Public safety dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher

The differences between public safety dispatchers and emergency medical dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an emergency medical dispatcher has an average salary of $38,255, which is higher than the $35,063 average annual salary of a public safety dispatcher.

The top three skills for a public safety dispatcher include computer aided dispatch, customer service and CAD. The most important skills for an emergency medical dispatcher are EMT, computer aided dispatch, and EMS.

Public safety dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher overview

	Public Safety Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Yearly salary	$35,063	$38,255
Hourly rate	$16.86	$18.39
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	25,700	69,103
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Public safety dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher salary

Public safety dispatchers and emergency medical dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Safety Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average salary	$35,063	$38,255
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $46,000	Between $30,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	-
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	-
Best paying company	City of San Jos	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between public safety dispatcher and emergency medical dispatcher education

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

	Public Safety Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Public safety dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher demographics

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

	Public Safety Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 37.6% Female, 62.4%	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 public safety dispatcher and emergency medical dispatcher duties and responsibilities

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 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.

Public safety dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher skills

Common public safety dispatcher skills

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

Common emergency medical dispatcher skills

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

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Public Safety Dispatcher
Public Safety Dispatcher vs Emergency Medical Dispatcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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