Posted on 12/18/2016 8:17:24 PM PST by rey
Are there any first responder dispatchers or 911 operators on this site? I have been told these can be well paying jobs but that many services have difficulty keeping the positions manned. Is this true? I understand these can be stressful positions. Would you consider my time as a forward observer in the Marine Corps appropriate experience for such a position? It required proper radio procedure often under stressful conditions. Any other info you may think is pertinent is appreciated.
Might be useful:
buy a book on “interview questions”
Needs to buy following books:
( I recommend the following: buy used)
Interview Questioning
https://www.amazon.com/Knock-Dead-Job-Interview-Interviews/dp/1440536791/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480991995&sr=8-1&keywords=knock+em+dead+interview
To answer your question you could ‘sell’ that exp. as being aplicable, as part of an interview question.
BTW, I was a Surveyor// part time F.O. in the Army but in peace time...wouldn’t be able to sell it for a 911 operator.
Check your state and local services for employment requirements. They probably differ somewhat from entity to entity.
Probably, the county or city websites have application and employment requirements.
In my small town, one of the dispatchers is the same gal who works the window at the local Burger King during breakfast and lunch.
Not a whole lot happens here except auto accidents, stray/lost dogs and stolen bicycles
My DIL works as a 911 dispatcher though admittedly a small county. Her previous experience was correctional officer for a short time.
If someone says “I’ve set my mother-in-law on fire,” be sure to have them remove all valuable from the vicinity.
My daughter spent thirteen years as a county emergency services dispatcher (911).
From what I gathered from her a lot of it depends on the relationship with the local law enforcement.
She was lucky, the local LEO’s were pretty tight with the ES dispatchers.
It made life easier for everyone.
She was in a mostly rural county that had around seven small towns and part of a larger city.
She left because of the cattiness in the office.
There was a fairly high turnover rate but four or five longtime dispatchers.
Three of the longtimers took exception because she was offered promotions that she always turned down.
Such is life.
She handled the stress very well.
Big cities would probably be more stressful, especially if they operate on a swing shift, as hers did.
She went to college so she could get a day job and spend more time with her son.
If your background is what you say you shouldn’t have any problem with the job itself.
Like any job, once you have the routine down it should be pretty easy.
The office politics may kill you though.
But you have them everywhere.
Good luck.
I was an air traffic controller in the USAF, using radios all the time. I tried being a 911 dispatcher for Vallejo, CA. I lasted about 4 weeks, before I quit. Maybe I was at a disadvantage, because I controlled aircraft by physically seeing them. We had to keep track of the cops by memory, while also answering the phones. I gave it up, and became a CDCR officer, for much more cash.
Requirements for my area.
This is a full-time, non-exempt position with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office in which under general supervision, perform a variety of complex duties involved in the receipt and processing of emergency 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls; relay information between 9-1-1 callers and emergency personnel; dispatch emergency personnel and track activity in order to secure the safety of the emergency responder and the facts of the situation.
Examples of Duties:
This class specification lists the major duties and requirements of the job and is not all-inclusive. Incumbent(s) may be expected to perform job-related duties other than those contained in this document and may be required to have specific job-related knowledge and skills.
•Receive and process emergency and non-emergency service calls from the public requesting law enforcement, fire department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) or other county services; determine nature, location, and priority of incident; recall citizens as necessary.
•Enter incident reports into the computer system or appropriately refer citizen; input addresses, locations, citizen information, and other pertinent information; update or cancel events as needed; document errors.
•Transfer calls to appropriate agencies as needed; answer calls from other agencies and take appropriate action as needed.
•Perform records checks for law enforcement and other authorized county personnel as needed.
•Document officer information on suspects; confirm, enter or validate warrants and previous arrests, update information as needed; advise affected personnel of information updates; run checks of guns, property, etc. or related items for wants and registrations.
•Verify and relay information between emergency responders, citizens and others as needed via telephone and mobile computer terminals.
•Maintain a variety of automated and manual logs, records and files related to dispatching activities. Perform a variety of record keeping, filing, indexing and other general clerical work; print messages from the computer screen as needed.
•Read, update, and remain current on pertinent Agencyand Communications Division policies, procedures, rules, and regulations.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
•Contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the unit’s service to its customers by offering suggestions and directing or participating as an active member of a team.
•Uses standard office equipment, including a computer, in the course of the work
•Demonstrates courteous and cooperative behavior when interacting with the public and City staff; acts in a manner that promotes a harmonious and effective workplace environment.
Typical Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
Education and Experience:
Equivalent to High School Diploma or GED; AND one (1) year of public safety or customer service experience; OR an equivalent combination of education, training and experience as determined by Human Resources.
REQUIRED CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATIONS:
•Nevada Driver’s License.
Required Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge of:
•Geographic features and directional information.
•Call screening techniques and phone etiquette.
•Standard office practices and procedures, including records management.
•Communicating effectively in oral and written forms.
•Techniques for dealing with a variety of individuals from various socio-economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in person and over the telephone.
•Multitasking skills.
Skill in:
•Work under pressure, exercise good judgment and make sound and timely decisions in emergency and non-emergency situations.
•Understand and follow oral and written instructions.
•Communicate clearly and concisely in writing during emergency and non-emergency situations.
•Recall, summarize, prioritize and categorize information.
