Public Safety Telecommunicators build social perceptiveness, service orientation and coordination skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (81%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | 81% | $76,210 | +44% | Certificate or associate |
| 2 | First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers | 80% | $55,940 | +5% | None |
| 3 | Transit and Railroad Police | 79% | $90,230 | +70% | Certificate or associate |
| 4 | Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service | 78% | $38,630 | −27% | None |
| 5 | Correctional Officers and Jailers | 77% | $58,940 | +11% | None |
| 6 | Telephone Operators | 77% | $41,740 | −21% | None |
| 7 | First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | 75% | $106,040 | +100% | None |
| 8 | Court, Municipal, and License Clerks | 74% | $48,700 | −8% | None |
| 9 | Flight Attendants | 73% | $63,580 | +20% | None |
| 10 | Customs and Border Protection Officers | 72% | $76,210Pay for the broader BLS group “Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers” | Not compared | Certificate or associate |
Compared with Public Safety Telecommunicators, median $53,040. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as public safety telecommunicators (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
81% skill match · $76,210 · +44% pay
Persuasion · Judgment and Decision Making · Systems Evaluation
80% skill match · $55,940 · +5% pay
Management of Personnel Resources · Systems Evaluation · Time Management
79% skill match · $90,230 · +70% pay
Complex Problem Solving · Operation and Control · Systems Analysis
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (81% skill match, median $76,210), First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers (80% skill match, median $55,940) and Transit and Railroad Police (79% skill match, median $90,230), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 12 pay more than public safety telecommunicators at the median. The biggest increases: Air Traffic Controllers (+179%, $148,080), First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (+100%, $106,040) and Detectives and Criminal Investigators (+77%, $93,790).
18 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.