Becoming a Customer Service Agent via Online Education?
At the very least, online education can help you lay a foundation and/or open up alternate career paths.
Ashford University, one of the highest ranking online
schools,
is a US school (accredited) offering communications courses to train individuals
to become top-notch
communication disorder specialists,
speech therapists,
speech language pathologists,
teacher of the speech and hearing handicappeds, etc.
Currently, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics there are 2,195,860 people employed as
customer service representatives alone in America, and their average annual salary is
$32,410.
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks make on average $32,400
per year and there are about 142,500
of them employed today.
Colleges and universities like Ashford University that provide online education are successfully launching workers into
this
field.
Typical Work Locations for a Customer Service Agent
- Office Building
- Call Center
- Human Resources Department
- Colleges
- Rental Car Companies
- Restaurants
- Cell Phone Companies
- Airline Companies
- Web Technology Companies
- Customer Service Agencies
Potential Advantages and Benefits of Working as a Customer Service Agent
- work at home
- work with different age groups
- work with different cultures
- driving expenses are cut
- help people find what they're looking for
- work with a great team
- quit working environment
- great individual coaching
- stability and flexibilty
- work for great leaders
Potential Drawbacks
- deal with rude people
- be paid rather poorly
- be engaging with people at all times
- work on your feet or on the telephone for long hours
- be in a position of lower status
- be able to understand people and communicate effectively
- work that can become tedious or routine
- report to another person rather than being your own boss
- follow company rules
- train or gain knowledge often on your own unpaid time
Related Professions to Consider
- Customer Service Representative
- Customer Service Coordinator
- Hotel and Airline Reservation Maker
- Supervisor
- Call Center Agent
- Travel Agent
- Reservation Sales Agent
- Solutions Consultant
- International Corporate Travel
- Senior Purchasing Agent
Possible Interview Questions When Applying to be a Customer Service Agent
- How can customer relationships be lost?
- What are the benefits of working as a customer relationship officer?
- Have you ever worked as a Customer Service Agent?
- What it takes to become a customer relation officer?
- What do you think it takes to be a customer service agent?
- What are your expectations Customer Service Agent?
- Why do you want to become a Customer Service Agent?
- Do you have any questions about becoming a Customer Service Agent?
- Do you like working with people?
- Do you have any reservations about taking this job?
Common Collaborating Professions
- Customer Care Executive
- Customer Service Representative
- Customer Service Manager
- Customer Service Executive
- General Manager
- Telecaller
- Customer Relation Executive
- Customer Care Officer
- Customer Support Agent
- Customer Care Supervisor
Customer Service Agent Training books
Customer Service Agent (More) Popular books
Potential Companies to Work For
Common College Majors
- user interfaces and user behavior
- principles of hardware and software
- systems operation
- customer interaction skills
- telephone and e-mailing skills
- data entry
- database and Internet searching and retrieval
- Public Relations
- Financial Service
- Customer Service
Customer Service Agent Salary Information
Category: Customer service representatives
| Total # Employed in the US |
2,195,860 |
| Average Hourly Wage: |
$15.58/hr |
| Hourly Wage Range |
| PERCENTILE |
| 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| $9.33 |
$11.53 |
$14.56 |
$18.5 |
$23.57 |
|
| Average Yearly Salary |
$32,410 |
| Yearly Salary Range |
| PERCENTILE |
| 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| $19,410 |
$23,980 |
$30,290 |
$38,480 |
$49,020 |
|
| Employment Demographics |
| % OF WORKERS WITH |
| < High School Diploma |
High School Diploma |
Some College |
Associate Degree |
Bachelor Degree |
Master Degree |
Doctoral Degree |
