Careers / Telemarketers

Telemarketers — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$35,450

United States, 2025

Employment

58,430

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

Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.

O*NET code
41-9041.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
  • Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
  • Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
  • Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
  • Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
  • Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
  • Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.
  • Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$27,040
10th
$29,640
25th
$35,450
Median
$40,230
75th
$50,350
90th

10th percentile

$27,040

25th percentile

$29,640

75th percentile

$40,230

90th percentile

$50,350

Most important skills

  • Speaking4.1
  • Persuasion4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Service Orientation3.5
  • Reading Comprehension3.3
  • Social Perceptiveness3.3
  • Critical Thinking3.0
  • Negotiation3.0
  • Coordination2.5
  • Writing2.5
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.4
  • Time Management2.4

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 8 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

8

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

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Active Listening4.03.9Not selected3.9
Speaking4.13.8Not selected3.8
Persuasion4.13.6Not selected3.6
Service Orientation3.53.1Not selected3.1
Reading Comprehension3.33.3Not selected3.3
Social Perceptiveness3.33.0Not selected3.0
Critical Thinking3.03.1Not selected3.1
Negotiation3.02.6Not selected2.6

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Waterbury, CT$58,9002025
Springfield, IL$50,390302025
Austin, TX$49,7002702025
Charlotte, NC$49,2404202025
KS$48,0102025
Denver, CO$47,9306202025
Rochester, NY$47,8403502025
CO$47,6708802025
Colorado Springs, CO$47,6701002025
CA$46,0003,8802025
Sacramento, CA$45,7101602025
Boulder, CO$45,340702025
CT$45,2001102025
Oxnard, CA$44,900802025
Riverside, CA$44,7702602025
Boston, MA$44,6502025
MA$44,6502025
Portland, OR$44,1603002025
San Jose, CA$43,7401302025
Providence, RI$43,620602025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Telemarketers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career 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.