I ran into a FANTASTIC job oppurtunity yesterday!

[purpleduckie]

i don't want to be negative, but i do agree with those that say maybe you want to reconsider. you break down over a lot of things. maybe you want to work on that before entering the job? goodluck! it sounds like a great opportunity, regardless. maybe it'd help with your problem.

[Rose21]

I break down to things having to deal with me and people I love.

 

When its others I don't know, I can maintain a calm, cool and almost detatched persona. Where I listen to their problems, solve them, but don't freak out. I don't have the ability to do that if I don't really know them.

[livinginsbi]

Rose - I don't want to be condescending here, but you do realize what kinds of calls you will be getting? It's not simply being answering a phone and saying officer A go to place B.

[Rose21]

Yes, I am aware.

 

I'm expecting to get calls ranging from, "I think I'm having a panic attack" to "Omg, I'm freaking out here! My daughter just commited suicide, or "My son got into an accident and cut his finger off" etc etc.

 

Then I would calmly talk to the person, find the seriousness of the situation, and depending on the situation decide on how many units to dispatch and tell the location to the cops and stay on the line with them and the person to walk them through it.

 

I am prepared for the worst.

[Rose21]

I've had this calm and collected persona when faced with real life dangers all my life.

 

When I was in 7th grade, me in a friend were skipping rocks at a pond. Something happened and the rock ended up going sideways and hit her square in the head. It was bad enough to leave a scar.

 

I took her hand and we ran back to the house, she asked me if it looked that bad and I said, it looked fine and not THAT bad not wanting to alarm her. Even though there was blood running down her head.

 

When we got to the house, I cleaned it up and was able to determine although it was deep, it wasn't deep enough to need stictches and she was perfectly coherent. Worried with how it LOOKED vs. how she was.

 

I saw all that blood, and didn't freak out one bit.

 

It my mind I may of been going "omg omg!" But that's not what I presented.

[JadedStar]

Rose, that incident in the seventh grade was cool and all, but i'd rehearse some better examples for an interview if you are asked to explain an incident where you kept your cool under pressure. I think if you draw on an incident from the seventh grade they are going to think you might not have enough real world experiences for this job, and if that is the best example you can come up with, they would be right.

 

The fact that you were THINKING "OMG OMG" isn't a good indicator that you are exactly calm under stress.

 

And please do not tell them that you are a tiny fragile girl who looks stylish toting a gun. I can only imagine the response you might get to that.

[Scorpion Fury]

Rose, that incident in the seventh grade was cool and all, but i'd rehearse some better examples for an interview if you are asked to explain an incident where you kept your cool under pressure. I think if you draw on an incident from the seventh grade they are going to think you might not have enough real world experiences for this job.

 

And the fact that you were THINKING "OMG OMG" isn't a good indicator that you are exactly calm under stress.

 

I agree. And if you are trying to go to college, I don't think that being a DisPatcher at the same time would be a good idea. You are going to have to be willing to work whatever schedule they give you, which could include graveyard, swing, early morning, Christmas morning, mandatory overtime. It is doubtful they have a part time position either. Many police stations want you to work 3 12 hour shifts or 4 10 hour shifts a week. That is hard with school.

 

Also, these jobs are extremely stressful and not a lot of people can handle it. They have a very high turn over rate, which is probably why they have seven open positions.

 

As for the 5'2'' 110 pounds thing, I don't know why you think that your physical appearance will impress them. This is not a physical job. You sit in a chair all day.

[redrose85]

Go for it! Leave the fact that you're tiny and female out of the equation though. That really isn't relevant. Good luck rose.

[JadedStar]

I agree. And if you are trying to go to college, I don't think that being a DisPatcher at the same time would be a good idea. You are going to have to be willing to work whatever schedule they give you, which could include graveyard, swing, early morning, Christmas morning, mandatory overtime. It is doubtful they have a part time position either. Many police stations want you to work 3 12 hour shifts or 4 10 hour shifts a week. That is hard with school.

 

Also, these jobs are extremely stressful and not a lot of people can handle it. They have a very high turn over rate, which is probably why they have seven open positions.

