Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between call center representatives and call center associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a call center representative and a call center associate. Additionally, a call center representative has an average salary of $31,549, which is higher than the $31,363 average annual salary of a call center associate.
The top three skills for a call center representative include strong customer service, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a call center associate are patients, inbound calls, and customer service.
| Call Center Representative | Call Center Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $31,549 | $31,363 |
| Hourly rate | $15.17 | $15.08 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 133,579 | 198,167 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Call center representatives are employees who take customer calls in the company's contact center. They answer incoming calls related to their account. Call center representatives are trained on the company's products, policies, and guidelines. They are expected to know the ins and outs of every company product under their account before they are assigned to the operations floor. Once they are deemed efficient enough to handle calls, they begin to take customer inquiries and try to resolve them during the call. Call center representatives are expected to follow company policies and procedures and to meet the goals set by the company.
Call center associates are professionals who are responsible for taking inbound and outbound customer calls and handle responsibilities that include account inquiries, customer complaints, or product and support issues. These associates are required to provide quality assistance and customer service so that they can receive positive reviews from their customers. They must assist customers with technical support issues, which include updating product documentation and training materials. Call center associates must also accurately identify their customers' needs and objectives so that they can achieve the organization's sales goals.
Call center representatives and call center associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Call Center Representative | Call Center Associate | |
| Average salary | $31,549 | $31,363 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $39,000 | Between $22,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Albany, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Spectrum |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a call center representative and a call center associate in terms of educational background:
| Call Center Representative | Call Center Associate | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 37% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between call center representatives' and call center associates' demographics:
| Call Center Representative | Call Center Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 27.4% Female, 72.6% | Male, 35.0% Female, 65.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |