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Career

Telemarketers

Typical education: High school diplomaLower pressure

What they do

Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.

Kinds of work

  • Enterprising: Leading, persuading, selling and starting new projects or businesses.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.
  • Social: Helping, teaching, caring for and supporting other people.

Lower pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $35,450 Median per year · $17.04/hr Most earn $27,040–$50,350

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
  • 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.
  • Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
  • Conduct client or market surveys to obtain information about potential customers.
  • Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.

Job outlook

United States
21% fewer jobs by 2035, declining · about 5,800 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Business support services61.7%
  • Direct health and medical insurance carriers5.0%
  • Insurance agencies and brokerages3.1%
  • Self-employed (their own business)2.9%
  • Telecommunications2.0%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: None

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: NoneEntry-level

Telemarketing is an entry-level job. Most people start with a high school diploma and no prior work experience, so you can often begin right after graduation.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    Finish high school and build strong speaking, reading, and math skills, which you use every day on calls and when reading scripts and orders.

  2. Telemarketer

    Entry level, no prior experience needed

    Start making calls to solicit donations or orders for goods or services, and learn how to handle objections, track results, and keep a friendly, steady tone.

Where it can lead

  1. Sales Representative

    2-4 years of experience first

    Move from scripted calls to managing your own accounts or clients, with more responsibility for building relationships and closing sales. Most people earn this step by showing strong results as a telemarketer and learning to sell services more independently.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take English and speech or communication classesClear speaking and persuasive writing help you sound confident and convincing on the phone.
  • Join a debate or public speaking clubDebate teaches you to think fast, answer questions, and stay calm when someone pushes back, which is exactly what telemarketing calls involve.
  • Take a basic math or business classSimple number skills help you track results, understand order details, and explain prices accurately.
  • Volunteer for a school or charity fundraiserAsking people for donations or ticket sales gives you real practice making requests over the phone or in person.
  • Get a starter job with customer contactA job at a store, restaurant, or box office teaches you to listen, solve problems, and stay polite with many different people.

In college

  • Take courses in communication, psychology, or salesClasses on how people make decisions and how to communicate persuasively help you understand what makes a call successful.
  • Get a part-time job in sales or customer serviceHands-on work with real customers builds the skills employers look for in telemarketing and helps you move into sales roles later.
  • Join a sales, marketing, or business club on campusStudent organizations give you practice pitching ideas, networking, and working toward goals with a team.
  • Look for telemarketing or call center work during school breaksShort-term phone work gives you direct experience with scripts, call goals, and handling rejection professionally.
  • Practice with a customer service or sales certificate program offered by a local community collegeA short certificate, if your school or town offers one, can show employers you have taken the work seriously.

Tips for getting started

  • Practice clear, friendly phone conversations now, such as calling family to plan an event or doing mock sales pitches with a friend. Strong speaking skills matter most in this job.
  • Look for part-time or summer jobs that involve talking with customers, like retail, food service, or customer help desks. Those jobs show employers you can handle people and pressure.
  • Keep a simple record of any sales, fundraising, or customer-service results you have. Employers like to see proof that you hit goals or stayed consistent.

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

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