Switchboard Operator Job Description

Salary Range

$34,820 - $46,530

Experience

Entry-level

Work Environment

Hospital or campus switchboard room

What Does a Switchboard Operator Do?

Callers to a hospital's or university's main number often want one person fast, and they rarely know the extension. Getting them there is what a switchboard operator does, answering, looking up and transferring calls on a console, paging on-call staff and passing on emergency codes.

Also known as: Senior Telephone Information Operator, Phone Directory Assistant, Telephone Information Operator

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as CBX Operator (Computerized Branch Exchange Operator), Central Communications Specialist, Communications Operator, Communications Specialist, Information Specialist, PBX Operator (Private Branch Exchange Operator), Switchboard Operator (SB Operator), Switchboard Receptionist (SB Receptionist).

Switchboard Operator Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a switchboard operator include:

• Answer incoming calls on a PBX console or softphone and transfer them to the right extension.
• Look up staff, departments and patients in the directory while callers wait.
• Page on-call doctors, technicians or maintenance staff and confirm they responded.
• Announce emergency codes and alerts on the overhead system using set scripts.
• Update the phone directory when staff join, leave or change departments.
• Take messages accurately for people who are away or unavailable.
• Route after-hours calls to answering services, security or the on-call manager.
• Monitor fire, elevator or building alarms where the switchboard doubles as a control desk.
• Handle abusive or threatening callers calmly and report them to security.
• Record call volumes and system faults and report them to the telecom team.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a switchboard operator, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• PBX consoles and softphone systems
• Fast directory searches
• A clear, calm speaking voice
• Hospital emergency codes and paging procedures
• Keyboarding while listening
• Composure with urgent or angry callers
• Attention to names and spellings
• Willingness to work nights, weekends and holidays

Education and Training

To become a switchboard operator, in most hospitals and campuses you will need a high school diploma and a clear phone voice to qualify for training. That training is short, BLS notes, and usually covers the console, the directory and emergency codes. Night and weekend shifts are common.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of switchboard operators, including answering service operators, to decline about 26 percent from 2025 to 2035. Automated phone menus, direct-dial numbers and online directories have taken over much of the work. BLS still expects roughly 3,100 openings a year, and hospitals remain a likely place to find them, since round-the-clock paging and emergency codes still need a person.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Switchboard operators, including answering service.

Switchboard Operator Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Switchboard Operators

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Hawaii ($59,860), District of Columbia ($54,700), California ($48,840), Washington ($47,800), Minnesota ($47,430). Pay is lowest in Texas ($33,620), Alabama ($32,210), Mississippi ($30,520).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as switchboard operators, including answering service about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 100% are on the phone every day
• 85% deal with rude or angry people at least once a week
• 83% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 76% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 61% spend more than half the workday sitting
• 45% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Switchboard Operators Use

Tools and equipment

• Alarm system monitors
• Computer inkjet printers
• Copy machines
• Intercom equipment
• Laser facsimile machines
• Mobile radios
• Multiline telephone systems
• Paging systems
• Personal computers
• Premise branch exchange PBX equipment

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Word
• SAP software
• IBM Notes
• M-Tech Hotel Service Optimization System HotSOS
• Word processing software

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy organized work with data, records and clear procedures as well as hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Coordination.

Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Telecommunications.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

• Receptionist job description
• Office Specialist job description
• Customer Service Representative job description
• Call Center Agent job description
• Service Advisor job description
• Police Dispatcher job description
• Dispatcher job description
• Administrative Associate job description

Applying for a Switchboard Operator Job

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