Call taker vs emergency medical dispatcher

The differences between call takers and emergency medical dispatchers 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 $38,255 average annual salary of an emergency medical dispatcher.

The top three skills for a call taker include computer aided dispatch, taker and CAD. The most important skills for an emergency medical dispatcher are EMT, computer aided dispatch, and EMS.

Call taker vs emergency medical dispatcher overview

	Call Taker	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Yearly salary	$38,776	$38,255
Hourly rate	$18.64	$18.39
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	11,539	69,103
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Call taker vs emergency medical dispatcher salary

Call takers and emergency medical dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Call Taker	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average salary	$38,776	$38,255
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $30,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	City of San Antonio	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between call taker and emergency medical dispatcher education

There are a few differences between a call taker and an emergency medical dispatcher in terms of educational background:

	Call Taker	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Call taker vs emergency medical dispatcher demographics

Here are the differences between call takers' and emergency medical dispatchers' demographics:

	Call Taker	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 35.8% Female, 64.2%
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 call taker and emergency medical dispatcher duties and responsibilities

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.

Emergency medical dispatcher example responsibilities.

Train new EMT students, and dispatchers in patient care, emergency call taking and operations.
Dispatch fire police sheriff and medical using the cad system.
Provide medical instructions to callers on issues such as childbirth and CPR.
Dispatch appropriate units according to acuity level, availability and location; assist with CPR until units arrive at location.
Develop and implement departments EMD program.
Dispatch ambulances as necessary and in accordance with state and company standard operating procedures.

Call taker vs emergency medical dispatcher skills

Common call taker skills

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

Common emergency medical dispatcher skills

EMT, 11%
Computer Aided Dispatch, 10%
EMS, 8%
CAD, 8%
EMD, 7%
CPR, 7%

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Call Taker
Call Taker vs Emergency Medical Dispatcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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