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The differences between phone operators and telephone operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a telephone operator has an average salary of $31,168, which is higher than the $30,289 average annual salary of a phone operator.
The top three skills for a phone operator include patients, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for a telephone operator are patients, emergency calls, and customer service.
| Phone Operator | Telephone Operator | |
| Yearly salary | $30,289 | $31,168 |
| Hourly rate | $14.56 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 87,484 | 31,043 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 53 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
The primary job of phone operators is to help customers by answering questions, providing information, and transferring calls. They handle special billing requests from customers such as credits or refunds for bad connections or incorrectly dialed numbers and third-party charges. They may also handle emergency calls and aid children or people with disabilities to make phone calls. Other tasks of phone operators include calculating and quoting charges for services, operating telephone switchboards, and monitoring automated systems for collect calls placement.
A telephone operator is an employee who assists clients through transferring calls, answering questions, and providing information. In the case of a large volume of calls, telephone operators must operate a private branch exchange (PBX) system to enable them to manage several different calls with accuracy and efficiency. They help customers with special billing requests and people with physical disabilities to make telephone calls. Telephone operators also perform clerical duties such as typing, sorting mail, and updating directory information.
Phone operators and telephone operators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Phone Operator | Telephone Operator | |
| Average salary | $30,289 | $31,168 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $36,000 | Between $25,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Rochester, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Minnesota |
| Best paying company | - | Mount Auburn Hospital |
| Best paying industry | - | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a phone operator and a telephone operator in terms of educational background:
| Phone Operator | Telephone Operator | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between phone operators' and telephone operators' demographics:
| Phone Operator | Telephone Operator | |
| Average age | 53 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3% | Male, 22.4% Female, 77.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 3.2% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 13.4% Unknown, 8.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 3.6% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 19% | 9% |