Anyone a 911 dispatcher by chance? :)

Just wondering because an employment opportunity came up and I applied. I don't know if on paper I look qualified enough to even consider for the hiring process, but it pays almost $19 an hour and..well, enough said. I know it'd be extremely stressful but I know I could handle it. Anyway, is anyone a dispatcher here by an off chance? Or know of someone who does that for a living? Any information appreciated!!  
Thanks!

I don't know anyone who does it, but I'm thankful for those people. That's a job I could never emotionally handle doing.

Here in my area the hours are odd hours & you switch shifts. 6 months you work the day, 6 months you work the night shifts. Also, you have to pass a complete background & lie detector test. Good luck though, the pay is good!

i have a friend whos been doing dispatch for about 4 years now. at first it was stressful. long hours, sometimes with nothing going on, other times pointless calls, and others with very stressful ones. she got used to it and now loves her job

They require EMT training for it here   I was looking in to it, starting pay was $22/hr. I make $9. It would have been awesome.

Quoting Carley Weaver:" Just wondering because an employment opportunity came up and I applied. I don't know if on paper I look ... [snip!] ... a dispatcher here by an off chance? Or know of someone who does that for a living? Any information appreciated!!   Thanks!"

I applied online for a dispatcher position. I was sent an email with the name of a testing center and a time and date to be there. There was about 40 other people there. We had to take a timed, written test. It was pretty hard. I failed it   In fact, a lot of people failed it. lol. Good luck to you though!

http://members.baby-gaga.com/member45612

This lady is

Quoting Commander Shepard:" I don't know anyone who does it, but I'm thankful for those people. That's a job I could never emotionally handle doing."

Me either...i honestly was gonna go into a course at a school for it but then i realized that there is no way in hell i would emotionally handle that smurf  

there's a lot of training and certifications to pass and maintain.

It's a lot of really weird / long hours. The interview was really stressful, too, because I was interviewed in front of a panel of people including the chief of police and I had to take a typing test.

one of my friends is a dispatcher, even if you think your emotionally ready for it, you can never be fully ready he said, he still gets really upset over some calls

Quoting Sherri + 3:" I applied online for a dispatcher position. I was sent an email with the name of a testing center and ... [snip!] ... a timed, written test. It was pretty hard. I failed it   In fact, a lot of people failed it. lol. Good luck to you though!"

May I ask what was on the written test/what were you expected to know?

Quoting ma ♥:" Here in my area the hours are odd hours & you switch shifts. 6 months you work the day, 6 months ... [snip!] ... work the night shifts. Also, you have to pass a complete background & lie detector test. Good luck though, the pay is good!"

Haha, a lie detector test? Man!

Quoting LolaMcKitten:" It's a lot of really weird / long hours. The interview was really stressful, too, because I was interviewed ... [snip!] ... too, because I was interviewed in front of a panel of people including the chief of police and I had to take a typing test. "

I feel like I'd do really well with the written test and typing test..but with the interview in front of a panel...not so much.

Quoting Carley Weaver:" May I ask what was on the written test/what were you expected to know?"

There was a lot of stuff. Basically is was scenarios. You would have to read a scenario where someone called 911 and you had to determine how you would handle that call. You had to know how to take down information like if there was a suspect in a crime. You had to make a description for the police officers and things like that. Lots and lots of things to remember.