telephonist vs switchboard operator

telephonist and switchboard operator both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
telephonist	Yes	No	No	No
switchboard operator	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, telephonist and switchboard operator are synonyms defined as:

telephonist and switchboard operator: someone who helps callers get the person they are calling

Other synonyms of telephonist include telephone operator.

telephonist (noun)	switchboard operator (noun)
someone who helps callers get the person they are calling	someone who helps callers get the person they are calling