Telecommunications/911 Dispatch
Get involved with your local center to support emergency personnel in helping the community.
About
Illinois emergency dispatchers must meet governmental authorities or designated organizations' requirements. However, pre-hire requirements will vary from agency to agency. Hiring agencies may use skills tests to determine how ready a candidate can be. Testing skills such as typing tests, multi-tasking, psychological/behavioral tests, call summarization, and prioritization tests are some examples organizations may require before hiring or completing the necessary training.
Several vocational schools and community colleges offer training courses/certifications/licenses for emergency dispatchers. Most agencies will also provide initial/probationary training within their organization.
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During training, you'll learn how to handle calls, prioritize needs and give instructions to callers. You'll also study anatomy and physiology, stress management, resource allocation, and quality assurance. Employers will also require you to become CPR certified, which is available at your local CPR organization. These courses may be completed in a week or a few months.
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These professionals typically answer calls placed to emergency response phone numbers such as 911 and local 7-digit emergency numbers. They collect information from distressed individuals and may provide callers with limited support and instructional assistance. Dispatchers will also classify calls as emergency or non-emergency and relay information to relevant personnel. Because a dispatcher may communicate with individuals during high-stress situations, a calm, rational, and proactive problem-solving mentality are vital. Further, the dispatcher will often input information into databases, which requires solid computing skills while continuing to communicate via radio systems simultaneously.
Your primary responsibility is the safety of all crews on the street and to answer calls, obtain a caller's location and the nature of their emergency, determine the severity of their need and send the appropriate response, and relay all information to responding agencies.
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Some good skills are compartmentalizing, working well as a team, and separating work from home. You must be able to keep a level head on emergency calls and calm the caller. You are the first-first responder, the calm behind the scenes, the psychiatrist, the therapist, the first line of questioning, and the first line of emergency instructions, all while watching out for the safety of your crews and gathering information on the radio. You will never be seen but always be heard.
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If you want to get into dispatching for a 911 telecommunications center, check with your local college for the available programs and classes. You can also contact 911 centers directly and learn their requirements, as most entry-level employees do all training through their own program. There may be other opportunities like sitting along and shadowing active telecommunication and seeing what a day in life is like. This may be the best way to get a true observation of what the career will be like.
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Take a look at telecommunicator open positions and see what fits you best.
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