collection agent

director

collector

intern

software engineer

Sallie-Mae

Very professional work environment. Friendly and down to earth supervisors. They give you paid training that is much like being in college where you take breaks and such. There is a cafeteria in the building that makes excellent food with something for every dietary need at affordable prices. If you happen to get a question from a customer that you can't think of the answer to, there is a data base of information at your fingertips so you should never have to say the dreaded "I don't know". Hiring is usually done during peak season when students are filing their fasfa for the first semester of the school year. You are hired as a seasonal employee but if you do your job well you will either be recycled to different seasonal positions (which is great because you end up getting trained in all the departments if you stick around long enough and get paid for it) then they will offer you a full time position based on who has been there the longest (seniority of the seasonals). I loved working with Sallie Mae. The only reason I left was because the branch I worked at was going out of business and closing down.

Full time employees receive stock in SallieMae along with a great benefits package. Great opportunities to advance and become supervisor or management (e.i they only hire for those positions within the company). 

The HR department is great! I have a problem with a girl who was trying to harass me through her friends and the problem was taken care of immediately. BUT (HUGE CON) because you are dealing with peoples credit information and getting account numbers to process payments, you are NOT given prior notice before being fired. You come in one day and before you sit down, you are given a message to go see HR. While you are upstairs doing your paperwork and learning you no longer have a job, they are going through your cubicle, throwing away anything that is sensitive material and packing your stuff for you. They hand you the box at the bottom of the stairs and you are not allowed to go back inside of the locked part of the building.

When I first started at this job, the managers and employees boasted about how sallie mae changed their life, how there are different buckets and different bonuses in each (30,60,90,120,charge off) and how you can make "six figures" at the job if you simply follow the call flow they have which is a lie because you have to know how to talk-off and know how to convince customers to pay their bill, once out of training it was like I got thrown to the wolves. The material I was taught was way different from what I was doing on the floor. The managers change each month or you may stay with the same manager the next month. Also there can be a a lot of drama in this environment but what call center doesn't have that so stay away from that. MAKE SURE IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED WITHIN 90 DAYS OF STARTING REPORT IT TO THE TRAINER AND ALSO SEND AN EMAIL TO THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL PLAY LIKE THEY NEVER GOT IT AND RISK YOU LOSING YOUR JOB BECAUSE YOU ONLT ACCUMULATE 3/4 HOURS OF PTO PER PAY PERIOD AND TRUST ME THAT WILL NOT COVER ANY LONG VACATIONS, ALWAYS COVER YOURSELF AND ALWAYS REPORT ANYTHING ASAP. Also always show up to work because you only receive 5/6 points until you're on a final written and that's when they will watch you for ANY mistake. The only thing that was unfair is their phones and system can sometimes run slow or shut down and may cause you to lose out on money to make. Overall it's a good job to have but you literally have to work hard for the money you want to make. Just do your job and stay out the radar because they will fire you in a heartbeat if they detect ANYTHING off.

I worked anywhere from 50 to 55 hours per week. Checked to see that all payments that where set up came in the day before. If no payment, did followup calls. When talking to customers updated all information on account to make sure had correct information. Set up payments to cover programs and to cover at least 6 months more payments.
I learned many new programs to cure student loans, both private and federal. Learned how to do settlements for credit card debt and how read credit records and do skiptracing. Also to make sure to ask the correct questions to get the best information from our customers.
The managers wanted all of us to succeed, so they helped us a great deal. Some where better that others. But over all they needed us to be successful so they would be successful.customers to get back to current.
Learned how to help my co-workers deal with difficult customers and to keep a positive outlook on their day. Helped them to understand customers are not angry with us, but at themselves.
The hardest thing to do is to keep your cool when a person is so angry and saying all sorts of nasty thing to you and about you. Again they are angry at themselves and are taking it out on the collector.
The reward was to be compensated for a good job and to be recognized by the Company and managers that we did a good job.
Also it was rewarding, when I met my goals every month.

Sallie Mae allows the employee to jump in and run with job responsibilities with little involvement from upper management on a day to day basis. You are responsible for your job function and it is your duty to make sure everything connected to your job runs smoothly. There is a lot of responsibility place upon the employees to find a way to work together in order to run a smooth ship. Although systems and policies are outdated, the employees efforts make up for that. Every Client Relationship Manager works as a link in a chain, carrying each other when one might fall. There is a lot of respect for the work and fellow employees that can be found within the Campus Solutions department. With that said, upper management could play a closer roll in understanding the day to day demands of the department. There are also major system limitation and staffing issues, which is not clear if the is understood by management.

The Client Relationship Managers are the administrators for a territory. They are the only individual that are available to assist the client when questions or concerns may arise when it comes to the product line. In addition to that, they also will present and create the marketing pieces, answer IT related questions, and cover any accounting issues. Internally, they are also required to update various departments on the communications and statuses of the territory they administrate on a frequent basis.