 

As for the 5'2'' 110 pounds thing, I don't know why you think that your physical appearance will impress them. This is not a physical job. You sit in a chair all day.

 

Yes, dispatchers are required to work swing shifts and a lot of graveyard shifts. The more desired daytime shifts are reserved for the tenured associates who have already put some time in those horrible shifts. They rarely hire PT, correct. And wanting Christmas or Thanksgiving off to be with the family or b/f is unlikely. The newcomers get those days the most and its a 24/7 365 day a year operation. If your schedule lands on a holiday, you are required to work it.

 

I also was flabbergasted with her '5'2 and tiny' comment. Seemed entirely off the wall and irrelevant to me. This isn't a police officer job, dispatchers sit in a chair all day long.

[Scorpion Fury]

Lol yes Binoo, that's exactly what I meant.

 

I like it how I'm this short fragile girl who can tote a gun with style.

 

I'm not indimidated.

 

Put me in a Cell with a murder to question them, and I wont get the least bit squemish.

 

I don't have a very high stress level though...I get stressed easily.

 

What kind of things would you not be able to handle on a police dispatcher job Binoo?

 

Dispatchers don't "tote" guns. You will never need a gun as a dispatcher. Your job is 100% in a chair. If you're gonna go for this, I'd leave the cowboy attitude at the door. I'm not saying don't do it, but you need to look at this realistically and give some honest thought to it before you decide to apply. I think you have this idea in your head that this is just gonna be easy and no big deal and it won't get to you. It's a very big deal and a very big responsibility. You are going to be partly responsible for people's lives. They have a high turnover rate for a reason. It's very difficult and stressful, therefore many people don't last long. You don't know exactly how you'll do until you start, but I agree with the others here that you do tend to freak out over medical issues and other things going on in your life.

[ghost69]

Lol yes Binoo, that's exactly what I meant.

 

I like it how I'm this short fragile girl who can tote a gun with style.

 

I'm not indimidated.

 

Put me in a Cell with a murder to question them, and I wont get the least bit squemish.

 

I don't have a very high stress level though...I get stressed easily.

 

What kind of things would you not be able to handle on a police dispatcher job Binoo?

 

you won't get squemish over a murderer? i wouldn't say that until you've done it.

 

you don't get a gun as a dispatch though.

[melrich]

I like it how I'm this short fragile girl who can tote a gun with style.

 

LOL...OK, doesn't hurt to be excited.

 

Good on you Rose. It's nice to hear a positive story amongst all the economic gloom. Good luck with the interview.

[Rose21]

Yes, I am aware that you don't get a gun for the job.

 

And yes I am going to school, and sharing a car with my mom. So hopefulyl they can work around my schedule.

 

I can work any night, and am totaly flexible on weekends.

[Dragunov-21]

Yes, I am aware that you don't get a gun for the job.

 

And yes I am going to school, and sharing a car with my mom. So hopefulyl they can work around my schedule.

 

I can work any night, and am totaly flexible on weekends.

 

Rose, sorry to come in late, but they don't work around your schedule - they give you your shifts, and if you want to keep your job, you do it, no negotiations, at least until you've been there for a *good* while.

 

I don't know how it is over in the US, but I'm pretty sure that dispatchers in Australia aren't police officers, they're staff, like any other office worker.

 

I think you may be setting yourself up for a fall with this, tbh.

 

Make sure you're aware of what the job truly entails, and whether it places on a path which leads to here you really want to go.

 

And I'm sorry, but the whole in-a-cell with-murderers thing? I can't buy that.

 

In any case, if you decide this is something you wanna go for, best of luck with it, I'm sure we'll hear how it goes - keep us posted.

 

*EDIT* I'd just like to say - guns are tools, to be used in a professional capacity by people with a mature attitude and the necessary education and training to know how and when to use them. They aren't a hardcore handbag.

 

If you decide you really want a job involving the police/feds/armed forces, leave that attitude at the door.

[Rose21]

I want to be a criminologist for the FBI.

