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Customer Service Representative

$44,770
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Answer questions, resolve complaints, and help customers with orders, accounts, and products.

Where you work

Call centers, offices, or remote; at a desk with headset or chat.

The hours

Full-time and part-time; shifts including evenings and weekends.

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$44,770
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~341,700
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-5%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
coming soon

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: Trained on the job.

License or certification

No license required; on-the-job training is standard.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

CommunicationPatienceProblem solvingEmpathy

The honest take

Everywhere, but automating — the skills transfer to better-paid ops roles.

Standard Occupational Classification 43-4051. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.