What Does it Take to Be a Telephone Operator?

Career Description 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.

Telephone Operator Responsibilities

• Listen to customer requests, referring to alphabetical or geographical directories to answer questions and provide telephone information.
• Operate paging systems or other systems of bells or buzzers to notify recipients of incoming calls.
• Consult charts to determine charges for pay-telephone calls, requesting coin deposits for calls as necessary.
• Interrupt busy lines if an emergency warrants.
• Update directory information.
• Suggest and check alternate spellings, locations, or listing formats to customers lacking details or complete information.

Telephone Operator Skills

Telephone Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Types of Telephone Operator

• Customer Service Assistant
• Telecommunications Operator
• Long Lines Operator
• Operator
• Bilingual Operator

Is There Going to be Demand for Telephone Operators?

In the United States, there were 9,100 jobs for Telephone Operator in 2016. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Telephone Operator. The BLS estimates 900 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Telephone Operator are Alaska, Utah, and Idaho. Watch out if you plan on working in Delaware, Tennessee, or New Jersey. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

What is the Average Salary of a Telephone Operator

Telephone Operators make between $23,160 and $60,610 a year.

Telephone Operators who work in New York, Hawaii, or District of Columbia, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Telephone Operators in different U.S. states.

State	Annual Mean Salary
Arizona	$35,510
California	$41,900
Connecticut	$44,010
District of Columbia	$44,150
Florida	$32,020
Georgia	$33,860
Hawaii	$44,040
Illinois	$40,150
Indiana	$40,590
Iowa	$29,880
Louisiana	$33,040
Maryland	$36,790
Massachusetts	$36,570
Michigan	$28,610
Minnesota	$39,470
Missouri	$31,950
Nevada	$31,110
New York	$48,270
Ohio	$35,750
Pennsylvania	$39,040
Tennessee	$27,610
Texas	$34,410
Virginia	$43,480

What Tools do Telephone Operators Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Telephone Operators:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Outlook
• Data entry software
• Word processing software
• Microsoft Windows
• Handheld computer device software
• Computer aided dispatch software

How to Become a Telephone Operator

What education is needed to be a Telephone Operator?

What work experience do I need to become a Telephone Operator?

Telephone Operators Sector

Telephone Operators work in the following industries:

You May Also Be Interested In…

Those interested in being a Telephone Operator may also be interested in:

• Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: via

More about our data sources and methodologies.