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Receptionists and Information Clerks vs Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Receptionists and Information Clerks and Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Receptionists and Information Clerks Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$37,230
$38,370
Employment · BLS OEWS
964,530
35,730
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
78th pct
88th pct

At a glance

Dimension Receptionists and Information Clerks Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
Median pay $37,230 $38,370
Employment 964,530 35,730
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (0.0%) Declining (-26.3%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 128,500 2,800
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 78th pct High · 88th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 95th pct · 57% of tasks 92nd pct · 54% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (55.1%) Automation-leaning (43.1%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No Yes

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Customer and Personal Service, Oral Expression, Speaking, Oral Comprehension, Speech Recognition, Administrative, Active Listening, Speech Clarity, English Language, Service Orientation, Written Comprehension, Computers and Electronics, Written Expression, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Near Vision, Writing, Coordination, Selective Attention, Monitoring, Time Management, Time Sharing, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Problem Sensitivity, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Far Vision, Mathematics, Public Safety and Security, Administration and Management, Telecommunications, Deductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Perceptual Speed, Personnel and Human Resources, Communications and Media.

Specific to Receptionists and Information Clerks

  • Persuasion
  • Instructing

Specific to Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

  • Auditory Attention
  • Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software , Presentation software , Operating system software , Data base user interface and query software .

Specific to Receptionists and Information Clerks

Specific to Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Receptionists and Information Clerks or Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Receptionists and Information Clerks vs Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/receptionists-and-information-clerks-vs-switchboard-operators-including-answering-service

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Receptionists and Information Clerks vs Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/receptionists-and-information-clerks-vs-switchboard-operators-including-answering-service

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-receptionists-and-information-clerks-vs-switchboard-operators-including-answering-service,
  title  = {Receptionists and Information Clerks vs Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/receptionists-and-information-clerks-vs-switchboard-operators-including-answering-service}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.