Career Explorer Sales
Changing shape
Telemarketers
Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 1% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by -21.4% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on emotional intelligence.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $35,450
- Job growth to 2035
- -21.4%
- Openings a year
- 5,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 60,900
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Promote products, services, or programs
- Explain technical details of products or services
- Respond to customer problems or inquiries
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain operational records
- Schedule appointments
What the work looks like
- 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.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the Do Not Call registry from the FCC continues to grow, and companies increasingly use alternative digital marketing methods.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workersChanging shape, Index 6, -10.4%
- Library assistants, clericalChanging shape, Index 12, -6.4%
- Counter and rental clerksChanging shape, Index 16, +3.0%
- Medical secretaries and administrative assistantsGrows with AI, Index 16, +4.8%
Also known as: Telemarketer, Telephone Sales Representative (TSR), Telephone Service Representative (TSR), Telesales Representative (Telesales Rep), Call Agent, Inside Sales Representative (Inside Sales Rep), Telemarketing Sales Representative (Telemarketing Sales Rep), Telesales Specialist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.