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Public Safety Telecommunicators

$46.9K Median Salary 9.8K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 8.2% Job Growth

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About This Career

Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Take information from the public and other sources regarding crimes, threats, disturbances, acts of terrorism, fires, medical emergencies, and other public safety matters. May coordinate and provide information to law enforcement and emergency response personnel. May access sensitive databases and other information sources as needed. May provide additional instructions to callers based on knowledge of and certification in law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical procedures.

Reported Job Titles

911 Dispatcher, Communications Officer, Communications Operator, Communications Specialist, Dispatcher, Emergency Communications Dispatcher, Emergency Communications Operator (ECO), Police Dispatcher, Public Safety Dispatcher, Telecommunicator

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Skills You'll Need

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Abilities

Oral Expression

Oral Comprehension

Speech Clarity

Problem Sensitivity

Selective Attention

Speech Recognition

Deductive Reasoning

Information Ordering

Written Comprehension

Inductive Reasoning

Near Vision

Time Sharing

Written Expression

Auditory Attention

Category Flexibility

Flexibility of Closure

Fluency of Ideas

Perceptual Speed

Speed of Closure

Knowledge

Public Safety and Security

Law and Government

English Language

Telecommunications

Customer and Personal Service

Geography

Communications and Media

Computers and Electronics

Administrative

Education and Training

Psychology

Personnel and Human Resources

Therapy and Counseling

Administration and Management

Skills

Active Listening

Speaking

Social Perceptiveness

Coordination

Critical Thinking

Service Orientation

Reading Comprehension

Judgment and Decision Making

Complex Problem Solving

Active Learning

Monitoring

Persuasion

Instructing

Writing

Technology Skills

Office suite software

Presentation software

Data base user interface and query software

Helpdesk or call center software

Spreadsheet software

Geographic information system

Electronic mail software

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Word processing software

Internet browser software

Project management software

Mobile messaging service software

Tools

Two way radios

Mainframe console or dumb terminals

Teletype input devices

Automatic call distributor ACD

Special purpose telephones

Radio frequency scanners

Notebook computers

Premise branch exchange PBX systems

Intercom systems

Desktop computers

Mainframe computers

Telecommunication devices TDD or teletypewriters TTY for the physically challenged

Personal computers

Conversation recording units

Abilities

Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Knowledge

Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Telecommunications: Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Geography: Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administrative: Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Personnel and Human Resources: Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Technology Skills

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Data base user interface and query software: Blackboard software; Database software; Microsoft Access; Yardi software
Helpdesk or call center software: Help desk software
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Geographic information system: ESRI ArcView; Geographic information system GIS systems
Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft; Oracle PeopleSoft Financials; SAP software
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word
Internet browser software: Web browser software
Project management software: Mavenlink; Microsoft Project
Mobile messaging service software: Intrado SchoolMessenger

Tools

Two way radios:
Mainframe console or dumb terminals: Computer terminals
Teletype input devices: Teletype terminals
Automatic call distributor ACD: Automated call distributors ACD
Special purpose telephones: Multi-line telephone systems
Radio frequency scanners: Radio frequency identification RFID scanners
Notebook computers: Laptop computers
Premise branch exchange PBX systems: Switchboards
Intercom systems:
Desktop computers:
Mainframe computers:
Telecommunication devices TDD or teletypewriters TTY for the physically challenged: Telecommunication devices TDD
Personal computers:
Conversation recording units: Digital recording instruments