Emergency communications officer vs public safety dispatcher

The differences between emergency communications officers and public safety dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an emergency communications officer has an average salary of $39,422, which is higher than the $35,063 average annual salary of a public safety dispatcher.

The top three skills for an emergency communications officer include patrol, computer aided dispatch and emergency situations. The most important skills for a public safety dispatcher are computer aided dispatch, customer service, and CAD.

Emergency communications officer vs public safety dispatcher overview

	Emergency Communications Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Yearly salary	$39,422	$35,063
Hourly rate	$18.95	$16.86
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	93,158	25,700
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Emergency communications officer vs public safety dispatcher salary

Emergency communications officers and public safety dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Emergency Communications Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Average salary	$39,422	$35,063
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $53,000	Between $26,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	Bloomington, IL	Berkeley, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	City of Austin	City of San Jos
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between emergency communications officer and public safety dispatcher education

There are a few differences between an emergency communications officer and a public safety dispatcher in terms of educational background:

	Emergency Communications Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Emergency communications officer vs public safety dispatcher demographics

Here are the differences between emergency communications officers' and public safety dispatchers' demographics:

	Emergency Communications Officer	Public Safety Dispatcher
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%	Male, 37.6% Female, 62.4%
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 emergency communications officer and public safety dispatcher duties and responsibilities

Emergency communications officer example responsibilities.

Dispatch all patrol units to calls for service.
Monitor Fire/EMS calls of adjacent jurisdictions.
Maintain composure and compassion while handling emergency and non-emergency calls from a diverse community
Retrieve sensitive information such as, DMV files and background histories.
Insert foley catheter or straight cath a patient as directed.
Receive training regarding updates and changes of policies, procedure and regulations to CJIS.

Public safety dispatcher example responsibilities.

Manage the response and allocation of police, fire, ems personnel when call for service.
Provide a and CPR instructions.
Conduct layperson CPR instruction to local communities.
Train entry dispatchers on Fire/EMS call taking and dispatching.
Provide determinant dispatch codes base on EMD and EFD standards.
Job duties are the answering, processing and dispatching of police, fire and ems services.

Emergency communications officer vs public safety dispatcher skills

Common emergency communications officer skills

Patrol, 20%
Computer Aided Dispatch, 10%
Emergency Situations, 7%
CPR, 6%
CAD, 6%
EMS, 6%

Common public safety dispatcher skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Customer Service, 6%
CAD, 6%
Patrol, 5%
Dispatch System, 4%
NCIC, 3%

Emergency Communications Officer vs. similar jobs

Emergency Communications Officer related careers

Emergency Communications Officer related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Emergency Communications Officer
Emergency Communications Officer vs Public Safety Dispatcher

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs