How To Become An Emergency Dispatcher: What It Is and Career Path

What is an emergency dispatcher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an emergency dispatcher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.67 an hour? That's $36,748 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreEmergency DispatcherUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,748

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 65.24%

male 34.76%

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 an emergency dispatcher

Explore emergency dispatcher education requirements

Most common emergency dispatcher degrees

Bachelor's

31.8 %

High School Diploma

28.8 %

Associate

24.9 %

Start to develop specific emergency dispatcher skills

Skills	Percentages
Computer Aided Dispatch	11.90%
EMS	6.28%
Customer Service	6.23%
CAD	6.11%
Public Safety Agencies	5.98%

Complete relevant emergency dispatcher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New emergency 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 an emergency dispatcher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real emergency dispatcher resumes.

Gain additional emergency dispatcher certifications

Emergency 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 emergency dispatcher certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for emergency dispatchers include Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Emergency Medical Dispatcher Certification (EMD).

More About Certifications

Research emergency dispatcher duties and responsibilities

Perform (EMD) emergency medical dispatch procedures until the police, fire fighters or paramedics arrive.
Receive emergency and non emergency calls via telephone, TDD or radio.
Assist with over the phone medical instruction, CPR instruction, and traumatic emergencies.
Coordinate response of ambulances and public safety units to emergency sites or in-progress crime situations.

Prepare your emergency dispatcher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your emergency 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 an emergency 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 Emergency Dispatcher Resume templates

Build a professional Emergency 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 Emergency Dispatcher resume.