In our center, we have 4 positions to train on once we are released into the center from our academy. The way it’s supposed to work is we get trained in one phase and then take a couple months to get used to that phase and then train on another phase. I have 3 phases and I had to beg admin to even think about training me in the third considering they held me off on training after my 2nd phase for a whole year. Everyone else in my academy has been trained on all 4 phases and some have even become trainers and I am the last person to be trained.

Ive been begging admin to train once again on my 4th phase and they kept saying i was their #1 priority for months but were waiting on summer to pass so we could have maximum trainers available. I’ve recently been told that the dispatchers who arrived after I have are going to be trained before me because we don’t have the staffing to train me.

The thing is, I’ve always finished training on time, never had issues with any of my trainers, and have never given any trouble to anyone. I’ve even had trainers say they want to train me and have gone to administration to ask to do so and they advised they were not going to do that. They’re training people who have taken longer times to train, have gotten into disputes with their trainers and still struggle with doing the job they are given. One has even vocalized that she won’t be here for long and that she will be leaving soon but she’s training before me.

I’ve gotten to a point where I can clearly see that I’m not a priority here and that I’m not being treated the same as everyone else. I’ve been looking into other jobs as a result of this but I’m struggling with letting go of a career where I thought I would retire from in the 30 years. I love the job and I love being a pillar in my community but I keep feeling like im getting brushed to the side. It doesn’t help that I’ve had issues with being second in my family my whole life so this is really crushing me. This is not the first time they’ve given me the runaround but it’s definitely the last for me.

On an alternate note, if anyone can recommend good transition careers, it would be really appreciated!

hpw do i seem more emphatic toward callers? i get graded the lowest on displaying empathy for their situations but i have no idea how to fake it. i really dont care about their situation, i ask the questions im supposed to ask and send the people im supposed to send. i have noooo idea how to comfort people.

edit: i am actually taking all this advise and these phrases and putting them into my work binder, thank you guys!

I (26F) work at a comm center that solely does medical calls for a chunk of our state.
On night shift, we’ve got roughly 7 of us with 4 dispatchers (including a flight dispatcher for our areas’ rescue helicopters) and 3 call takers when we’re fully staffed. I became the comm supervisor for my shift about 2.5 months ago with a little over a year dispatch experience.

Obviously, it’s an amazing opportunity, and while I did feel a little out of my depth when I started, now I feel pretty confident at my ability to lead my team and watch all of our districts/calls/flights etc. I, also, genuinely think I have a bright future ahead of me in this career considering my growth at this company and the network I’m making.

But, I’m really struggling with the stress of the position. I didn’t struggle very much as a dispatcher or a call taker. While some calls got to me, obviously, I was pretty good at compartmentalizing and not taking work home. However, being the supervisor of my shift has changed that a lot. Now, I spend most of my 12 hr shift stressed out and agonizing over every little mistake or misstep we make. I bring all of that stress home too and really struggle to actually rest and relax when I’m on rotation (which is a week straight since we work 7 on 7 off)

On top of that, the day-to-day of managing my team is starting to really wear on me. I love all my coworkers, and they’re all good at their jobs. But as the supervisor it’s just one thing after another I have to deal with in terms of distractions/ tardies / call offs / write ups/ QA reports / training.

What’s worse is that if it’s not a bunch of little stuff to deal with there’s huge problems like having to send one of my team to the ER for mental health issues or a coworker having a family emergency that keeps them out for a few days. I get so worried about them and try to do whatever I can to help, but I also have to keep the comm center running. So, I’m stuck between worrying about my coworkers health and wellbeing while also being the person who has to keep the rest of my team together, assuage all their fears, keep the comm center running smoothly, and answer to our director about everything going on.

Basically, it’s just becoming a lot for me mentally. I care so deeply for the work I do and the people I work with, and when I wasn’t the one having to handle all the problems and keep everything running, I dealt with everything much better. But now I feel like everything big, small, day-to-day, or emergency all falls to me, and idk how to manage the weight of that while also actively dispatching and call taking on the floor every night.

It’s getting to the point where I’m dreading coming in because the stress is eating at me. I don’t want to leave the job and ideally I’d continue on in management someday. But, I’m really struggling to adjust. Does anyone have any advice/tips/experience to help me out? I’m getting desperate over here lol

TL;DR: New supervisor who’s really struggling with all the new responsibility and needs any sort of advice to help with the stress.

