Hello I applied to my local city’s dispatch listing. I’ve worked as a hotel GM for the last 23 years and this has always appealed to me. I applied and got an email to take a quick test. Any suggestions I feel like im going into it blind.

Anyone on here work for CACC (more specifically Hamilton) and know what shift pattern they follow?

I’m a previous dispatcher back in the application process after some time off and due to various life circumstances the specific shift pattern they follow makes a pretty big difference for me.

If anyone knows/ has any insight and could reply or send me a message I’d appreciate it!!!

I'm 27F in northwest IL suburbs and just got chosen to continue in the 911 nena dispatcher application! They're now saying the next step is mandatory orientation and a written examination in two days and I am wondering what to expect on the exam part?

I have combed through the past threads for more information but there isn't much on written exams and it seems to be different from the Criticall test. Some say it could be a civil service test? But am still unsure.

If anyone has any tips please share!! It's greatly appreciated!

I am 23, and I'm doing the 911 and public saftey course at a local college this year.

I obviously haven't been applying yet. However I'm terrified.

I have had a pretty rough life.

1. I do not have a criminal record, however in highschool I was mixed up with some "Bad influences". This was before I dropped out during covid.
2. I dropped out of highschool during covid, then worked a ton of different jobs. Now I was a wreck, I was 16-19. I had 0 direction in life and was working through personal issues. I lost quite a few jobs.
3. I have 0 relationship with my family, and like 2 professional references. Maybe 1 personal reference from a childhood best friend, but we dated, and it ended amicably (we just weren't right for eachother).

So yeah, I'm terrified that even though this job seems awesome, and impactful, I will never be given a shot due to being dealt a bad hand.

I've worked really hard too, and come a long way from where I started. I've finally had a job where I left on great terms. I worked really hard to graduate highschool. I even got through a pretty hard, medically focused college course (prehealth).

I'm just anxious that all I've done has been pointless.

Is it common for your trainer to be condescending? I have two trainers and it seems like I do better with the guy then then the female .

Hey everyone! I am currently in school to be a 911 dispatcher and will be starting a placement shortly. We do have a uniform we are required to wear but nobody has said anything about shoes. I'm aware it's a silly question but all of the jobs I've had previously were very strict about what shoes you could or could not wear. I really want to get a pair of fun, bright coloured sneakers since I know the job will be a little glum and hard at times ( bright shoes are kind of a pick me up) but I dont want to invest and be told they arent allowed. Also I am in canada if that changes anything.

Anything you say will be greatly appreciated as I'm just very excited

I’m going on six years as being a 911 calltaker/dispatcher for police and fire/ems. In addition to that, I am on a rotating schedule where I may work security dispatch and send guards to respond to alarms. I feel as though I am reaching burnout and I’m not too sure what to do about it. My only work-related positive at the moment is that I am close to completing my bachelor’s degree that is being funded by my workplace, but even then there are master degree programs that require a different schedule. That’s a whole other can of worms.

I’m not too sure what I expect posting this, but this is the most frustrated I’ve ever been working this career. I needed to vent to someone about it.

On my resume, I only put relevant jobs and also jobs that I felt that I learned the most from. However, before graduating high school, I did a lot of job hopping just from being dumb and not understanding the importance of holding a job. I’ve only gotten fired and written up from one job for being late 3 times by 5 minutes. No criminal record and I believe all my other jobs would give me good feedback if they were ever contacted even if I wasn’t there long. I’m 19 so I haven’t had the longest employment history as an adult but have been able to hold down a stable job for the past 9 months, I even got promoted within 3 months of being there and I’m working towards another promotion. I’m incredibly serious about this opportunity, I just worry that my previous job changes will disqualify me. Do most agencies see this as a red flag?

What should I do? I’m a 20-year-old woman and I got accepted into an emergency response center dispatcher training program. Most of my classmates are around 30–45 years old.

I feel like this is really difficult. I’ve only been studying for a month, but it already feels challenging and scary, and I’m starting to feel like maybe I’m not cut out for this. I’m scared and anxious about the fact that people’s lives could be in my hands and that I would have to make quick, decisive decisions. The field itself is really interesting, but I don’t know if I’m capable of doing this.

I don’t have any background in healthcare, the volunteer fire department, or anything like that. And I’m so young… all the official terminology, call-handling guidelines, laws, regulations, and rules feel difficult to understand. And the fact that I’m supposed to recognize life-threatening situations within seconds feels overwhelming. And just everything else too…

I’m also not sure if this is really for me anymore. I don’t know if I applied because I genuinely wanted to do this, or just because it sounded cool to say that I got in. I don’t have that much life experience either, and I feel like I don’t have much common sense, so everything feels really difficult to handle.

I honestly don’t know what to do or whether this is really the right thing for me. How do I know if this is

How do I know if this particular profession is my calling or not?

So the beginning of the year I applied to be a public safety dispatcher in February and had my interview and stuff in April I passed my interview and my testing and eventually my polygraph and stuff but I had a problem come up, I informed them I had smoked in July of 2025 and the chief of the police station called and said I would have to wait until July 2026 to reapply again and so I waited 3 months and did just that, I got my stuff accepted I didn’t have to do testing again and my polygraph was good for 6 months so I didn’t have to do it, I had my oral board interview on August 10th and I passed it again, they said they would call me within 2 days about my background investigation and stuff and so I called on the 16th since they never called me; informed me that someone named Steven was going over both of my PHS packets and going to contact me soon for a preliminary interview, so far it’s now August 31…I’ve called last week on Tuesday left a voicemail no response back and now today I left another voicemail to get an update and I’ll wait until this Wednesday to call again. Should I be worried or no? Anyone have any advice I’m worrying lol.