| 4.5% |
30.5% |
32.5% |
10.9% |
18.4% |
2.8% |
0.4% |
|
Customer service representatives — WAGES BY STATE, SORTED BY SALARY
| STATE | Average Hourly Wage | Average Annual Salary |
|---|
| Delaware |
$18.4/hr
|
$38,260
|
| Colorado |
$18.07/hr
|
$37,580
|
| District of Columbia |
$17.87/hr
|
$37,170
|
| Missouri |
$17.82/hr
|
$37,070
|
| Florida |
$17.39/hr
|
$36,180
|
| Alaska |
$17.03/hr
|
$35,430
|
| Nebraska |
$17/hr
|
$35,360
|
| North Dakota |
$16.99/hr
|
$35,350
|
| Oklahoma |
$16.96/hr
|
$35,270
|
| Mississippi |
$16.73/hr
|
$34,790
|
| Kansas |
$16.7/hr
|
$34,740
|
| Montana |
$16.58/hr
|
$34,480
|
| North Carolina |
$16.2/hr
|
$33,690
|
| Connecticut |
$16.05/hr
|
$33,390
|
| Utah |
$16.01/hr
|
$33,300
|
| Indiana |
$15.56/hr
|
$32,360
|
| South Carolina |
$15.56/hr
|
$32,370
|
| Virginia |
$15.54/hr
|
$32,320
|
| Arkansas |
$15.45/hr
|
$32,130
|
| Idaho |
$15.39/hr
|
$32,010
|
| Tennessee |
$15.24/hr
|
$31,700
|
| New York |
$15.23/hr
|
$31,670
|
| Kentucky |
$15.2/hr
|
$31,620
|
| Oregon |
$15.11/hr
|
$31,430
|
| Puerto Rico |
$14.97/hr
|
$31,140
|
| New Jersey |
$14.85/hr
|
$30,880
|
| New Hampshire |
$14.84/hr
|
$30,870
|
| Wisconsin |
$14.45/hr
|
$30,060
|
| Michigan |
$14.41/hr
|
$29,980
|
| New Mexico |
$14.41/hr
|
$29,970
|
| Hawaii |
$14.24/hr
|
$29,620
|
| Wyoming |
$14.22/hr
|
$29,570
|
| Maine |
$14.16/hr
|
$29,450
|
| Washington |
$14.13/hr
|
$29,390
|
| Louisiana |
$13.92/hr
|
$28,960
|
| Alabama |
$13.87/hr
|
$28,840
|
| Maryland |
$13.84/hr
|
$28,780
|
| South Dakota |
$13.84/hr
|
$28,790
|
| California |
$13.7/hr
|
$28,490
|
| Ohio |
$13.52/hr
|
$28,130
|
| Pennsylvania |
$13.46/hr
|
$27,990
|
| Guam |
$13.25/hr
|
$27,570
|
| Iowa |
$13.1/hr
|
$27,240
|
| Nevada |
$13.05/hr
|
$27,150
|
| Massachusetts |
$13.04/hr
|
$27,130
|
| West Virginia |
$12.37/hr
|
$25,730
|
Category: Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks
| Total # Employed in the US |
142,500 |
| Average Hourly Wage: |
$15.58/hr |
| Hourly Wage Range |
| PERCENTILE |
| 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| $9.44 |
$11.21 |
$15.03 |
$19.85 |
$22.79 |
|
| Average Yearly Salary |
$32,400 |
| Yearly Salary Range |
| PERCENTILE |
| 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| $19,640 |
$23,320 |
$31,250 |
$41,300 |
$47,410 |
|
| Employment Demographics |
| % OF WORKERS WITH |
| < High School Diploma |
High School Diploma |
Some College |
Associate Degree |
Bachelor Degree |
Master Degree |
Doctoral Degree |
| 3.8% |
26.3% |
32.4% |
9.7% |
23.9% |
3.6% |
0.3% |
|
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks — WAGES BY STATE, SORTED BY SALARY
| STATE | Average Hourly Wage | Average Annual Salary |
|---|
| Kansas |
$18.58/hr
|
$38,640
|
| Delaware |
$17.73/hr
|
$36,880
|
| Ohio |
$17.48/hr
|
$36,350
|
| Montana |
$17.26/hr
|
$35,900
|
| Florida |
$17.09/hr
|
$35,550
|
| Wyoming |
$16.95/hr
|
$35,250
|
| North Dakota |
$16.93/hr
|
$35,220
|
| Oklahoma |
$16.81/hr
|
$34,970
|
| New Hampshire |
$16.04/hr
|
$33,370
|
| Colorado |
$15.92/hr
|
$33,110
|
| Oregon |
$15.9/hr
|
$33,070
|
| North Carolina |
$15.84/hr
|
$32,940
|
| Hawaii |
$15.74/hr
|
$32,750
|
| Missouri |
$15.74/hr
|
$32,740
|
| Virginia |
$15.62/hr
|
$32,490
|
| Kentucky |
$15.48/hr
|
$32,200
|
| Arkansas |
$15.42/hr
|
$32,070
|
| Alaska |
$15.39/hr
|
$32,000
|
| Tennessee |
$15.36/hr
|
$31,960
|
| South Carolina |
$15.34/hr
|
$31,910
|
| Mississippi |
$15.29/hr
|
$31,810
|
| Nebraska |
$15.08/hr
|
$31,360
|
| South Dakota |
$15/hr
|
$31,200
|
| Massachusetts |
$14.99/hr
|
$31,170
|
| Iowa |
$14.84/hr
|
$30,860
|
| Connecticut |
$14.77/hr
|
$30,710
|
| California |
$14.74/hr
|
$30,660
|
| Indiana |
$14.36/hr
|
$29,870
|
| New York |
$14.22/hr
|
$29,580
|
| Utah |
$14.21/hr
|
$29,550
|
| New Mexico |
$13.95/hr
|
$29,020
|
| Louisiana |
$13.46/hr
|
$28,000
|
| Guam |
$12.8/hr
|
$26,630
|
| Wisconsin |
$12.67/hr
|
$26,360
|
| Michigan |
$12.62/hr
|
$26,240
|
| Maine |
$12.58/hr
|
$26,170
|
| Puerto Rico |
$12.47/hr
|
$25,930
|
| Alabama |
$12.18/hr
|
$25,330
|
| Washington |
$11.66/hr
|
$24,240
|
| District of Columbia |
$11.51/hr
|
$23,940
|
| New Jersey |
$11.23/hr
|
$23,350
|
| Nevada |
$11.06/hr
|
$23,010
|
| Pennsylvania |
$10.91/hr
|
$22,700
|
| West Virginia |
$10.28/hr
|
$21,390
|
