Public Safety Telecommunicators
Office and Administrative Support
Sits at a 9-1-1 answering point or emergency operations center taking phone and alarm calls about crimes, fires, medical emergencies, and after-hours city department requests. Questions each caller about location and what is wrong, then ranks the situation and dispatches units by set procedures. Relays updates to and from the scene, may give emergency medical instructions, and uses maps and computer screens to find places and give directions. Logs calls and dispatches, and monitors radios used by public works, school security, and civil defense. Suits people who like close listening, quick priority decisions, and clear speech while tracking more than one call or radio channel.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$53'040
Median Wage Market Position
$53'040
What you might do
- Answer 9-1-1 and other emergency calls
- Ask callers where they are and what happened
- Decide priority and send the right units
- Walk callers through emergency medical instructions
- Relay updates between responders and other agencies
- Use maps to locate callers and give directions
Skills that matter
- Listening as callers describe emergencies
- Giving medical instructions over the phone
- Ranking emergency calls by priority
- Dispatching police, fire, or ambulance
- Relaying updates to crews on scene
- Reading maps to locate callers
AI & the future of this role
AI may help triage calls and suggest protocols, but high-stakes judgment, calm under pressure, and real-time coordination with responders still matter. Licensing, liability, and the need for trusted human voice during crises tend to keep much of this role intact.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details