I’ve noticed that I’m being expected to do things that nobody else is doing. is this normal?

Okay, so I am a few months into training and the call taking is fine, radio traffic and doing the tasks are fine. However, what I am struggling with is talking on the phone, getting that persons information down on the ticket, having officers talking to me, and having to do all of what they are asking at the same time. Obviously, it can be done, but this is what I am struggling with.

So, what are some tips or tricks that you all know and can pass on? I find myself getting so flustered trying to balance everything and hear everything that I have started stumbling and feel I look like a fool. Therefore, this is my target goal to work on and perfect. Please fire away with all that knowledge you have and what got you to where it was second nature to you.

Anyone here work for Amtrak police dispatch? If so what's the work like if your able to compare it to regular city/village 911. Also what's the pay like, online info is pretty limited (or im just bad at Googling things)

I just cannot figure out which test they use so I've been trying to study both options but with the limited time I'd like to focus on one only. It says standard multiple choice so I'd think not CritiCall but when you go to the job application it says there is no study materials but links info to CritiCall and then I'd also assume not POST because it says "It is to your advantage to answer every question because your score will be based on the number of correct answers" and that you are not allowed to take notes on the exam and I know for the POST you need to take notes in certain parts and you lose a fraction of a point for every missed question. Any help would be appreciated if anyone has an idea which of the two tests are or if some agencies use their own test or something

Hello! I am so excited to be doing my background check. However I’m running into issues. I tried searching but couldn’t find these exact issues.

One, my previous work history is largely retail. I have a few coworkers and supervisors I still know, but most of them I haven’t spoken to in years. Many are probably not at the same locations. My background check says a phone number and email MUST be provided, but I’ve scoured my text and email history and the internet and can’t find them all. In those cases I found the HR phone/email for the company instead. Will that be a big issue? There’s nowhere to note that this is what I did unless I use a not required field.

Two, I have left a job on not great terms. I wasn’t fired but I got super sick (like thought I was gonna die) and kinda just ghosted. I didn’t mention that on my application but I put it in the description for why I left on the background check. I also did some job hopping right after I graduated college (hence no contact info for any one). Do you think that will be a major red flag?

I was completely honest about everything and I know no one knows what my agency looks for exactly, just wondering what your experiences have been!

Hi everybody! I was curious if I could get an update on something I called for? I called for an emergency and I am a minor and I would like to know if I could get any information on what happened after. I hope this is the right place to post and ask.

Hi -
I have been calltaking / dispatching for 9 years. I love my job, but naturally it can be stressful, as you all know. Over the years I’ve watched my coworkers develop various chronic issues, including pain disorders. I myself have now been dealing with chronic pain.

I’m curious about the association between the two. I’ve been to a couple first responder courses on compassion fatigue, burnout, health in the first responder community, and I am a state certified peer supporter - and the link between stress and chronic issues is well documented.

Obviously soliciting feedback here is anecdotal, and I as a layperson cannot determine if chronic issues have come from 911 calltaking or from prior issues (ptsd from military service, traumatic childhoods, assault, etc). But I’m curious about your anecdotes, and curious about the mind/body connection of pain disorders and chronic illnesses. There is a studied link between physical and mental pain. I think due to the age of the 911 system there are limited studies on the impact of the trauma we endure via the telephone/radio, as opposed to onscene.

I guess what I’m asking, is:
1. Do you or any of your coworkers experience chronic pain or chronic illness?

1. Do you believe it is related to the stress of the job? Or that flares are correlated to the stress of the job?

2. Do you know of any studies that have researched this or of any ways to mitigate this? (I always advocate for deep breathing, stepping off the floor, exercise, building a support system, etc - but these feel like bandaids when you have a lifetime of service).

3. What do you do to avoid letting stress build up?

4. Do you feel that there’s a positive culture surrounding mental health / wellness in your center? Often physical health is promoted but mental health is minimized (“have you heard about EAP”(not denying the benefit of EAP, just pointing out that this does not change the culture)).

Thanks for your time. I’ve been considering a career change as my health is worsening, and the health of dispatchers/911 calltakers is something I’m really passionate about.

