
There were 3,800 Debt Collectors in 2020. The number of workers:
- fell over the past 5 years
- is expected to fall over the next five years
- is likely to reach 3,700 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Debt Collectors work in many regions of Australia.
- Industries: Most work in Administrative and Support Services; Financial and Insurance Services; and Public Administration and Safety.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $1,231 per week (below the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Many work full-time (73%, higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 40 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 38 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 62% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as a Debt Collector without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university qualifications in areas such as accounting, business, management, banking and finance.
Registration or licencing may be required.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore VET training pathways.
Employers look for Debt Collectors who have a high attention to detail, are professional, courteous and responsible.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Geography
Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Persuasion
Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Negotiation
Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Mathematics
Using maths to solve problems.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Working with numbers
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Far vision
See details that are far away.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Negotiating and resolving conflicts
Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating with the public
Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Working with the public
Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Providing office support
Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-3011.00 - Bill and Account Collectors.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Letters and memos
Write letters and memos.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Contact with the public
Work with customers or the public.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 43-3011.00 - Bill and Account Collectors.