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.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Coordination
- Monitoring
- Writing
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Telecommunications
- Administration and Management
- Communications and Media
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- 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.
- Page individuals to inform them of telephone calls, using paging or interoffice communication equipment.
- Relay or route written or verbal messages.
- Place telephone calls or arrange conference calls as instructed.
- Record messages, suggesting rewording for clarity or conciseness.
- Perform various data entry or word processing tasks, such as updating phone directories, typing or proofreading documents, or creating schedules.
- Process incoming or outgoing mail, packages, or deliveries.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (88.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (38.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (33.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 99% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 86% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 81% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 89% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 88% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 98% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 91% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.86%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0.41%
- Constant contact with others: 98.73%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 5.64%
- Important: 16.03%
- Very important: 12.47%
- Extremely important: 65.87%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 7.59%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 16.7%
- Very important: 1.4%
- Extremely important: 74.31%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.46%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 19.37%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 19.19%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 28.77%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.26%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.9%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.77%
- Every day: 27.31%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 17.11%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.96%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 24.43%
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0.58%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.01%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.78%
- Every day: 58.24%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 42.9%
- Fairly serious: 25.04%
- Serious: 22.8%
- Very serious: 5.1%
- Extremely serious: 4.15%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2022
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 43-2011.00 · SOC 43-2011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8