all read

Im a dispatcher in Miami area, I am looking to move to Zephyrhills or surrounding areas and want to know how much do dispacthers/call takers start at in the surrounding areas. Unfortunately I dont know the area that good so I dont know the municipalities.

If anyone can help out, it would be appreciated

[gcopter]

Sorry ops: I don`t have the info you are looking for. But you might have info I AM looking for :shock:

Are you city or county?

I`m looking to get hired by the county and have some, well..., a bunch of questions. If you are so inclined to answer them, please post you reply here, and I`ll give you my e-mail so you can answer me back.

Thanks

i work for a city, depending on your questions i can try to answer

[gcopter]

Thanks for replying. Here`s some questions;

A.Scheduling. I realize this may vary at the county level, but I ask just in case you know of someone who works there.

1.How often shifts are rotated?

2.Does seniority matters when it comes to shift assignments?


B.Assignments/Training

1.How long is it?

2.What determines the position you`ll end up working first, i.e., call taker,dispatcher?



C.Working Conditions

1.How many computer screens do you use to work?
(one for NCIC info,another with unit signal assignments/ location?)

2.How hard can it be for someone not skilled at typing to do the job? (In the latest Dade county job offer posting, they did not listed a typing requirement for the dispatcher job. Instead, the test I took, seemed more interested in measuring your ability to listen,multi task,decision making,computer skills and typing)

3.Other than lunch time, are dispatchers given break periods?
(Hey, dispatching can be as stressful as air trafic controlling :wink: )

You can reply here or at my e-mail address;

vwjettapilot03@yahoo.com

Thanks.

Before i answer what i think, i do know someone who work for the Fire Dispatch, same building nad im sure she can find out some accurate answers, but for now ill answer what I think they do



Thanks for replying. Here`s some questions;

A.Scheduling. I realize this may vary at the county level, but I ask just in case you know of someone who works there.

1.How often shifts are rotated? **if im not mistaken its either every 2 4 or 6 months (ill find out for u)

2.Does seniority matters when it comes to shift assignments? **im sure it does, shift bids by seniority


B.Assignments/Training

1.How long is it?

2.What determines the position you`ll end up working first, i.e., call taker,dispatcher? **whatever the position u applied for (MDPD has calltakers and dispatchers, each is a different application)



C.Working Conditions

1.How many computer screens do you use to work?** I have 3 but use 2 one for my CAD session, and other for email, the big screen i have a wallpaper of my daughter Oh i forgot, our phone system and ALI are on a monitor also, my city the calltakers are not FCIC/NCIC certified, they dont run anything, I do and have cert because I also dispatch. MDPD calltakers are FCIC cert.

(one for NCIC info,another with unit signal assignments/ location?)

2.How hard can it be for someone not skilled at typing to do the job? (In the latest Dade county job offer posting, they did not listed a typing requirement for the dispatcher job. Instead, the test I took, seemed more interested in measuring your ability to listen,multi task,decision making,computer skills and typing)
**Thats up to you, when i started 10 years ago i was horrible but i was able to pass a 25wpm test now im fast and i type with 4 fingers only

3.Other than lunch time, are dispatchers given break periods? this i dont know, but ill find out

last post was me, sorry forgot to put in the right username

[gcopter]

Thanks for the replies. I have many more questions that pop into mind... whenever I`m away from the computer!

I took the test on the 24 of march. The test administrator said the results would be in in two weeks. Hopefully next monday I`ll find out for sure.

Good luck in your job seeking up north. :wink:

if ur looking to start in zephyrhills, look at a huge pay cut. i think they start somewhere around $8-9 per hour. u'll need to apply with tampa or hillsborough county, they start around $12. but beware, the city of tampa is instating a hiring freeze. in any case, it takes about 6-8 months to get hired on, so apply soon.

Thanks for the info Tampa, both will be a huge paycut for me at the moment

if ur looking to start in zephyrhills, look at a huge pay cut. i think they start somewhere around $8-9 per hour. u'll need to apply with tampa or hillsborough county, they start around $12. but beware, the city of tampa is instating a hiring freeze. in any case, it takes about 6-8 months to get hired on, so apply soon.

Actually, starting pay at Zephyrhills PD is 12.13 an hour. I think there is an adjustment for experience also. I've worked there for about a year and a half. I can honestly say i love my job. The people i work with are great.