How To Become A Public Safety Dispatcher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a public safety dispatcher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Public safety dispatchers are responsible for responding to emergency and non-emergency calls for law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services, as well as city/county animal control, utilities, and county/state road department service and procedures to ensure the safety of all public safety responders and the public.

To perform this job successfully, applicants must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. They should have the mobility to work in a typical office setting and use standard office equipment and hearing and speech to communicate in person, over the telephone, and the radio.

Applicants can be eligible for this position with a high school diploma/GED and two to three years of administrative support experience or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

In general, public safety dispatchers make a national average salary of $18.48 per hour. This average can vary by state as well as by experience level. Generally, public safety dispatchers with a significant amount of work experience earn higher incomes.

ScorePublic Safety DispatcherUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $35,063

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 0.90%

Black or African American 9.14%

Hispanic or Latino 11.11%

Unknown 6.00%

White 72.13%

Gender

female 62.42%

male 37.58%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a public safety dispatcher

Explore public safety dispatcher education requirements

Most common public safety dispatcher degrees

Bachelor's

39.9 %

Associate

29.2 %

High School Diploma

16.5 %

Start to develop specific public safety dispatcher skills

Skills	Percentages
Computer Aided Dispatch	15.00%
Customer Service	6.03%
CAD	5.68%
Patrol	4.83%
Dispatch System	4.43%

Complete relevant public safety dispatcher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New public safety dispatchers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a public safety dispatcher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real public safety dispatcher resumes.

Gain additional public safety dispatcher certifications

Public safety dispatcher certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific public safety dispatcher certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for public safety dispatchers include Emergency Medical Dispatcher and Public Safety Telecommunicator I.

More About Certifications

Research public safety dispatcher duties and 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.

Prepare your public safety dispatcher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your public safety dispatcher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a public safety dispatcher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable public safety dispatcher resume templates

Build a professional public safety dispatcher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your public safety dispatcher resume.