How to Become a Loan Counselor: Career Guide, Courses, Types, Job Prospects, Salary 2023

Steps to Follow to Become a Loan Counselor

There are few steps that a candidate needs to follow to become a Loan Counselor:

• Decision-making- A candidate needs to decide which career they want to pursue before their 10th standard and start preparing to become a Loan Counselor. 
• Subject Choices- A candidate must have chosen Banking, Finance, Economics, Commerce, etc in their 12th standard as it will be an advantage to them.
• Selecting Correct Colleges- A candidate needs to select a college after doing a bit of research. Some colleges offer admission based on merit while some institutions conduct their entrance examination to get enrolled in a course. Some of the top colleges which offer Finance courses are:
  • NMIMS
  • Amity University
  • SP Jain Institute of Management and Research 
  • National Institute of Management
• Counseling- After giving the entrance examination, The most important part is to fill the counseling correctly to get to the desired college. Fill in the top colleges you want to get into to pursue finance and select the other colleges as per your need and the marks you obtained.

Types of Loan Counselors

Below listed are some types of Loan counselors based on the job roles and the area of specialization they have expertise in.

Student Loan Counselor

The work of a student loan Counselor is to verify the accuracy of data with loan services and department of Education resources, receive and enter borrower account data from client schools. Their work also includes placing outbound calls, sending letters and emails to the deliquescent borrowers, and advising them of the repayment responsibility and options. They also follow the scripts and use approved letters in student contact activities to ensure compliance with company and regulatory requirements. 

Home Loan Counselor

A Home Loan Counselor provides advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues.

Personal Loan Counselor

A personal loan Counselor advises on taking the personal loan. A Personal Loan requires minimum documents and the approval process is also quick. The loan amount is disbursed within a few hours provided the lender is convinced of the repayment capacity with various financial institutions that offer personal loan online services.

How to become a Loan Counselor in India?

• UG preparation: To get admission in Loan Counseling courses, a candidate has to complete class 10+2 with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks and start preparing for the entrance examination.
• PG Preparation: A candidate can go for a master's degree or postgraduate diploma (PGD) in Finance or accounting and for that, need to prepare for the entrance exam. Few colleges give admission based on merit too.

Courses to Become a Loan Counselor

Courses to become a Loan Counselor are mentioned below:

BBA Finance

• BBA in Finance is an undergraduate level bachelor degree that gives practical and theoretical knowledge to the students of various financial components like investment, insurance, etc. 
• The main objective of the course is to impart knowledge and skills that are related to insurance, corporate strategy, investment, cost accounting, international finance, and expenses. 
• Some colleges give admission based on merit while some colleges conduct entrance examinations to get admission in BBA finance courses. 
• Merit-based: Candidates are selected based on the marks obtained at 10 + 2 level with the additional rounds like an interview and Group Discussion. 
• Entrance-based: Few colleges conduct an entrance examination for BBA Finance. There might be subsequent counseling sessions after the publication of the entrance exam list and the selected candidates will then be called for document verification but it totally depends on the college.

BBA Accounting

• BBA Accounting is a 3-year undergraduate course that is generally divided into six semesters and during the course, a student gets to study the subjects life business, accounting, financial accounting, business statistics, etc.
• Admission is mainly done on merit while some colleges conduct entrance examinations to get admission in BBA Accounting courses. 
• Merit-based: Candidates are offered admission based on their merit score and those who fit into the eligibility criteria can appear for the further process. In addition to this, a student can apply for colleges giving merit-based admission through online or offline applications, where the mode of payment is the same as that of application respectively.
• Entrance-based: Only a few colleges conduct an entrance examination for BBA Accounting. Selected candidates are then called for the Personal Interview round to get admission to the BBA Accounting course.

MBA Finance

• MBA in Finance is a post-graduation program that deals with managing the accounts and the finances of corporations for them to achieve bound finance goals. 
• The admission is based on entrance examination scores followed by a Personal Interview round as well. entrance examinations to shortlist candidates.
• An entrance examination is conducted like CAT, MAT, XAT, SNAP, CMAT to get admission to the institutes.
• Shortlisted candidates are then called for the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion round, and Personal Interview round as well.
• A candidate should possess a bachelor's degree with a minimum 50% aggregate or equivalent CGPA from a recognized university.

