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Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Schedule and dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles for conveyance of materials, freight, or passengers, or for normal installation, service, or emergency repairs rendered outside the place of business. Duties may include using radio, telephone, or computer to transmit assignments and compiling statistics and reports on work progress.

Related: First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, & Material Movers, Hand First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine & Vehicle Operators First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants Public Safety Telecommunicators Railroad Conductors & Yardmasters

Industries: Transportation & Storage Administration & Support Services

Summary
Details

Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.
Prepare daily work and run schedules.
Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.
Oversee all communications within specifically assigned territories.
Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.
Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.
Order supplies or equipment and issue them to personnel.
Receive or prepare work orders.
Advise personnel about traffic problems, such as construction areas, accidents, congestion, weather conditions, or other hazards.
Determine types or amounts of equipment, vehicles, materials, or personnel required, according to work orders or specifications.
Order supplies or equipment and issue them to personnel.
Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.

Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.

Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

57950/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

27.86/hr

Currently Employed

5,290

Yearly Projected Openings

580

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Stress Tolerance
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Leadership
Cooperation
Adaptability/Flexibility

Automatic call distributor ACD
Desktop computers
Digital telephones
Interactive voice recognition equipment
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Rail switching systems
Railway signaling systems
Special purpose telephones
Teletype input devices
Touch screen monitors
Two way radios
Vehicular global positioning system GPS

Aviation ground support software
Calendar and scheduling software
Computer aided design CAD software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base reporting software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Expert system software
Geographic information system
Helpdesk or call center software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Mobile location based services software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Route navigation software
Spreadsheet software
Time accounting software
Word processing software

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Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance

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