What is the Job Market Outlook for Tax Collectors?
Job Market Outlook October 1, 2013Throughout human history, there has not been one occupation more universally reviled than that of a tax collector. The Bible, Andy Capp, and any other books, have documented the public feelings toward purveyors of that occupation. It’s not that they are bad; it is just what they represent. They will have a lot of opportunity to represent the long hand of the government in our pockets, in the future. The job market has always been present for tax collectors, although changes have occurred over the years.
During the Dark ages, a tax collector was given a quota to amass, once that figure was reached, anything else collected was his. It is easy to see how the system can be abused. Now the tax collector is like an everyday employee, paid by check, not graft. No matter where you go, as with the dark ages, often as not the person being assessed either had legitimate differences with the assessment or did not even know that it was owed. Collecting in that situation can be stressful.
Where to Work As a Tax Collector
By definition, the only jobs open for tax collectors is the government, but that includes federal, every state, every city, every hamlet and every incorporated government in the country and the world. For our purposes, we will assume that we are talking about the United States both for brevity and clarity. Even with that, there are few limitations on where you can work. A city government needs a tax collector the same way that the federal government needs one.
For local governments, the requirements may lessen in certain areas, but for the most part, a bachelor’s degree in a business related course is sufficient. The tax collectors job is pretty much learned OJT; there are not a lot of college majors specifically aimed at that career. That being said, the tax collectors position is often used to get promoted into auditors and other more senior positions.
Just the expansion of government, promotions, and retirements should make this a very stable and expanding occupation for the career span of most of the young people coming out of college today.
An Expanding Field Of Work
The job of a tax collector has seldom faced major upheavals. Sometimes positions are over hired in boom times, but there will never be a period so bad that there will not be a need for tax collectors. The tax collector is the umbilical cord of government, bringing in its life giving cash.
As a person who collects through good times and bad, although, a tough skin is required. Your heart will be tugged at or even jerked violently of occasion, but the assessment must be collected. It can be the sweet widowed mother or the brash and annoying business man, either way, the money must be collected.
Most often though, you will spend your career behind a desk sending out and collecting assessments. The position of a tax collector has consistent openings because there is upward mobility attached to it. The openings also come because there are new streams of revenue being identified regularly. The beginning salary starts at about $50,000 a year, on average, but can go up regularly and include bonuses.
The job has its detractors, but is a solid and stable profession. Most of your interactions will be relatively pleasant, so pursue the profession and enjoy it. It offers variety and stability, a rarity these days.
