911 dispatcher?

Question

I am thinking of becoming a 911 dispatcher. Anyone have any advice or stories about that job. I hear that it can be pretty stressful. But it sounds really interesting.

I work overnight already as a crisis hotline counselor so I think that I have a vauge idea of what it would be like but I am not sure about making the change.

Answer 1

As with any profession there is good and bad. The thing that would make you pause first about 911 is probably the working schedule. You will probably be working nights when you first get hired. And obviously you will work weekends and holidays as well. So be prepared to change any family life you have around alot to accomodate the work schedule. Not to mention your personal life.

I'm sure you deal with stress working the counseling lines, but 911 is a whole other ball game. Different kinds and levels of stress.

Do not take any classes or training prior to getting hired somewhere, the agency that hires you will provide all the required training. (In other words, don't waste your own money.)

Apply at many places, the hiring is competitive and you may not get hired quickly, be prepared for lentghy hiring times/processes.

When you do get hired the training is intense and the washout rate is high.

My biggest suggestion is to request to do a sit-a-long at a local ,busy, 911 center in your area so you can observe the working conditions and talk with the people who work there so you can make sure this is something you CAN and WANT to do.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I worked as an emergency dispatcher in an Ohio college town. First, I worked 11 pm to 7 am, which meant trying to adjust my sleep cycles to be awake when I was used to sleeping. Chances are good you will be assigned to that shift as a rookie. So take that into consideration.

This was a middle-sized town (not a city) so there was a lot of boredom punctuated by moments of excitement. We used computers for look up; these days, computers are much more a part of the job. We had to use the '10' codes and the alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, etc.) This was a while ago, so I don't know how much of that still gets used.

You have to be able to stay cool and also not to get emotional along with the people who call you, so you can get the info you need to dispatch. It can be a wrenching job, so you have to be able to detach -- there are calls which will absolutely break your heart. You will also have to deal with psychiatric patients who haven't taken their medicine and who are seeing or hearing things -- we used to have a man who would call around the full moon and insist that someone was in his house dripping oil on his head. We'd send the officers and they'd shine a light around the house and "scare the man away".

I hope that provides some information. God bless.

Answer 3

You will receive training and have information and people to help you when you start. Yes there is stress, but there are also rewards. My neighbor does it and he helped talk one excited father through the delivery of his son. My neighbor came over telling me the couple was going to name their son after him. I looked at my neighbor and asked why anyone would name their kid "ugly".

Answer 4

can you deal with ppl stressing and panicking on you if not then dont do the job . too many life and death sittuations for me . dont think I could do it . good luck.