What does it take to become a 911 Dispatcher

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a 911 Dispatcher? Are you currently at a place in your life where you feel unfulfilled with the work that you are doing? Or maybe you’re just starting out in the world and you feel like you have no sense of direction for where your life is headed? Most of us have been there. When I first started my career as a 911 Public Safety Telecommunicator (the fancy title for a 911 Dispatcher or Call Taker), I had just left college in the middle of the school year and had been working as a bookkeeper for a grocery store. I had no concept of what the world of dispatching in a 911 center would be like. As a matter of fact, my only knowledge or experience of 911 was from watching episodes of “Rescue 911” on tv in the 90’s. Needless to say, I did not have a firm grasp on what my reality was going to be like once I walked through the door of the center. 

Before I get into major detail with the job, I must stress something: THIS JOB IS NOT FOR EVERYONE however. If I had the choice to go back and do it all over again I would! For anyone who is like me, you’ll understand.

Personally, I grew up as an athlete who also played video games and essentially lived on a computer either playing games or talking to people in chat rooms. I was accustomed to being very competitive, part of a team, and living with a brain that never shut off. I never realized that being a part of these various activities and experiences actually prepared me to be a 911 Dispatcher in a completely oblivious way. If you’ve ever played a sport, been a musician, or played video games for an extended period of time, it may surprise you that many of the skills you learn and fine tune for these activities will actually make you an excellent dispatcher. 

• Communication skills: 911 dispatchers must be able to communicate clearly and effectively with people from all walks of life, often in stressful situations. They must be able to gather information quickly and accurately, and they must be able to convey instructions in a calm and reassuring manner. You may be able to remember times when you played sports or video games that involved talking to other players, where you naturally developed a skill in communication.

• Problem-solving skills: 911 dispatchers must be able to think on their feet and solve problems quickly. They must be able to assess a situation and determine the best course of action, even when there is limited information available. How many times during a sports game or a video game did you have to make a snap decision and solve a problem quickly? 

• Multitasking skills: 911 dispatchers must be able to multitask and manage multiple tasks at once. They must be able to answer calls, dispatch responders, and enter information into a computer system, all at the same time. If you’ve ever played an instrument, you know that you have to be able to read the sheet music, play the instrument correctly, count the beats, follow the conductor, etc all while still listening to what is going on around you with the rest of the music. Gamers know that they’re able to use a controller, watch the screen, listen for cues from teammates or the game, all while still focusing on the mission at hand. These are all examples of multitasking that may have never been presented to you as multitasking. Many times gamers are dismissed as great candidates because of a stigma placed on them. Gamers tend to be highly skilled in many areas involving multitasking and quick thinking because of their time spent using their brain on those types of activities. 

• Stress management skills: 911 dispatchers work in a high-stress environment. They must be able to remain calm and focused under pressure, and they must be able to manage their emotions in order to provide the best possible service to callers. Stress management is a key life skill applicable in any field, not just 911; however, athletes, musicians, and gamers have all experienced high-stress in their fields but not have realized that was what they were experiencing and how valuable learning from these experiences were. YOU CAN USE THESE SKILLS!
  

I live and work in Florida. Even within Florida, not all Emergency Communications Centers operate in a similar format therefore I can only speak from my own experience.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

I would suggest finding the City/State etc that you want to live or work in as the place to start. There are many agencies hiring (I’ll post some below). Different agencies have different requirements so to save you time, it’s going to be best to look at what each one requires. At my agency in Florida, we have a full fledged training program that is approved through the Department of Health which allows us to do all of the training in house. We even pay for you to get licensed with the Florida Department of Health: FL DOH 911 PST Program. Many other agencies will require that you get trained and licensed on your own dime before even applying. 

Agencies in Florida hiring as of March 2024 according to Google:

• Seminole County Sheriff’s Office

• Lake County Sheriff’s Office

• Boca Raton Police Department

• Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

• Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

• St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office

• Orange County Sheriff’s Office

• Marion County Public Safety Communications

• Town of Palm Beach Police Department

• Clay County

• Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office

• City of Winter Garden

• Satellite Beach

• City of Tampa Beach

• City of North Port

• City of Hialeah

• Hernando County Sheriff’s Office

• Orlando Police Department

• St. Lucie County

• City of St. Petersburg 

• Town of Indialantic

• Village of Palm Springs

• City of Leesburg

• Manatee County

• University of Florida

• State of Florida - Tallahassee
  

Being a 911 dispatcher is challenging but in the end it really is a rewarding career. I highly recommend contacting agencies that you are interested in and asking if you can sit in and observe to get a true experience as to whether or not this is something you’d be interested in pursuing as a career. Feel free to reach out if you have further interest in becoming a part of a team that you’ll be so proud to be a part of.