How to Become a Loan Counselor Abroad?

To find admission in bachelor’s courses in finance abroad, a candidate needs to have proficiency in English by passing proficiency tests such as IELTS, or PTE. There are various colleges that are available for a candidate to seek admission abroad.

For a masters course abroad, you need to have a good score in English proficiency tests such as TOEFL or PTE or IELTS, possess a bachelor's degree in any relevant field, Letter of Recommendation (LOR), Statement of Purpose (SOP), and some universities might consider GRE and GMAT score. 

How to Become a Loan Counselor in UK

• There are various colleges that offer Finance courses in the UK. 
• BSc Hons in Finance and Investment Banking, BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance, BA (Hons) Journalism and Mass Communication, BA Banking and Finance, BSc Accounting and Finance, and Bachelor of Finance courses available courses that are available in the UK to become a Loan Counselor.
• A candidate can become Home Loan Counselor, Personal Loan Counselor, Education Loan Counselor after doing a journalism course in the UK.
• The average salary of a Loan Counselor is £25,019 or INR 25,87,712.

Top Colleges

How to Become a Loan Counselor in USA?

• There are various colleges that offer Accounting and Finance courses in the US.
• Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business Administration, BA in Business, BS in Business Administration, Bachelor of Business Administration in Management are available in the US to become a Loan Counselor. 
• A candidate can become a Stockbroker, Financial Analyst, Education Loan Counselor, Student Loan Counselor, Loan Officer, etc after completing a bachelor's course in Finance and Accounting from the US.
• The average salary of a Loan Counselor is $40,000 or INR 29,67,108.

Top Colleges

How to Become a Loan Counselor in Canada

• There are various colleges that offer Accounting courses in Canada.
• Bachelor of Business Administration, BA in Economics, BSc in Financial Mathematics and Economics, BA Hons in Journalism, Master of Business Administration, MBA in Finance, Master of Business Administration in Management, MBA Financial Services are some of the courses available in Canada to become a Loan Counselor. 
• A candidate can become a Financial Analyst, Loan Counselor, Mortgage Loan Counselor, Business Analyst after completing a Finance course in Canada.
• The average salary of a Loan Counselor is $45,825 or INR 33,99,733.

Top Colleges

How to Become a Loan Counselor in Australia

• There are various colleges that offer Finance and Accounting courses in Australia.
• Bachelor of Economics, Master of Business Administration, Global Executive MBA, Bachelor of Business, Full Time MBA, Bachelor of Business Management, Master of Applied Finance are some of the courses available in Australia to become a Loan Counselor. 
• A candidate can become a Trader, Financial Advisor, Home Loan Counselor, Accountant, Student Loan Counselor, External Auditor, etc after completing a Finance course in Australia.
• The average salary of a Loan Counselor is $59,625 or INR 44,23,012.

Top Colleges

Benefits of Career as a Loan Counselor

• Job opportunities: There are various opportunities that are available for a candidate after completing a Finance and Accounting course such as Home Loan Counselor, Student Loan Counselor, Education Loan Counselor, etc. 
• Positive Impact on Career: The most positive impact of being a Loan Counselor is that a candidate gets an extremely different environment to work in and would enhance their communication skills when advising different customers.
• Higher Studies- A candidate can also go for Ph.D.to in Finance after completing the masters in the relevant discipline. 
• Good Salary: The average starting salary for a Loan Counselor is INR 2 Lakhs per annum. With experience, it may range from INR 5LPA to INR 6 LPA.
• Not much Education is required: A loan bachelor’s field does not necessarily require a high investment in education and thus, a bachelor’s course degree course is sufficient to get you into this career.

Skills Required to Become a Loan Counselor

Salary of Loan Counselor in India

The salary of a Loan Counselor depends on your experience and expertise in the field. The salary package starts from INR 14,000 per annum and can go up to INR 4,00,000 per annum. The tabulation below depicts the average salary package of a Loan Counselor.

Average Annual Salary

Specialization Wise Salary

Gender Wise Salary

Experience Wise Salary

After Becoming a Loan Counselor

• Higher Education: A candidate can go for PhD in Finance after completing their masters and can have better employment opportunities.
• Start Job: A candidate can start working in Banks, Financial Consultancies, Banking Service Aggregators, and in some top companies top after completing their course.