Telephone Operators
Office and Administrative Support
The job is making and completing telephone connections — local, long-distance, person-to-person, pay-phone, mobile, and emergency — by watching signals and working the switchboard. Callers ask for numbers or listings; the operator looks them up in alphabetical or geographical directories, tries other spellings or formats when the listing is incomplete, and updates directory records. Some requests are billing credits, third-party charges, or help for someone who cannot dial or is in an emergency. There is also clerical work such as typing, proofreading, and sorting mail. It suits people who like precise lookup work, clear speech, and handling directory and emergency requests one after another.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$41'740
Median Wage Market Position
$41'740
What you might do
- Connect local, long-distance, and emergency calls
- Look up listings in directories for callers
- Help people who cannot dial themselves
- Check alternate spellings when a name is unclear
- Update directory information as listings change
- Type, proofread, and sort incoming mail
Skills that matter
- Listening closely to caller requests
- Completing switchboard call connections
- Searching directories for phone listings
- Helping callers who cannot dial
- Handling emergency telephone connections
- Checking alternate spellings and locations
AI & the future of this role
Directory lookups, billing questions, and routine call routing are already highly scripted and screen-based, so automated systems may take over much of that volume. Sensitive emergency help and support for callers with disabilities still call for human judgment, though demand for those remaining roles could stay limited.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details