I'm at a place where there's a lot of moving pieces in my life and getting this job will settle most of them in place. I've been diligent with preparation, passed the interview and now just patiently waiting. It's been 5 months since the whole process started.

Any tips on when it's an appropriate time to follow up with the investigator or the recruiter?

I applied to a PD, got put on an applicant list essentially then I was contacted about 4 months later that the position was back open. I replied back to confirm my interest and I was called to schedule a panel interview.

I went in for my panel interview with HR, the supervisor and another man whose role I cannot remember. I did my interview and the woman from HR literally asked me if I was nervous because she couldn’t tell & based on the vibe I felt like I was received well.

Before I left? HR woman #1 asked me to stick around for a second. I got called to the back by another woman in HR and we went into a room and there was the chief. Suddenly, I was doing a chief interview. I was given a conditional offer.

Tomorrow is my psych evaluation. What to expect? I am so nervous. How long after do I find out the next step?

I am nervous about my background as well because my license was suspended(failure to obey stop sign bc of a rolling stop.) I did clear it up the day after I got my offer and I am now licensed appropriately. At the time of the interview, YES it was suspended however I DID NOT drive there. (I was about to shit myself when they took it with the clipboard at the interview but no one said a word. Do they run it?) This all was also well over 2 weeks ago and I turned in my background packet after I reviewed the letter from DMV saying my license was reinstated.

I am also worried because of my employment history. I have been fired before.

Before I left HR woman #2 did highlight putting good references because they will call. Which I did. I just am wondering the weight of everything. I feel good but of course there’s the nervousness. I don’t want my past mistakes in my younger 20’s to hold the current me back who’s a pending college graduate and looking to change my life. This job would change my life.

Please advise!

Im so tired of other people in the industry acting like any negative reaction I may have, no matter how brief or what im responding to means im not cut out for the job and should quit. That because im not an unfeeling shell of a person that clearly im too thin skinned. Im good at my job, I love my job, but its no surprise so many peoope leave it when theyre shamed by their peers for having feelings.

I want to take the civil service exam for the 911 operator/dispatcher position. However, I cannot find the test preparation material for this specific civil service exam. Does anyone know where I can find it? I want to study ASAP.

Why is the application so damn tedious? It's asking me questions like what elementary school I went to and all this extra stuff, does any of this even matter and if so what is the point?

Does the training for 911 Dispatchers vs non-emergency call takers vary a lot? I know it’s brutal the training for 911 but is what makes it so brutal is the rush on the phone? Is it the same for someone who won’t be taking any emergency calls? I was hired for non-emergency call taker (besides the people that will call non-emergency when in fact it is an emergency😅)

I’m wondering if the training might be slightly easier since the pay is also less 😂

Hello everyone,

I am reaching out here to inquire if anyone knows about any open 911 dispatch positions I can apply for. I'll prefer Houston and the nearby cities, let's say within an hour from Houston.

TIA

Looking for advice from those seasoned dispatchers. I’m fully signed off in call taking, but only by myself for a few weeks. But I’ve noticed that when I come home, the things prior to this job I wouldn’t say anything about, or things that didn’t use to bother me or things I would let go in one ear and out another. I no longer have the ability to brush it off or hold my tongue. I’m sure it’s because I’m basically being emotionally over loaded on my shift. How do you guys navigate that with your families, how do you emotionally regulate?

What’s one piece of advice would you give to a 18 year old male, joining this field next week within the medical dispatch department.

I’d sincerely appreciate it, if you were 18 and a dispatcher, what would you tell your younger self?

I was offered a dispatching position after going through so many job requirements, tests, and trainings! Honestly, when I applied, I was kind of desperate for work and applying basically everywhere, but this seemed like it would be a good and easy job!
However, I’ve already accepted a job that only pays a little bit less than the dispatcher position. It’s not stressful at all, it’s flexible, I only work nights, and I have three days off during the weekend.
I’ve been researching dispatchers who quit on YouTube and Reddit, and it seems like the job might be too stressful. But I’m torn because I did so much to get this position, and I don’t think it’s worth it anymore! Mainly, I want the government benefits, but that’s about it. With a few extra shifts at my current job, I could make the same, if not more, than a dispatcher without the stress!
Is it really that stressful and traumatic?
Also the job would be a 1 hour commute each way and that in itself seems like it would get old fast considering my commute now is only 25 minutes

Hello!

I finished researching in the threads to see how people like this career. I expressed my interest in becoming a 911 comms dispatcher in California as a career change. I’m switching from aviation.

While there are no serious prospects yet (i’ve applied but no reply as of now) I was wondering what your daily career is like.

I do well in high stress situations so it wont be an issue, but I would like a recent perspective from anyone. Regarding anything like your day to day, personal life, pay and benefit usage etc.

Thank you in advance!

Started FTO not too long ago, and I don’t normally get excited, but whenever hot calls drop,mainly when the calls are involving guns or weapons in general my hands shake really bad. It’s not necessarily from being nervous, just these fat adrenaline dumps, and I really can’t control it. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with it?