# Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

> Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/switchboard-operators-including-answering-service
- SOC code: 43-2011.00
- Career family: Office and administrative support
- Median annual pay: $38,630 (10th percentile $29,990, 90th percentile $59,470)
- Projected growth: Decline, -26.0%
- Openings a year: 3,100
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code CRE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 44 |
| Investigative (I) | 6 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 32 |
| Enterprising (E) | 36 |
| Conventional (C) | 83 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 87/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 79/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 76/100)
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public (importance 74/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 70/100)
- Performing Administrative Activities (importance 68/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 61/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 56/100)
- Processing Information (importance 56/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 54/100)

## Skills

Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Writing

## Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications, Administration and Management, Communications and Media, Public Safety and Security, Personnel and Human Resources, Mathematics

## Also called

Answering Service Telephone Operator, CBX Operator (Computerized Branch Exchange Operator), Central Communications Specialist, Combination Operator, Command and Control Specialist, Communication Center Operator, Communications Coordinator, Communications Operator, Communications Specialist, Complaint Operator

## Related careers

- [Receptionists and Information Clerks](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/receptionists-and-information-clerks): $38,010 median pay
- [Office Clerks, General](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/office-clerks-general): $45,010 median pay
- [Telephone Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telephone-operators): $41,740 median pay
- [Customer Service Representatives](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/customer-service-representatives): $44,770 median pay
- [Public Safety Telecommunicators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/public-safety-telecommunicators): $53,040 median pay
- [Telemarketers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/telemarketers): $35,450 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.