Customer Service Career Path: Skills, Salary, and Jobs

By Adrianne Bibby

Do you enjoy helping other people? Are you naturally a good communicator and team player? Do you remain calm under pressure? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have what it takes to excel in a customer service career.

Customer service is one of the most in-demand remote jobs. It also pays a comfortable salary, and many companies offer generous perks to retain customer service professionals.

Below, we discuss what customer service is, a typical career path, and common job titles.

What Is Customer Service? Definition & Meaning

Customer service professionals are a vital part of a business’s retention strategy. The customer service team helps assist customers before, during, and after the purchase of a product or service.

What Do Customer Service Professionals Do?

While specific job duties can vary by company, here are a few daily tasks a customer service professional may perform:

Answer questions about a product or service
Escalate complex cases to the proper supervisor or department
Maintain records of customer interactions
Resolve customer complaints

Top Customer Service Soft Skills

There are many soft skills that can define a high-performing customer service representative. Here are a few examples of soft skills needed for customer service:

Top Customer Service Hard Skills

In addition to soft skills, there are also many hard skills that customer service professionals must possess to succeed in their role. Here are just a few examples:

Computer literacy
Data entry skills
Proficiency in team collaboration software
Strong and clear writing skills
Technical expertise in your product or service

Want more examples and tips to demonstrate your customer service skills? See Customer Service Cover Letter Tips to Help You Land an Interview.

Customer Service Education Requirements

If you’re trying to avoid student debt, you’re in luck. Most customer service positions don’t require an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

However, you must have either a high school diploma or GED. Occasionally, some senior positions require some sort of postsecondary degree.

Career Levels for Customer Service Professionals

Common customer service career paths often follow a route that begins at the entry-level and can advance to supervisory roles at the manager or senior manager level.

— Customer Service Representative

Entry-level customer service jobs are available across virtually all industries and can include positions in healthcare, technology, retail, and financial services (i.e., debt collection).

— Customer Success Manager

Mid- and senior-level customer service professionals often oversee a staff of “direct reports.” The role may include coaching and training, and in some cases, a college degree may be preferable to qualify.

— Technical Support Specialist

The specialized job of technical support professional will typically require IT-related knowledge to help customers troubleshoot and resolve issues.

What Do Customer Service Jobs Pay?

How much do customer service representatives make? According to Payscale, the average salary for customer service representatives is $40,000 per year.

However, pay can vary depending on seniority, company, industry, or location. For example, an entry-level customer service professional in Dallas, Texas, makes around $35,229 per year. However, an entry-level customer service professional in San Jose, California, makes over $44,000 annually.

Types of Customer Service Jobs

There are many types of customer service jobs, ranging from receptionist jobs to technical jobs. The companies that hire for customer service jobs are in a variety of industries, including:

Business support
Insurance
Professional, scientific, and technical
Retail
Wholesale trade

The FlexJobs database offers two primary categories for jobs in the customer service sector. If you’re just beginning to explore a customer service career, it’s helpful to have some general job titles to help narrow your search.

The job titles below offer work flexibility, including remote, part-time, and alternative schedule options.

— Customer Service Jobs

This category includes jobs where you may interact with customers via email, phone call, or chat. Customer service jobs can be found in a variety of industries.

Some recent job titles in this category include customer service representative, field call specialist, technical support representative, customer solutions manager, sales and service consultant, account services representative, and manager, customer experience.

— Call Center Jobs

Call center jobs include inbound call jobs (taking incoming calls from customers either online or via an internal calling system) and outbound call jobs (generating outgoing customer calls on behalf of clients or businesses).

A few common job titles in the call center category include call center representative, bilingual call center associate, sales and service associate, outreach specialist, foreign language interpreters, client care representative, and benefits associate.

Grow Your Customer Service Career

Customer service representatives are in demand, making it a great option for those seeking a hybrid or work-from-home job. Remote customer service jobs typically don’t require a degree and offer a comfortable salary. By taking the time to hone your hard and soft skills, you can have a thriving career as a customer service representative.

Looking for a customer service job? Since 2007, FlexJobs has been a leader in remote and hybrid work. Learn more about the benefits of a FlexJobs membership today!

Take the Tour

Don't forget to share this article with friends!