Work Context Index
Jobs with the fewest telephone conversations that pay above the U.S. median
Jobs with the fewest telephone conversations, restricted to occupations with a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations. Every value is O*NET's own mean rating; the percentile is where that value sits among all 894 occupations, not among the restricted set.
Which jobs involve the fewest phone calls that pay above the U.S. median wage?
Only 594 of the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates have a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations. Ranked by Telephone Conversations, lowest first, 25 are listed: 3 also appear in the unrestricted ranking and 22 enter only under this restriction, led by Pourers and Casters, Metal (1.86 of 5), Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic (1.92 of 5), Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (1.93 of 5). The strongest overall are Model Makers, Metal and Plastic (1.65 of 5), Tire Builders (1.74 of 5), Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (1.77 of 5). Their median BLS wage is $58,750 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 24 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.
- Occupations compared
- 594 of 894 O*NET occupations qualify (a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations); percentiles are still taken over all 894
- What O*NET asks incumbents
- Telephone Conversations: "How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?"
- Scale
- 1 = Never; 3 = Once a month or more but not every week; 5 = Every day. Values are mean incumbent ratings.
- Wage and outlook source
- BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 6 of the 25 occupations listed have a dedicated RoleSprint page.
Source and method
O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-05. Ratings are reproduced from O*NET as published mean incumbent responses on each question's own 1-to-5 scale. Percentile ranks, composite averages and the resulting order are RoleSprint's computation and are described on the methodology page. Wage, education and outlook fields are reproduced from BLS for the matching SOC code and left blank where BLS publishes no line item.
The 25 occupations
Ordered by mean rating for Telephone Conversations, lowest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Every day.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Model Makers, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4061.00 | 1.65 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 99% of 894 occupations | $63,340 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -17.3% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Tire Builders O*NET-SOC 51-9197.00 | 1.74 of 5 between "Never" and "Once a year or more but not every month" | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $57,390 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +0.8% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4035.00 | 1.77 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 98% of 894 occupations | $52,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -13.2% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Pourers and Casters, Metal O*NET-SOC 51-4052.00 | 1.86 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $51,810 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4192.00 | 1.92 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 97% of 894 occupations | $63,870 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -3.4% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators O*NET-SOC 43-5053.00 | 1.93 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 96% of 894 occupations | $58,470 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -5.3% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Sheet Metal Workers O*NET-SOC 47-2211.00 | 2.08 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $61,800 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.5% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining O*NET-SOC 47-5044.00 | 2.11 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 95% of 894 occupations | $74,500 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -15.8% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers O*NET-SOC 51-4121.00 | 2.14 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $53,750 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.4% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Roof Bolters, Mining O*NET-SOC 47-5043.00 | 2.14 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $78,540 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -18.9% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers O*NET-SOC 51-2011.00 | 2.22 of 5 Once a year or more but not every month | Lower than 94% of 894 occupations | $65,380 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -5.6% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Continuous Mining Machine Operators O*NET-SOC 47-5041.00 | 2.25 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 93% of 894 occupations | $61,810 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.2% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters O*NET-SOC 51-2041.00 | 2.36 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 93% of 894 occupations | $51,330 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -6.2% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Sailors and Marine Oilers O*NET-SOC 53-5011.00 | 2.38 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 93% of 894 occupations | $51,520 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.2% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Machinists O*NET-SOC 51-4041.00 | 2.41 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 93% of 894 occupations | $58,750 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +1% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Subway and Streetcar Operators O*NET-SOC 53-4041.00 | 2.46 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 92% of 894 occupations | $86,380 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-4051.00 | 2.47 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 92% of 894 occupations | $54,430 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -2.9% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Automotive Body and Related Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-3021.00 | 2.56 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 91% of 894 occupations | $54,890 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.7% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Engine and Other Machine Assemblers O*NET-SOC 51-2031.00 | 2.59 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 90% of 894 occupations | $53,710 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -17% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Postal Service Mail Carriers O*NET-SOC 43-5052.00 | 2.60 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 90% of 894 occupations | $60,550 median (2025) No formal educational credential · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Bioinformatics Technicians O*NET-SOC 15-2099.01 | 2.63 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 90% of 894 occupations | $81,490 median (2025) Bachelor's degree · +7.1% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Rail Car Repairers O*NET-SOC 49-3043.00 | 2.64 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 90% of 894 occupations | $67,530 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.6% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Tool and Die Makers O*NET-SOC 51-4111.00 | 2.71 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 90% of 894 occupations | $64,050 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · -9.2% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Fallers O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00 | 2.72 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 89% of 894 occupations | $52,100 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -9.9% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Hoist and Winch Operators O*NET-SOC 53-7041.00 | 2.75 of 5 between "Once a year or more but not every month" and "Once a month or more but not every week" | Lower than 89% of 894 occupations | $56,450 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +0.2% 2025-35 |
Values are mean ratings from O*NET 30.3; most come from surveys of people in the occupation, some from occupational experts, and some for newer occupations from O*NET analysts. Wage, education and outlook are from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code and are blank where BLS publishes no line item.
How this was measured
Telephone Conversations (O*NET element 4.C.1.a.2.f). The question put to incumbents: “How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?”
- 1
Never
- 2
Once a year or more but not every month
- 3
Once a month or more but not every week
- 4
Once a week or more but not every day
- 5
Every day
894 of 894 occupations have a published, unsuppressed value for this element. The percentile beside each occupation is its position among them.
The full method, including how ties are broken and what the data cannot tell you, is on the methodology page.
The restriction applied
Only occupations with a BLS median annual wage above $50,980, the 2025 median for all U.S. occupations are listed: 594 of 894 qualify.
The unrestricted ranking is at Jobs with the fewest telephone conversations.
Combine this with other conditions
The explorer ranks all occupations on any set of measures you choose, with the same values and the same arithmetic as this page.
Open the explorer with this selectionThis page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. RoleSprint has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Wage, education and outlook figures are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What to do next
These rankings describe occupations in general. The next question is whether a specific opening in one of them actually matches what you can show, and that is answered by comparing the posting with your resume.