SOC 43-2021.00

    Telephone Operators

    Provide information by accessing alphabetical, geographical, or other directories.

    Median pay
    $41,740
    Growth
    -27.6%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    200
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $31,510
    Median
    $41,740
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $62,950
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    3,430 people work in this occupation.

    What telephone operators do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    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.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    37 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    2 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    51 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    39 / 100
    Conventional (C) · strongest
    87 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code CSE. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Getting Information
    87
    Working with Computers
    85
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    78
    Processing Information
    77
    Documenting/Recording Information
    76
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    73
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    72
    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    64
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    62
    Communicating with People Outside the Organization
    58
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Speaking
    • Service Orientation
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Monitoring
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Coordination
    • Time Management

    Knowledge

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

    Abilities

    • Oral Expression
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Near Vision
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Selective Attention
    • Written Comprehension
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Inductive Reasoning

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self-Control
    • Social Orientation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Integrity
    • Empathy
    • Optimism
    • Sincerity

    Also called

    411 Directory Assistance Operator (411 Directory Assistance Op) · Central Office Operator (CO Op) · Change Number Operator (Change Number Op) · Charge Operator (Charge Op) · Communications Operator (Communications Op) · Customer Service Assistant · Directory Assistance Operator (Directory Assistance Op) · Directory Operator (Directory Op) · Emergency Operator (Emergency Op) · Information Operator (Information Op)

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What telephone operators may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Licenses by state

    1 state lists a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    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.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.