Alarm operator vs call taker

The differences between alarm operators and call takers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a call taker has an average salary of $38,776, which is higher than the $29,349 average annual salary of an alarm operator.

The top three skills for an alarm operator include alarm signals, emergency situations and customer service. The most important skills for a call taker are computer aided dispatch, taker, and CAD.

Alarm operator vs call taker overview

	Alarm Operator	Call Taker
Yearly salary	$29,349	$38,776
Hourly rate	$14.11	$18.64
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	30,893	11,539
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 30%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Alarm operator vs call taker salary

Alarm operators and call takers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Alarm Operator	Call Taker
Average salary	$29,349	$38,776
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $34,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Kirkland, WA	San Mateo, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	ASRC Federal	City of San Antonio
Best paying industry	Utilities	Government

Differences between alarm operator and call taker education

There are a few differences between an alarm operator and a call taker in terms of educational background:

	Alarm Operator	Call Taker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	High School Diploma, 30%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Alarm operator vs call taker demographics

Here are the differences between alarm operators' and call takers' demographics:

	Alarm Operator	Call Taker
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8%	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	17%	17%

Differences between alarm operator and call taker duties and responsibilities

Alarm operator example responsibilities.

Interpret and respond to system messages through use of JES2, MVS, SDSF and automate commands.
Supervise telecommunication operations and reinforce the confidentiality in telecommunications.
Enter data into various databases including TCIC and NCIC.
Enter stolen, re-cover and missing property into TCIC and NCIC database.
Supervise telecommunication operations and reinforce the confidentiality in telecommunications.

Call taker example responsibilities.

Manage truck and equipment inventory, rental tracking and GPS monitoring.
Dispatch all patrol officers and fire departments.
Enter confidential info through NCIC directly under SLED/FBI.
Place outbound calls to advise members of eta.
Dispatch need help such as fire ems and law.
Receive emergency calls and route calls to patrol units.

Alarm operator vs call taker skills

Common alarm operator skills

Alarm Signals, 15%
Emergency Situations, 14%
Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 8%
Emergency Services, 7%
Security Systems, 7%

Common call taker skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Taker, 13%
CAD, 8%
Data Entry, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
EMS, 4%