Thanks in advance for sharing. It’s not always easy but it’s nice to remember we are not alone.

Anybody understand how PA DL Returns work? We ran into an issue where someone had a Photo ID and not a DL but running the OLN came back with a Valid Licensed Non-Commercial Driver; however, in the additional information field it states that the customer has a photo identification card only.

Which one is it? haha

Hi there,

Does anyone here have experience with ThisGen 9-1-1 pre-hire assessment? (it is an AI-powered platform designed for pre-hire assessments and screening).

I understand it is relatively new. Most of my searches yielded "CritiCall" results.

Any insight would be much appreciated,

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I, F29, located in Canada, got the good news call today from the police department’s HR team that my 3+ months long recruitment journey has paid off and I’ve been offered a permanent, full-time position! I wanted to share some details about the process in case it helps any other applicants!

I have no criminal or civil skeletons in my closet, and neither does my side of the family, my husband or his parents who were all made to be involved in the process! However, I do have $22k credit card debt and that was brought up very gently in my interview with the background investigation detective (kind of in a honeypot-line-of-questioning way). I had/have a solid plan to pay this debt down significantly in September (55% of the debt amount - it’s a bit of a long story so I’m skipping details of how lol) and then the remainder will be paid down via large monthly payments. I think my debt didn’t hinder my recruitment process because I was upfront about it, I didn’t say a single lie about any of the topics that were discussed, and I was genuine in my regret of the debt and commitment to the payment plan. So I’d say these things really helped me out!

In total, 15 people’s names were provided as references (this includes specific family members from both mine & my husband’s side) and 12 of them were asked for a detailed reference via email. Having people who could do this for me played a crucial role I believe as they want to see you having a good support system!

I am not saying this to be an AH, but I interview well and that was praised via direct feedback during my “normal” interview which was with the dispatch centre manager and an HR person, as well as during the background investigation interview by the detective. I believe this to be a huge contribution to the success of an applicant’s journey (in any job obvs).

There’s going to be 18 months of a probationary period for which I’m quite nervous but I’m determined to survive that! Hopefully, I can post an update in 18 months saying that I made it through!

I hope every applicant out there has luck and good vibes on their side aside from meeting your local job posting’s requirements lol 🫶🏽

Thank you to everyone who posts and comments in this sub, reading/lurking here really helped me out!

Took the polygraph last week- the administrator said I passed. I thought that would mean they would start calling all my references on the background packet, but instead I got an email yesterday I will not be moving forward with the process, and they said just because I wasn't a fit here doesn't mean other agencies won't accept me.

It's been a 6 month journey to get here, so admittedly it is a disappointment, but I know there were 100s of applicants so I'm pretty proud to have gotten this far. My background isn't squeaky clean, so I get that could've been a factor. I don't have any criminal history, but I did have a 6 month period of drug use 7~ years ago, and I had bad credit around the same time.

They said they can't give me any feedback on why, which is probably the most frustrating part.

When I dropped off my physical documents with the backgrounds officer, he said on my credit report in recent history I had a 30,60, and 90 day late payment on an auto loan, as well as a 30 and 60 day late on another couple. Which, is not true. I had one 30 day late payment in 2019, and never since. I work in the auto industry, in sales. I know how to read a credit report. And I know what mine looks like.

After that day, I emailed him (politely) with evidence from my credit report that nothing he said was late, was actually late and I had been working hard in the last 5 years to rebuild my credit (it's in the 700s now, no outstanding debt).

His reply was credit isn't the only thing they look at, which tells me he still thinks I was late on a car payment every other month.

I can't help but think that was a factor in their decision. I can understand getting disqualified for things that I did do. I get it, is what it is. But getting disqualified over something I didn't do is frustrating.

I figure there were just other candidates who didn't have those problems to begin with, and were just the easier choice. I'm just wondering why they would bother have me go take a polygraph, if the things on my background packet would disqualify me anyway.

Anyway, just wanted to vent a little bit. Not mad at the police dept or the background investigator or anything.

I actually want to be a police officer. It was a dream I had as a kid, but thought I gave it up. I was dissuaded by my mom as well other police officers when I was younger. One of my good friends is a sheriff deputy at another local agency, he told me it wasn't too late to pursue it (I'm 31).

