Answering service telephone operator vs relay operator

The differences between answering service telephone operators and relay operators 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 relay operator. Additionally, a relay operator has an average salary of $36,743, 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 relay operator are phone calls, customer service, and speech patterns.

Answering service telephone operator vs relay operator overview

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Relay Operator
Yearly salary	$35,244	$36,743
Hourly rate	$16.94	$17.66
Growth rate	-	7%
Number of jobs	26,945	30,971
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	53	53
Years of experience	2	2

Answering service telephone operator vs relay operator salary

Answering service telephone operators and relay operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Relay Operator
Average salary	$35,244	$36,743
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $24,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between answering service telephone operator and relay operator education

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

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Relay Operator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	-

Answering service telephone operator vs relay operator demographics

Here are the differences between answering service telephone operators' and relay operators' demographics:

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Relay Operator
Average age	53	53
Gender ratio	Male, 14.6% Female, 85.4%	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%
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, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 4.0% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	19%	19%

Differences between answering service telephone operator and relay operator 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

Relay operator example responsibilities.

Translate from written ASL to English.
Relay calls for deaf people using tty machines and VCO 's
Receive calls via CRT or similar device from speech/hearing impair users.
Identify customer needs and present an appropriate solution by upselling calling plans.
Attend workshops that deal with learning ASL and the daily living of that particular community.
Acknowledge call and communicate with user via CRT or other terminal until conversation are complete.

Answering service telephone operator vs relay operator 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 relay operator skills

Phone Calls, 24%
Customer Service, 19%
Speech Patterns, 10%
Deaf Community, 6%
Inbound Calls, 6%
Outbound Calls, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Answering Service Telephone Operator
Answering Service Telephone Operator vs Relay Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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