Customer relations
Switchboard operator
Key facts
This job is declining in the United States. The BLS partly attributes the decline of administrative jobs, including this one, to automation tools, AI among them. Future-proof jobs use similar skills: see "What next?".
The job
Answers a company's incoming calls, gives information and transfers callers to the right department.
20 job titles linked to this page
Titles from the European ESCO classification. They are also used for search.
- alarm centre dispatcher
- ambulance services dispatcher
- call handler
- communication centre operator
- control room worker
- dispatcher of emergency medical services
- dispatcher of emergency medical vehicles
- EMD
- emergency call handler
- emergency call operator
- emergency medical dispatcher
- emergency medical services dispatcher
- medical dispatcher
- receptionist
- receptionist telephone operator
- switchboard operator
- switchboard receptionist
- telephone answering service operator
- telephone operator
- telephone switchboard operator
What next?
Future-proof jobs that draw on skills close to this one. They are leads to explore, not an assessment of your profile.
- ChangingHome care aide
- ChangingNursing assistant
- ChangingTruck driver
Indicative matches: at launch they will come from the skills listed in official occupational directories.
Gauges
No US indicator measures hiring difficulty job by job: this gauge stays empty. How countries are compared
Sources
The BLS projects a drop from 35,400 to 26,200 jobs in the United States between 2025 and 2035.
- AI exposure categories and employment projections, 2025-2035 (XLSX file)Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States · August 2026 · official statistics
- Fastest declining occupations, 2025-2035Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States · August 2026 · official statistics
- Employment Projections — 2025-2035 (news release)Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States · 27 August 2026 · official statistics
Checked on 27 October 2026.