Telephone Operators

Provide information by accessing alphabetical, geographical, or other directories. Assist customers with special billing requests, such as charges to a third party and credits or refunds for incorrectly dialed numbers or bad connections. May handle emergency calls and assist children or people with physical disabilities to make telephone calls.

What you'd actually do

• Observe signal lights on switchboards, and dial or press buttons to make connections.
• Operate telephone switchboards and systems to advance and complete connections, including those for local, long distance, pay telephone, mobile, person-to-person, and emergency calls.
• Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.
• Update directory information.
• Suggest and check alternate spellings, locations, or listing formats to customers lacking details or complete information.
• Perform clerical duties such as typing, proofreading, and sorting mail.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

The work is mostly indoors; you're around people constantly. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0% of telephone operators are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, people-focused and take-charge.

Related careers

• Brokerage Clerks
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
• Data Entry Keyers
• Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
• Tellers

Quick questions

How much does a telephone operator make?

The median pay is $20.07 per hour — roughly $41,500 a year, with the real range running from about $15.15/hr (10th percentile) to $30.27/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a telephone operator?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a telephone operator actually do all day?

Observe signal lights on switchboards, and dial or press buttons to make connections. Operate telephone switchboards and systems to advance and complete connections, including those for local, long distance, pay telephone, mobile, person-to-person, and emergency calls. Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.