Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
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.
- Median pay
- $50,340
- Doing it now
- 203,500
- By 2035
- Down 0.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
16,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.
- Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.
- Relay work orders, messages, or information to or from work crews, supervisors, or field inspectors, using telephones or two-way radios.
- Confer with customers or supervising personnel to address questions, problems, or requests for service or equipment.
- Prepare daily work and run schedules.
- Receive or prepare work orders.
- Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesSee 44 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Hands-on and practical
Leading and persuading
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $50,340 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.