Answering service telephone operator vs central communications specialist

The differences between answering service telephone operators and central communications specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an answering service telephone operator and a central communications specialist. Additionally, a central communications specialist has an average salary of $41,083, which is higher than the $35,244 average annual salary of an answering service telephone operator.

The top three skills for an answering service telephone operator include customer service, appointment scheduling and transferring calls. The most important skills for a central communications specialist are customer service, data entry, and traffic flow.

Answering service telephone operator vs central communications specialist overview

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Central Communications Specialist
Yearly salary	$35,244	$41,083
Hourly rate	$16.94	$19.75
Growth rate	-	8%
Number of jobs	26,945	63,117
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	53	53
Years of experience	2	2

Answering service telephone operator vs central communications specialist salary

Answering service telephone operators and central communications specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Central Communications Specialist
Average salary	$35,244	$41,083
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $31,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	BMO Capital Markets
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between answering service telephone operator and central communications specialist education

There are a few differences between an answering service telephone operator and a central communications specialist in terms of educational background:

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Central Communications Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	-

Answering service telephone operator vs central communications specialist demographics

Here are the differences between answering service telephone operators' and central communications specialists' demographics:

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Central Communications Specialist
Average age	53	53
Gender ratio	Male, 14.6% Female, 85.4%	Male, 41.9% Female, 58.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 4.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 3.2% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	19%	19%

Differences between answering service telephone operator and central communications specialist duties and responsibilities

Answering service telephone operator example responsibilities.

Protect patient privacy by following HIPAA regulations, as well as maintaining confidential information within the hospital intranet.
Maintain great customer relations with VIP arrivals

Central communications specialist example responsibilities.

Manage, create and edit internal and external communication collateral, providing high-level management copywriting and document creation support.
Interpret medical abbreviations (SIG codes).
Follow all HIPPA and other confidentiality laws.
Dispatch helicopter teams to scene call flights.
Assist customers to the parking lot with groceries.
Resolve complex verification problems relate to interactions between all functional areas of the AVN, FAA and its user organizations.

Answering service telephone operator vs central communications specialist skills

Common answering service telephone operator skills

Customer Service, 38%
Appointment Scheduling, 12%
Transferring Calls, 12%
Two-Way Radio, 10%
Switchboards, 9%
Computer System, 7%

Common central communications specialist skills

Customer Service, 28%
Data Entry, 23%
Traffic Flow, 7%
Sops, 7%
FDA, 6%
Financial Transactions, 5%

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Answering Service Telephone Operator
Answering Service Telephone Operator vs Central Communications Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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