•Effectively listening to, communicating with, and eliciting information from upset, emotional, mentally disturbed, irate, threatening individuals, including those under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
•Dealing successfully with a variety of individuals from various socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in person and over the telephone.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED:
Under General Supervision - Incumbents at this level are given assignments and objectives that are governed by specifically outlined work methods and a sequence of steps, which are explained in general terms. The responsibility for achieving the work objectives, however, rests with a superior. Immediate supervision is not consistent, but checks are integrated into work processes and/or reviews are frequent enough to ensure compliance with instructions.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS & WORKING ENVIRONMENT:
The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Mobility to work in a typical office setting, use standard office equipment and stamina to sit for extended periods of time; strength to lift and carry up to 20 pounds; vision to read printed materials; and hearing and speech to communicate in person or over the telephone; work is subject to exposure to periods of intense stress.
Supplemental Information:
1. Continued employment is contingent upon all required licenses and certificates being maintained in active status without suspension or revocation.
2. Any City employee may be required to stay at or return to work during emergencies to perform duties specific to this classification or to perform other duties as requested in an assigned response position. This may require working a non-traditional work schedule or working outside normal assigned duties during the incident and/or emergency.
3. Employees will be required to successfully pass and maintain Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) certification, NCIC/NCJIS certification and CPR certification.
4. New employees are required to submit to a fingerprint based background investigation which cost the new employee $52.25 and a drug/alcohol screen which costs $20.00. Employment is contingent upon passing the background and the drug/alcohol screen.
5. Carson City participates in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, with information from each applicant’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. All candidates who are offered employment with Carson City must complete Section 1 of the Form I-9 along with the required proof of their right to work in the United States and proof of their identity prior to starting employment. Please be prepared to provide required documentation as soon as possible after the job offer is made. For additional information regarding acceptable documents for this purpose, please contact Human Resources at 775.887.2103 or go to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web page at www.ucis.gov.
6. Carson City is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
She would have made $67,000/year, but would have rotated through the three daily eight-hour shifts in six month cycles. It was exciting for her to have passed the tests until that point (typing, etc. (40-45 words per minute needed)).
Most would have a preference for former military personnel.
It was a union job.
It can be stressful at times, but always requires sharpness, ability to juggle multiple tasks, ability to learn new things, and excellent communications skills. Not a job for the big-picture dreamer, this requires a person who lives for the details and seldomthis jobs them wrong. Computer savvy and Spanish would be a plus. Good luck if it makes sense for you, a lot can be learned online to aid your decision.
You’ll make a little less than a cop.
Does your local police department sometimes call in artillery strikes? If they do, you're in!! :=)
Marines? Not as good as “Community Organizer”, but okay./S
Go for a large department. Less lay-offs-better benefits, etc. They will give you the training.
>>She didn’t pass the foreign accent anxious voices test, though.<<
That’s one reason why I wouldn’t bother applying. No chance on passing.
Don’t think you can’t do that.
Did a little dispatching in my youth, have followed the trade ever since. If you haven’t listened to them working, hop on radioreference.com and listen a while.
The work’s pretty stable and the compensation’s usually decent. Because there’s a shortage of competent dispatchers, there’s also a possibility of “shopping” for the organization with the best wages and working conditions once you have a track record.
Some of the negative issues are generic, and some are related to specific communities:
GENERIC:
You’re dealing with people who are frequently having the worst day of their life, you’re their lifeline and you have to get it right. Every time I answered the phone and heard that shaky intake of breath you hear from people who are frightened or traumatized, my adrenaline shot up. Those calls were frequently followed by hour long parades of loonies, boring, or angry, abusive people. You need a thick skin... and a wry sense of humor.
Somebody has to answer the phone at 3am, and (particularly early in your career), that’s likely to be you. The end of the day is never guaranteed, either. Forced overtime is common in many departments.
Ideally, if there’s a foreign born population in your city, you’ll find it easier to get the job if you’re bilingual. Other languages are usually handled by patching the caller through a central language bank.
Almost all dispatch centers these days are highly computerized. You’ll get trained, but you’ll need computer and typing skills.
The big negative issues are the stress level and the lousy hours. Essentially, the job has to take priority. For many years, dispatch centers were heavily populated by spouses of police officers, because they understood the circumstances. One positive issue is that on those days when you’ve made a decision that’s saved somebody’s life, you feel pretty damn good.
SPECIFIC ISSUES:
Particularly in municipal agencies, hiring is frequently done through HR departments that don’t have an appreciation for the skills necessary to succeed at the job. They see people sitting in front of computer terminals and conclude it’s a secretarial job. They then apply secretarial wage rates and hiring practices to their hiring. In one department I’m familiar with, there was a forty percent annual turn over rate, and half the people who remained on the job never acquired the skill level necessary for the first chair (police dispatch) position. That, in turn, put a huge stress on the competent people and they started burning out. The problem was solved by moving hiring to the police department, and boosting pay to the rate of similar skilled trades. Ultimately, quality improved and they saved money, but it took some “empire destruction” to accomplish it. At any rate, making an assessment about whether the job you’re being hired for is properly valued by the upper management is wise.
Level of training varies a lot. Over the last three decades, fire departments have evolved into emergency medical departments, and dispatchers are now routinely required to assess medical needs and give immediate care instructions on the phone. It’s wise to make sure you’ll be well trained before you get that responsibility heaped on you.
OVERALL:
It’s a tough job, but if you can make the personal sacrifices to do it, it offers security, a decent wage, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a difference.
OBTW: Many police departments offer ride-alongs. For those interested in dispatching, it’s often possible to arrange a “sit-along” in the dispatch center. If there’s a particular department a prospect is interested in, it’s a worthwhile experience. The department’s ride-along coordinator is usually the contact.
Sounds like she went through the big department/HR driven hiring process. They pack all those tests in and still routinely fail to hire people who are competent to do the job. Every agency’s different. If she’s still interested, she might find a home at a smaller department, then “lateral” in the future.
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