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Office & Admin43-2011.00Specialization

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.

$36,750
Median Pay
Less than 6 months
Training
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High Disruption Risk
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View Communications Equipment Operators

This is a specialization of

Communications Equipment Operators

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 0/6: high AI task exposure, declining job demand, limited human advantage creates significant risk from AI disruption

🔴High Disruption Risk

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
High+0

63% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Declining+0

-26% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Weak+0

EPOCH score: 8/25

Total Score0/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09
View full methodology →

Key Responsibilities

  • 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.
  • Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
  • Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Time to Job Ready

0-1 years

Based on Job Zone 2. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

Phone systemsMicrosoft OfficeCall logging softwareDirectory systems

Key Abilities

Oral ComprehensionOral ExpressionSpeech RecognitionSpeech ClarityNear VisionSelective AttentionWritten ComprehensionWritten ExpressionDeductive ReasoningInductive Reasoning

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Find jobs and training programs for switchboard operators, including answering service- Median salary: $37K/year

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Compensation Details

$28,030
10th Percentile
$36,750
Median
$58,810
90th Percentile

Based on 43,830 employed workers

Also Known As

Answering Service Telephone OperatorCBX Operator (Computerized Branch Exchange Operator)Central Communications SpecialistCombination OperatorCommand and Control SpecialistCommunication Center OperatorCommunications CoordinatorCommunications OperatorCommunications SpecialistComplaint Operator

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 43-2011.00