Answering service telephone operator vs switchboard operator assistant

The differences between answering service telephone operators and switchboard operators assistant 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 switchboard operator assistant. Additionally, a switchboard operator assistant has an average salary of $38,484, 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 switchboard operator assistant are customer service, multi-line switchboard, and AFE.

Answering service telephone operator vs switchboard operator assistant overview

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Switchboard Operator Assistant
Yearly salary	$35,244	$38,484
Hourly rate	$16.94	$18.50
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	26,945	27,713
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	53	53
Years of experience	2	2

Answering service telephone operator vs switchboard operator assistant salary

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

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Switchboard Operator Assistant
Average salary	$35,244	$38,484
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $29,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between answering service telephone operator and switchboard operator assistant education

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

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Switchboard Operator Assistant
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Business
Most common college	-	-

Answering service telephone operator vs switchboard operator assistant demographics

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

	Answering Service Telephone Operator	Switchboard Operator Assistant
Average age	53	53
Gender ratio	Male, 14.6% Female, 85.4%	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%
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, 14.6% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.4% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	19%	19%

Differences between answering service telephone operator and switchboard operator assistant 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

Switchboard operator assistant example responsibilities.

Prepare, manage and distribute substantial amount of complex government paperwork and Medicaid documents; manage and distribute mail to secretaries.
Plan and coordinate logistics and materials for board meetings.
Conduct recruiting, hiring, training and supervise PBX operators
Provide logistics support to the Dallas ISD administration in the event of any issues.
Assist in social media efforts, including maintenance of company Facebook page and implementation of Facebook marketing campaigns using third-party apps.
Direct, supervise and evaluate work activities of admitting and switchboard personnel.

Answering service telephone operator vs switchboard operator assistant 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 switchboard operator assistant skills

Customer Service, 20%
Multi-Line Switchboard, 14%
AFE, 7%
Purchase Orders, 5%
Schedule Appointments, 5%
Financial Transactions, 4%

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Answering Service Telephone Operator
Answering Service Telephone Operator vs Switchboard Operator Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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