Careers / Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$38,630
United States, 2025
Employment
34,280
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
- O*NET code
- 43-2011.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Operate communication systems, such as telephone, switchboard, intercom, two-way radio, or public address.
- Answer incoming calls, greeting callers, providing information, transferring calls or taking messages as necessary.
- Greet visitors, log them in and out of the facility, assign them security badges, and contact employee escorts.
- Monitor emergency and code alarms, make emergency announcements, or route emergency calls to the appropriate location.
- Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
- Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
- Relay or route written or verbal messages.
- Perform various cash handling tasks, such as collecting payments, making bank deposits, or managing petty cash.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$29,990
25th percentile
$34,820
75th percentile
$46,530
90th percentile
$59,470
Most important skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Speaking3.9
- Social Perceptiveness3.5
- Service Orientation3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Coordination3.0
- Monitoring2.9
- Critical Thinking2.8
- Time Management2.8
- Writing2.8
- Judgment and Decision Making2.6
- Active Learning2.5
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 6 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
6
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Speaking | 3.9 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.5 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 2.6 | Not selected | 2.6 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Switchboard Operators, Including Answering ServiceHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $79,260 | 440 | 2025 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $63,190 | 240 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $61,780 | 700 | 2025 |
| Kahului, HI | $60,420 | 70 | 2025 |
| HI | $59,860 | 410 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $59,360 | 170 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $57,030 | 40 | 2025 |
| DC | $54,700 | 230 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $51,950 | 110 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $50,470 | 190 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $49,840 | 60 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $49,460 | 50 | 2025 |
| Bend, OR | $48,880 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $48,840 | 6,680 | 2025 |
| Salinas, CA | $48,840 | 90 | 2025 |
| WA | $47,800 | 430 | 2025 |
| MN | $47,430 | 200 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $47,380 | 420 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $47,350 | 1,470 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $46,330 | 90 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.