Post job

Emergency dispatch operator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, emergency dispatch operators don't need a college education. The most common degree for emergency dispatch operators is high school diploma with 34% graduates, with only 25% emergency dispatch operator graduates earning bachelor's degree. Emergency dispatch operators who decided to graduate from college often finish Monroe College or Florida State College at Jacksonville. Some good skills to have in this position include departmental procedures, emergency dispatch and customer service.

Popular emergency dispatch operator certifications include Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), or International Accredited Business Accountant (IABA). To improve emergency dispatch operator qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in emergency dispatch operator education paths.

What education do you need to become an emergency dispatch operator?

What degree do you need to be an emergency dispatch operator?

The most common degree for emergency dispatch operators is high school diploma, with 34% of emergency dispatch operators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 25% and bachelor's degree degree at 24%.
  • High School Diploma, 34%
  • Bachelor's, 25%
  • Associate, 24%
  • Diploma, 10%
  • Other Degrees, 7%

What should I major in to become an emergency dispatch operator?

You should major in business to become an emergency dispatch operator. 20% of emergency dispatch operators major in business. Other common majors for an emergency dispatch operator include criminal justice and psychology.

Best majors for emergency dispatch operators

RankMajorPercentages
1Business20.4%
2Criminal Justice17.4%
3Psychology8.4%
4General Studies7.7%
5Liberal Arts5.2%

20 best online courses for emergency dispatch operators

Advertising disclosure

1. Simulation of Call Centre Operations Using R Simmer

coursera

Introduction To Call Centre Simulation Process Create Statistical Variables Required For Simulation Define Trajectories for Call Centre Departments Define Teams, Resources & Arrivals of Calls Run Call Centre Simulation & Store Results Plot Charts & Interpret Simulation Results...

2. CVS Health Call Center Customer Service

coursera

The demand for call center customer service representatives is huge, there are thousands of open job roles in the US alone. If you are someone that enjoys talking to people and solving problems and are ready for new experiences, then this program is right for you. Customer service in a call center is an exciting career where every day is a new day and a new adventure. If you're considering a career in retail customer service and you're someone who is passionate about providing exceptional...

3. Getting Started with Call Center Training

udemy
4.4
(607)

Call Center Training is essential for both new hires and existing staff to sharpen their skills and feel motivated...

4. VMware vSphere 6.0 Part 2 - vCenter, Alarms and Templates

udemy
4.6
(561)

Learn VMware v Sphere v Center Installation & Configuration, Clones & Templates, Permissions, Alarms and v Sphere Converter...

5. Health in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies

coursera

The Center for Humanitarian Emergencies is a partnership between CDC's Emergency Response and Recovery Branch and the Rollins School of Public Health that drives global collaboration, research and evidence based training to improve the lives and well-being of populations impacted by humanitarian emergencies. - Center for Humanitarian Emergencies: http://www.che.emory.edu/ - CDC's Emergency Response and Recovery Branch: http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/healthprotection/errb/index.html This course...

6. Emergence of Life

coursera

How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life! This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which...

7. Airline Operations: Flight Planning and Flight Dispatch

udemy
4.3
(702)

Airline Operations: Master the essentials of aviation - aircraft operational control and dispatch...

8. Cold Calling Mastery

udemy
4.8
(350)

Become fantastic at Cold Calling - making cold calls for lead generation, sales, & business development...

9. Low Intermediate English: Calls & Messaging

coursera

In this course, you will learn how to get in touch with all the people in your life by phone, email, text, and even social media. Learning activities in this course will take place on Voxy, an engaging language learning platform that automatically adapts to your current level and your performance across reading, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary skills so that every lesson is optimized for rapid improvement. Each week is made up of engaging, short, task-based lessons that can be done...

10. CertNexus Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist

coursera

The Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist (CEET) industry validated certification helps professionals differentiate themselves from other job candidates by demonstrating their ability to ethically navigate data driven emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning and Data Science.\n\nOrganizations and governments are seeking out ethics professionals to minimize risk and guide their decision-making about the design of inclusive, responsible, and trusted technology. An algorithm not...

11. Learn Cold Calling Like the Wolf of Wall Street in 3 Days

udemy
4.5
(498)

Cold Calling Like Jordan Belfort: the Exact Blueprint (Including Script & Templates) to Close the Sale Within 3 Days...

12. Personal Emergency Planning (Coronavirus - COVID-19 Edition)

udemy
4.5
(1,490)

Learn how to prepare for and respond to all the different kinds of emergencies that could befall you including COVID-19...

13. Fintech Startups in Emerging Markets

coursera

The University of Cape Town’s specialization will give aspiring entrepreneurs the tools to understand the technological innovations and challenges the financial services industry faces in the emerging market context. The specialization covers foundations of the changing financial regulations, new technological applications like blockchain or artificial intelligence and design thinking for startups in emerging markets. Through real-world case studies, you will see how this technology can unlock...

14. Cold Calling for B2B Sales: How to Prospect over the Phone

udemy
4.5
(2,576)

B2B Sales Skill: How to Cold Call over the Phone with Purpose, Navigate through Gatekeepers and Set Client Meetings...

15. Truck Dispatcher - Working with owner operators

udemy
4.6
(724)

Work and earn...

16. Write Your Own Operating System From Scratch - Step by Step

udemy
4.5
(293)

Build your own 64-bit operating system - for the x86 architecture...

17. Winning Communication Skills for Telephone, Conference Calls

udemy
4.3
(2,677)

Improve Communication Skills - Use the Telephone Effectively! Avoid Phone Etiquette Blunders that Annoy...

18. VoIP PBX & Call Center on Asterisk 16 Issabel [Master Class]

udemy
4.5
(606)

Learn Issabel (ex-Elastix) & IP Telephony Server Configurations & Deployment with Practical Examples & Use Cases...

19. IT service operations and Service Desk management

udemy
4.4
(2,841)

Improve Service Desk and IT support processes and service functions. Better preparation for the professional exam...

20. Operating Systems Final Part (4): File Systems & Threads

udemy
4.6
(518)

Learn the concepts of Operating Systems from scratch as Operating System forms the core of Computer Science...

Average emergency dispatch operator salary by education level

Emergency dispatch operators with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $48,141 annually. With a Associate degree, emergency dispatch operators earn a median annual income of $47,649 compared to $45,975 for emergency dispatch operators with an High School Diploma degree.
Emergency dispatch operator education levelEmergency dispatch operator salary
High School Diploma or Less$45,975
Bachelor's Degree$48,141
Some College/ Associate Degree$47,649

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse office and administrative jobs