Salary
Average Salary: $59,850
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,499,000
You're going to be starting in the hole with this job: There you are, a recent college graduate saddled with student loans, and your first gig in the insurance industry just isn't going to pay very much (source).
If you can land a peon-level claims adjuster job with an insurance company, your initial salary will fall somewhere around $30,000 to $35,000 a year. However, you may be required to get some industry experience before you can go into claims adjusting. If you start out, say, as an insurance claims representative, you can expect to earn $20,000 to $30,000k a year, which means you'll be eating ramen for the foreseeable future (source).
Once you actually get your foot in the door at an insurance company, however, things will start to look up for you. Claims adjusters who've been at the job for a couple of years earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year; senior claims adjusters may earn $60,000 to $70k a year. Claims managers (the guys and gals who run the claims department) can earn in excess of $80,000 a year (source).
If you work for an established insurance company, you may be eligible for benefits including insurance (well, duh), company-funded retirement plans, and tuition assistance. Some insurers, like Farmers Insurance, emphasize their business casual dress code, pleasant working environment, and on-site company store with DVD rentals (!) as employee perks.
The nice thing about working in insurance is that, generally speaking, you don't have to pay for your training. While you're learning the claims adjustment ropes, you can expect to spend about six months in the company of an experienced claims adjuster; the training for auto claims adjusters can take longer.
As for licensing fees, some states figure that, so long as you're employed by an insurance company, you're good. Other states, however, will require you to get a claims adjustment license, whether you're working for an insurer or as a freelancer.
In Louisiana, for example, you pay $55 to sit for the state exam, and you renew your license every two years for $50. Florida's licensure process is more expensive, coming in at around $150. However, you can get out of sitting for the state exam by taking a forty-hour, $90-course either online or in a classroom (source).