Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
Transportation, Distribution and LogisticsO*NET 43-5032.00United States
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 annual earnings
- $50,060
- Projected change
- +4.7%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 210.98K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
52.4% of the workforce
Growing to 220.95K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Schedule or dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, or service vehicles to appropriate locations, according to customer requests, specifications, or needs, using radios or telephones.
- Prepare daily work and run 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.
- Receive or prepare work orders.
- Arrange for necessary repairs to restore service and schedules.
- Record and maintain files or records of customer requests, work or services performed, charges, expenses, inventory, or other dispatch information.
- Monitor personnel or equipment locations and utilization to coordinate service and schedules.
- Determine types or amounts of equipment, vehicles, materials, or personnel required, according to work orders or specifications.
- Advise personnel about traffic problems, such as construction areas, accidents, congestion, weather conditions, or other hazards.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,286
- 25th percentile
- $42,244
- 50th percentile
- $50,060
- 75th percentile
- $62,518
- 90th percentile
- $79,506
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $50,060 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+4.7%average or slower
2025210,979 jobs
2035 projected220,947 jobs
9,968 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 52.4%
- Some college
- 25.6%
- Associate degree
- 7.9%
- Certificate
- 7.1%
- Bachelor's degree
- 7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Dispatchers14,761 postings
- 02Transportation Dispatchers1,110 postings
- 03Service Dispatchers1,059 postings
- 04Dispatch Coordinators810 postings
- 05Security Dispatchers697 postings
- 06Dispatch Supervisors584 postings
- 07Dispatch Managers536 postings
- 08Logistics Dispatchers501 postings
- 09Truck Dispatchers495 postings
- 10HVAC Service Dispatchers426 postings
- 11Night Dispatchers411 postings
- 12Lead Dispatchers409 postings
- 13Delivery Dispatchers364 postings
- 14Communications Dispatchers321 postings
- 15Fleet Dispatchers259 postings
- 16Service Coordinators/Dispatchers251 postings
- 17Dispatch Associates240 postings
- 18Office Assistants/Dispatchers228 postings
- 19Dispatch Assistants222 postings
- 20Dispatch Clerks216 postings
Top employers
- 01Robert Half304 postings
- 02UPS165 postings
- 03Global Medical Response144 postings
- 04Transdev141 postings
- 05Aston Carter140 postings
- 06First Student126 postings
- 07GPAC125 postings
- 08Mv Transportation109 postings
- 09Sunbelt Rentals106 postings
- 10Vallarta Supermarkets96 postings
- 11Ars Corporation Ltd89 postings
- 12AMR88 postings
- 13Ars/Rescue Rooter88 postings
- 14ABM Industries81 postings
- 15CRH Americas80 postings
- 16AppleOne79 postings
- 17United Rentals77 postings
- 18CRH plc76 postings
- 19Bayer72 postings
- 20Compass Group72 postings
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