Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
National median · BLS
$35,450
▲ +3.02%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$37,370
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
58,430
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Pay range for Telemarketers
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.
Percentile
All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay
$27,040
25th
$29,640
Median (50th)
$35,450
75th
$40,230
90th — top pay
$50,350
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
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Monthly—
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Weekly—
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Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for Telemarketers
BLS projects employment of telemarketers to decline 21.4% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%.
About 5,800 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
60,900 → 47,800
-13,000 jobs
Projected change
-21.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
5,800
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
No related experience required
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
2.9% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 2)
Very Little to Some Preparation Needed. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035
Telemarketers salaries by state
BLS state medians, plus the same figure adjusted for local prices (BEA Regional Price Parities). Tap a state for its full range and H-1B pay.
State
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Telemarketers salaries by metro area
Search by city, ZIP code or metro name. Tap a metro for its full range.
Metro area
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Skills & tools
Skills needed for Telemarketers
How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.
Top skills
Persuasion4.1
Speaking4.1
Active Listening4.0
Service Orientation3.5
Reading Comprehension3.3
Social Perceptiveness3.3
Critical Thinking3.0
Negotiation3.0
Coordination2.5
Writing2.5
Top knowledge areas
Sales and Marketing4.3
Customer and Personal Service4.0
English Language3.8
Administration and Management3.1
Computers and Electronics3.1
Communications and Media3.1
Administrative2.7
Law and Government2.5
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordSalesforce softwareZoomAcarda Sales Technologies Acarda OutboundAutomatic call distribution softwareDatabase Systems Corp TelemationMicrosoft DynamicsRemote access call center softwareSoftphone software
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
About the job
What telemarketers do
Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.
Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.
Call Center AgentCall Center OperatorCall Center Representative (Call Center Rep)Call Center Sales AgentCall Center TelemarketerContact Center AgentDirect Sales AgentDonation WorkerInbound Call Center AgentInbound TelemarketerIndependent Sales Representative (Independent Sales Rep)Marketing ProcessorOutbound Sales AgentOutbound TelemarketerScheduling AgentSolicitorTelemarketing Representative (Telemarketing Rep)Telephone Sales AgentTelephone SolicitorTelesales Agent
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to Telemarketers, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $35,450.
