As an emergency dispatcher working in the Brown County Public Safety Communications Department at 3028 Curry Lane, lives will rest in your hands as you field 911 calls from the public and dispatch the appropriate fire, police, and ambulance services to the residents of Green Bay and beyond. Last year in Brown County significant statistics included the following numbers:
- 100: number of emergency dispatchers employed
- $43,440: the average yearly salary for these dispatchers
- 358,982: total amount of calls answered by these dispatchers
- $17.19: current starting wage per hour
- 4: number of certifications required to become a 911 operator in Brown County
If you are ready to pursue a career path that can be both challenging and rewarding then consider the following steps to becoming a 911 dispatcher in Brown County:
 | Earn Qualifications that Will Make You an Attractive Candidate |
 | Apply with Brown County |
 | Training and Certification |
 | Stay Current |
Step 1. Earn Qualifications that Will Make You an Attractive Candidate
Meeting the minimum qualifications to become an emergency operator is generally not enough if you are seeking to become a competitive candidate.
Besides 911 operator training, another way to improve both your immediate and long term career outlook is to study for a degree in a dispatching-related field at one of Green Bay’s five area colleges or through additional online schools offering associate and bachelor programs in areas of study such as:
- Homeland Security
- Psychology
- Emergency Management
- Law Enforcement
- Communications
- Criminal Justice
Step 2. Apply with Brown County
The Brown County Human Resources Department posts vacant emergency operator position announcements online. If there are no current openings – officially under the title Telecommunication Operator – you can fill out a job interest card to be notified when 911 dispatcher jobs in Brown County become available. You can only apply for jobs online, and to begin this process you will need to create an online account. Finally, before you apply be sure you are willing to carry out some of the more trying duties of an emergency operator:
- Communicate precisely and effectively with verbally abusive callers
- Maintain emotional stability when working with callers who are in stressful situations
- Work any schedule at any time of day or night
- Sit for long periods of time
Step 3. Training and Certification
The 911 dispatcher training and certification you will be required to complete after being hired in Brown County, Wisconsin includes:
- Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Certification
- Wisconsin TIME Certification (Transactional Information Management Enforcement)
- CPR
- 40-hour Basic Telecommunicator Certification provided in association with the Brown County Public Safety Communications Department
Step 4. Stay Current by Maintaing Certifications
To remain an employable dispatcher you will need to maintain three of your required certifications (CPR, EMD, and TIME) and the Public Safety Communications Department will keep you up to speed with what is required to accomplish this.
Also, as you gain experience after a few years you will be eligible for promotion to positions such as Telecommunication Lead Operator or Communications Supervisor. Because you can substitute education for experience, if you have a related associate or bachelor degree you will be eligible for these higher positions sooner. Another way to become qualified for more advanced career opportunities is by obtaining training and education from agencies such as: