Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
SOC 43-2011 · 2024-2034
Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -23.9%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
The job this trains for
- Typical pay in California
- $49,996per year
- Projected openings
- 5,300
- Projected change
- -23.9%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Coordination
- Reading Comprehension
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $74,797 | 280 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $61,282 | 50 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $60,015 | 110 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $58,505 | 210 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $54,069 | 260 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $49,946 | 350 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $48,891 | 30 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $48,135 | 60 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $47,323 | 1,180 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $46,051 | 90 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $45,959 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $45,663 | 280 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $42,496 | 60 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $41,250 | 340 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $40,841 | 40 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $39,237 | 30 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $39,237 | 50 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $38,461 | 60 |
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| The job this trains for | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | $45,143 | 112,320 | +5.3% |
| Office Clerks, General | $49,607 | 356,700 | -4.5% |
| Customer Service Representatives | $50,733 | 219,040 | -5.6% |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | $82,016 | 8,940 | +5.9% |
| Telemarketers | $46,419 | 3,850 | -22.5% |
| Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | $53,589 | 23,150 | +5.2% |