How To Become A Relay Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a relay operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a relay operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.66 an hour? That's $36,743 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRelay OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,743

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.37%

Asian 3.97%

Black or African American 14.31%

Hispanic or Latino 17.09%

Unknown 3.92%

White 59.34%

Gender

female 69.84%

male 30.16%

Age - 57

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 57

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a relay operator

Explore relay operator education requirements

Most common relay operator degrees

High School Diploma

31.4 %

Bachelor's

29.1 %

Associate

23.9 %

Start to develop specific relay operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Phone Calls	24.28%
Customer Service	19.24%
Speech Patterns	10.26%
Deaf Community	6.34%
Inbound Calls	6.16%

Complete relevant relay operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New relay operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a relay operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real relay operator resumes.

Research relay operator duties and 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.

Apply for relay operator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a relay operator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do relay operators rate their job?

3/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Relay operator reviews

3.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

Being able to help people in need create clear and accurate communication

Cons

Isolation I guess which I anyway understand needed to effectively perform duties and responsibilities.