I actually enjoyed my time working here and leaving was a very hard decision. The company itself is GREAT to employees. The pay is good and you get a raise every 6 months you’re employed, no meeting needed. Generous PTO & scheduling time off is easy. Everyone was nice and supportive. I also really liked the benefits they offered. Around March of 2023 is where things started to get bad. They started writing people up for not hitting certain metrics, which I do not understand. Writing someone up will not inspire them to do better. There is nothing you can do about not being in tier because some people are just better collectors than others. Some people pay and some people do. We shouldn’t be scrutinized for that. The people that grade called were biased. I used to have great calls and a lot of collections, but they only graded my calls where I didn’t get any payments and where difficult situations I could not solve arose. No way those were “picked at random.” Collecting itself was a hassle. People would call in in difficult predicaments and it sucked knowing there was nothing I could do to help them. I told them every possible option to try then would get pulled into a meeting because what I said wasn’t “company policy” and it’s basically “pay in full or call us back when you can pay in full.” Getting pulled into meetings after every call, never being able to move up because of stupid metrics, and getting wrote up all the time eventually lead to my departure 

A typical day at work started by arriving early and having a plan for the day that includes productivity and fun.  I like to plan my work and work my plan.  I like to fully understand all aspects of my job be aware of all updates and changes that are applicable to what I am performing.  I ask questions even if it is only for reassurance purposes.

I acquired many skills through the work that I have performed.  The most important to me is customer service and communication with people.    I learned to avoid unreasonable expectations and demand too much of people, and offer options.  

Management at this company is inconsistent and insufficient.  It is highly cut-throat and unreasonable.  Only a handful of managers have the skills and ability to connect with employees and help them grow.  Most seem somewhat afraid to speak out on an issue that affects employees. 

My coworkers were my team mates.  We shared in company prosperity, goals, fun, and even frustrations.  Teams make it work.  I avoid negative and have a "can do" policy.

The hardest part of the job varies by task.  It is annoying when the system is slow.  It could be irritating by not getting a timely response to an important question.  It could be hindering to my job or performance if a reasonable accommodation is ignored. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with others and accomplishing what we set out to do.  At the end of the day, I like to know that my efforts made a difference and that I was able to help someone.

I worked at SLM for 4.5 years. At the beginning I absolutely loved it. The longer I worked there, the more I couldn't wait to find another job. I felt like I would be stuck there forever. The hourly pay is competitive & there are bonuses, but don't count on them. Bonuses were cut by nearly 75% from the beginning of my employment with SLM til the end. SLM makes the goals nearly impossible for you to hit but will write you up & terminate your employment if you miss goal. They "strive" to make it an enjoyable atmosphere but most SCM's are rude & condescending. Any employee that has worked for SLM for over 2 years is miserable & "stuck" there because of financial reasons or they are miserable & seeking employment elsewhere. Some of the upper management only speak to you if its to complain or put down the work that you are doing, but you never hear a word from them when you are a top performer. Not even a good job, we appreciate your hard work, etc. This job is good if you are looking for a quick income but I wouldn't suggest staying a long period of time, ask any previous employees. This is why the turn over rate it so high, but hey, that's just my opinion.

At this position I was able to excel as received the highest score during the training period as I was able to process more applications than any other employee continually for 3 months. We were about 60 new employees hired for the peak season  to help with the overload of application. I was able to receive many bonuses as I was part of the top 5% for the remaining 3 months and I was chosen by my supervisor to help with the training of those who were falling behind after only about a week into the training. 
A typical day involved training for the first 2 weeks in over 5 different internal software applications. After the training period I would receive college applicants' personal ID documents for review to verify any falsification or fraud.
I was able to sharpen my computer skills, research abilities and I was also able to understand how the loan process works. 
We had minimal contact with coworkers as this was a very busy environment. 
The hardest part of the job was to cope with the volume of the applications and try to achieve the daily goals.
the most enjoyable part of the job was to receive bonuses frequently.

Sallie Mae has not afforded much of what was promised during the interview process. They also very much do not clearly define the positions being hired for. They never inform the potential employees that the positions are on production, and the numbers are more important than the value of customer service. They expect much out of their staff and give little rewards in return. There isn't very much room for advancement unless you are a very fast processor no matter what your qualifications are. The benefits aren't bad as far as medical, although they did get worse. The supervisors I have had experience are pleasant and do tend to try and help you if you are having issues, though they have little say in the overall standards.

Overall it isn't the worst place to work if you're accustomed to mind numbing repetative work, but be prepared to get ridiculously low raises, and have little job security. At Sallie Mae, you are a number and little else.

On a typical work day I would assist fifty to sixty borrowers on average. I learned how to manage Federal student loan accounts and private loan accounts. I was able to compare and process repayment options for borrowers, learned details of a forbearance and available deferments, and provided quick and accurate information in a set time frame.

Management was newer making it more difficult to have accurate answers to questions, as well as not providing enough help to co-workers in a timely manner, which overall hurt daily call times. 

My co-workers were easy to work with, fun-spirited, and hard working. 

The hardest part of the job was being noticed for your hard work and accomplishments. The company had no structure when it came to managing how incentives were given. There was no pay raise when we were trained on Private Loans in addition to servicing Federal Student Loans.

The most enjoyable part of the job was speaking with different individuals daily and being able to go above and beyond to help loan borrowers.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Collection agent 16 salaries reported	$20.50 per hour
Director 5 salaries reported	$144,800 per year
Collector 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Intern 6 salaries reported	$18.83 per hour
Software engineer 4 salaries reported	$27.25 per hour

Working at Sallie Mae: Company Overview and Reviews

Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae Ratings

Popular jobs at Sallie Mae

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected