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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.

27,770 people do this job in the US. $52,230 a year.

now
73%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 73%
  • 27%
  • 0%
23%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
Already

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 73% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 72%. Today's estimate: 73%.

0%25%50%75%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 2% within reacho3, April 2025: 18% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 26% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 40% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 40% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 48% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 51% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 72% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 73% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.

The tasks

Sorted by . 23 tasks from .

TaskKind
Assess clients' overall financial situations by reviewing income, assets, debts, expenses, credit reports, or other financial information.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 10%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Create debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets to assist clients to meet financial goals.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.9%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Teach courses or seminars on topics, such as budgeting, management of personal finances, or financial literacy.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 9%2.5 h1.3 h to 5 hStays with people
Interview clients by telephone or in person to gather financial information.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 8%38 min17 min to 1.3 hStays with people
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.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.8%42 min17 min to 1.4 h99%Half by now
Review changes to financial, family, or employment situations to determine whether changes to existing debt management plans, spending plans, or budgets are needed.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%38 min17 min to 1.3 h100%Half by now
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.Done more than weekly by most who do it. 6%33 min13 min to 1.1 h100%Half by now
Prepare written documents to establish contracts with or communicate financial recommendations to clients.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 6%38 min17 min to 1.3 h100%Half by now
Create action plans to assist clients in obtaining permanent housing via rent or mortgage programs.Done more than yearly by most who do it. 5%50 min25 min to 1.7 h99%Half by now
Explain general financial topics to clients, such as credit report ratings, bankruptcy laws, consumer protection laws, wage attachments, or collection actions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task.5%25 min8 min to 50 min100%Half by now
Advise clients on housing matters, such as housing rental, homeownership, mortgage delinquency, or foreclosure prevention.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 4%50 min17 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Advise clients or respond to inquiries about financial matters in person or via phone, email, Web site, or Internet chat.Done more than monthly by most who do it. 4%17 min4 min to 38 minStays with people

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).