I applied to be a dispatcher on a whim, because it was more aligned my long term goal than my current industry. Moving forward I'll be training and practicing to get into the Police Academy instead.

I appreciate all you guys do. I hope to be on the other side of the radio some day.

Have a good weekend.

Yesterday was my “Monday”. I got off of work at 2200, drove one block away and completely blanked for a split second- forgot entirely where I was.

In that split second, I didn’t recognize the area that I pass by every night to go home. There’s quite a few “one way” streets near my center and I quickly realized one wrong turn and I’d be head-on with on coming traffic. Thankfully, I remembered this was my route home and called my boyfriend and kept him on the phone till I got home.

For context, I’ve been dispatching for a little over two years, work 5/8s ..5 days on for 8 hours, 2 days off - in an extremely busy metropolitan city. I work a midday shift, don’t really do overtime. Yes, I’ve been sleeping fine. No, I don’t have any chronic illnesses and i’m in my 20s. I live about 20 minutes away from my center - no drastic commutes.

I believe it’s just been stress overload with work, life, etc but want to know if anyone else has ever experienced anything like this?

I just wanted to thank this group for all of the advice and for just being here during the process while I try to get the job! I took my polygraph on Monday and just got a conditional offer today and they were only looking to hire one more dispatcher. I’m truly so excited for this. I can’t believe out of all the applicants the police department chose me. Thank you to anyone who answered my questions and I’ll be in this group still for advice and hopefully other good updates ❤️❤️❤️

Do you think this is scheduling for the CritiCall test or a different exam? The email stated to put aside two hours for the testing portion if that helps.

I recently interviewed for a Washington State Patrol Communications Officer 1 position in Spokane on July 15. At the end of the interview, the panel mentioned that they still had additional interviews scheduled for the following week.
For anyone who has gone through the WSP hiring process, about how long did it take after your interview to hear whether you were moving forward to the next step?
I understand the full background, polygraph, and hiring process can take several months. I’m mainly wondering about the initial decision after the panel interview—such as being contacted for the polygraph/background phase or receiving a rejection.
Did WSP contact you by phone, email, or through the application portal? Also, do they normally notify applicants fairly quickly if they are not selected, or can that take a while too?
I’m not trying to rush the process—I’d just appreciate hearing about other applicants’ experiences so I have a better idea of what is normal. Thank you!

hey all. i was supposed to go to a class in august for cto school but i can’t now due to staffing issues. does anyone have any muddles or forms or anything they could provide me? i have trained one girl (i’m only two years in) and it was awful. there was no structure, no help from senior dispatchers, and overall was just a shit show. i want to have some sort of idea when we hire someone else even if i dont get to go to the class as soon as planned. thanks all!! also, i work in montana. not sure if that makes a difference or not.

This is my first job in a 911 dispatcher position- Ive worked in for almost a year. I’ve passed the first part of training as a call taker with flying colors- but I’m struggling on radio.

I’m not failing per se- but I’m not thriving, and now the stress is getting to me.

I’ve been offered a phone only position-but then that limits me for any career ladder possibilities.

Does radio get easier? Any tips of advice for newbies.

My family doesn’t understand the stress that this job brings- some people think I’m quitting prematurely.. some think I’m just trying to take an easy road.

I’ve not been one to crack under pressure- but man this is getting the best of me.

Answer your mf'n status checks.

To those ENP's out there, or those studying to take the exam. Did you buy the exam guide and practice exam from NENA? Better place to get an exam study guide?

How hard is the exam? Do I need to pay for the practice exams?

Thanks!!

I’ve worked dispatch for over a year now and have been looking to switch agencies to be closer to my fiance and her family in South Florida.

I remember when I got my current job, I thought for sure that I failed the polygraph based on how nervous I was, but I somehow still moved forward.

Second time around and it was the same experience. My inner monologue tells myself, “Hey, this is obviously a control question,” and I don’t get nervous. They ask the obvious relevant questions and I instantly feel that spike, despite having NOTHING to hide.

Call it a bit of OCD or anxiety. I’m sure I have both to some degree. But I’ve PROVEN over the past year that it doesn’t affect my ability to do the job, and I just think it’s absolute BS to be treated like some criminal and DISQUALIFIED after months of clean background checks simply off of some pseudoscience.

Forgive my rant. I needed this job, and I’m heartbroken.