 

I was in a cell with prisoners. I didn't say "murderers"

 

I went on a tour with my Criminal Justice Corrections class at Huntsville prison. They let us walk into the cells, and the prisoners were in there.

 

But of course the security was also there aswell.

 

I think this would be a good job for me getting the foot in the door for law enforcement.

 

If they have part-time. I really hope they do.

 

But if they're really as desperate as they say, and need 7 people, I don't think they will be too picky.

 

Expec if they know that I'm studying Criminal Justice in school.

 

I'm not just some college drop out. Because all the job requires is a high school diploma.

 

I'm sure they'd want someone with more experience such as me. And I'm also friends with the chief of the police station, he said he'd put in a good word for me.

[laisla]

I was in a cell with prisoners. I didn't say "murderers"

 

didya?

 

Put me in a Cell with a murder to question them, and I wont get the least bit squemish.

 

I've been in the cell with 2 murderers before. It was no big deal. I would walk in jails with my head held high, no eye contact, and nobody would try to mess with me.

 

This was at Huntsville Prison.

 

............

[Dragunov-21]

I want to be a criminologist for the FBI.

 

I was in a cell with prisoners. I didn't say "murderers"

.

 

From page 3

 

I've been in the cell with 2 murderers before. It was no big deal. I would walk in jails with my head held high, no eye contact, and nobody would try to mess with me.

 

This was at Huntsville Prison.

 

*EDIT* la'isla inb4 *EDIT*

 

 

And Rose, you say they'd want someone with more experience, like you?

 

What experience do you have?

 

You're fresh out of school, and you don't seem to grasp what the job entails.

 

It's pretty much a callcenter job with training to operate under stress and talk to people in difficult situations.

 

There's not much of a carryover between dispatcher and law enforcement officer, as far as I know.

[Blue Streak]

hablas espanol?

[jenny_mcs]

hablas espanol?

 

Yeah, I would think this would be important, given that the OP is in Texas.

[JeckyllNHyde]

Just wanted to say that some places do take school hours into consideration. It really depends though. SO far I've only worked in offices so I'm only speaking from the limited experience I have

[laisla]

just wanted to say that although other people and i are trying to show rose the reality of the job, i am not saying she can't do it. and i do think if she gets this job, does it for a while, it will be good experience for when she does want to get into law enforcement. but she has to know the reality of their demands, and whether she can handle it.

[metrogirl]

Let's not forget that some calls can bring even a seasoned operator to tears. I commend the people that can do that kind of job. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a frantic mom's call when you are trying to keep her calm while instructing her on how to perform cpr on her child that isn't breathing.

[Rose21]

Oh wow I didn't even realize I put murderer there.

 

Well I certaintly didn't mean that! I meant "prisoners" I don't know what they were in for.

 

But I am aware that dispatching and police work don't have a CLOSE connection, but I do want to be in law enforcement. And with being in school, that would be the closest thing to get my foot in the door.

 

It would look good on my resime, and I think it would be a good job.

[Rose21]

I can't speak spanish, but I can speak German.

 

i never wanted to learn spanish, it's a bland language to me since I'm in TX and EVERYONE speaks it.

 

But I am certified in infant, Juvenile, and Adult CPR. And also in shaken baby syndrome and Basic First Aid.

 

I've had alot of baby sitting and child care jobs before, and I had to take all of those classes. I have the certification certificate on top of my fridge, it's good for another 5 years since I just got it last year.

[Rose21]

Tomorrow, I'm going up to the police station with my boyfriend. I'm going to talk to them to see if I can set up an interview.

 

I'm not POSITIVE it will be a perfect fit for me, but why not give it a try?

 

I can try out, and if I make it do the training. If the training seems overwhelming for me or I can't do it, then that's it. I'll look for something else.

 

The chief that I'm friends with says it's a hard job, and they cycle in and out alot of people.

 

My boyfriend's grandpa was a cop for 30 yrs and he tried to do the dispatching job, and couldn't. There was too much multi-tasking.

 

Maybe it will work for me, who knows?

 

But I'm not about to dismiss it without even atleast TRYING before I know or not.