Also called: Public Safety Telecommunicator, Emergency Dispatcher
Answers 911 calls, sends help, and talks callers through emergencies until it arrives.
Takes a call from a panicked caller whose father collapsed and coaches them through CPR, step by step, while sending an ambulance. Then a car crash, then a house fire. Calm under pressure is the whole job.
BLS May 2024.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus on-the-job training and certification.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI answers non-emergency lines, transcribes and translates calls; calm human voices still handle real 911 emergencies.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to your city or county 911 center; they pay for the academy and certifications First: Background check and hiring tests; dispatch certification comes during paid training
Classes: Speech & debate, Spanish, Geography, Keyboarding.
Official data: O*NET occupation 43-5031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.