Sales and Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 41-9041

Telemarketers

Median pay sits 45% below the mid peer in Sales and Related Occupations (neighbors include First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers, Sales and Related Workers, All Other, Insurance Sales Agents, Travel Agents).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Telemarketers: First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers ($88K) , Sales and Related Workers, All Other ($48K) , Insurance Sales Agents ($62K) , Travel Agents ($50K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Telemarketers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 41-9041 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes
  2. 2. Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers
  3. 3. Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers
  4. 4. Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted
  5. 5. Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders
  6. 6. Adjust sales scripts to better target the needs and interests of specific individuals
  7. 7. Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements
  8. 8. Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a prod…
  9. 9. Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts
  10. 10. Obtain names and telephone numbers of potential customers from sources such as telephone directories, magazine reply cards, and lists pur…
  11. 11. Schedule appointments for sales representatives to meet with prospective customers or for customers to attend sales presentations
  12. 12. Conduct client or market surveys to obtain information about potential customers

Telemarketers: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 41-9041 - lead skill Speaking at 4.1 ; lead knowledge Sales and Marketing. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.1
  2. 2. Persuasion 4.1
  3. 3. Active Listening 4.0
  4. 4. Service Orientation 3.5
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.3
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.3
  7. 7. Critical Thinking 3.0
  8. 8. Negotiation 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Sales and Marketing 4.3
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  3. 3. English Language 3.8
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.1
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.1
  6. 6. Communications and Media 3.1
Pay vs Sales and Related Occupations peers
-45%
vs mid peer median $64,820
This role $35,450/yr
$35K
National median
↓ -22%
Growth 2024-2034
6,500
Annual openings
58,430
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
Highest-pay peer · $88K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Telemarketers

1. Massachusetts $44,650
2. New York $41,400
3. Minnesota $39,850
4. California $46,000
5. Connecticut $45,200
6. Kansas $48,010
7. Oregon $42,060
8. Idaho $39,400
9. Colorado $47,670
10. Washington $39,670

Other Sales and Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Sales and Related Workers, All Other $48,280
  2. 2. Insurance Sales Agents $62,280
  3. 3. Travel Agents $50,160
  4. 4. Real Estate Brokers $73,220
  5. 5. Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents $78,660
  6. 6. First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers $87,520

Among Sales and Related Occupations peers on this card, Telemarketers sits 45% below the mid peer median ($64,820). Its own median is $35,450.

Employment Projections expect -22% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Massachusetts at $44,650. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers at $87,520. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Telemarketers pay-rank #20 in Sales and Related Occupations

On the Sales and Related Occupations median table (22 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Telemarketers lands at #20, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 41-9041 · national median $35,450 · lower third of Sales and Related Occupations (#20/22). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Telemarketers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 41-9041

Massachusetts · top state for Telemarketers

$45K published median

New York · #2 state pay

$41K · behind Massachusetts

First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Telemarketers · $88K

Sales and Related Workers, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Telemarketers · $48K

Compare Telemarketers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Telemarketers with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Telemarketers

Against another occupation

First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Telemarketers land on the Sales and Related Occupations median table? ▼
Telemarketers is pay-rank #20 of 22 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Retail Salespersons ($35K), Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers ($36K), Cashiers ($33K), Parts Salespersons ($39K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do telemarketers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Telemarketers. Leading ones include: 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for telemarketers? ▼
For SOC 41-9041, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.1), Persuasion (4.1), Active Listening (4.0), Service Orientation (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Telemarketers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $35,450 as the national median for Telemarketers. The published 10th-90th range is $27,040 to $50,350. Beside First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers ($87,520), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Telemarketers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Telemarketers is -22%. Projected annual openings: about 6,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Telemarketers? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Telemarketers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Telemarketers? ▼
Massachusetts ($44,650), New York ($41,400), Minnesota ($39,850) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Telemarketers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 41-9041. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Telemarketers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics