911 operator training in Wyoming covers a wide range of topics from medical emergencies and vehicle accidents, to forest fires and active shooters. Learning how to become a 911 dispatcher in Wyoming means being faced with making life and death decisions on a daily basis.
Some of the larger employers in the state include:
- Cheyenne 911 and Non-Emergency Communications Center
- Casper Public Safety Communications Center, receiving 386 calls each day
- Gillette Communications Center
- Joint Combined Communications Center serving Rock Springs
Preparing for a Successful 911 Dispatcher Career in Wyoming
Long-term career goals are important to keep in mind even as candidates apply for entry-level positions. Having a degree in any of the following subjects can hasten career advancement while at the same time demonstrating a serious level of commitment to the field:
- Criminal Justice
- Fire Science
- Communications
- Law Enforcement
- Psychology
- Public Health – Disaster and Emergency Management
An important part of how to become a 911 operator in Wyoming deals with training. This is a critical element to being a professional and competent dispatcher, and especially important in emergency situations as it prevents dispatchers from panicking like their callers, providing a stable foundation to ameliorate a serious situation. Newly hired operators will receive a wide variety of 911 dispatcher training, and prospective candidates can distinguish their job candidacy by already possessing certification in any of the following:
- CPR and Cardio-cerebral Resuscitation (CCR)
- Emergency Medical Dispatching
- National Incident Management System (NIMS)
- Computer-Aided Dispatching (CAD)
- Medical Assisting
Snapshots of a 911 Dispatcher Career in Wyoming
Experienced dispatchers may apply for positions with the Cheyenne/Laramie County Emergency Management Agency’s Mobile Interagency Command Post, which is a dispatch and operations center on wheels, able to be deployed to a major event catastrophe and provide on-site information relay.
Dispatchers working at the Casper Public Safety Communications Center may find themselves in a revamped facility if a $750,000 request for upgrades is approved by the city council. With many of its technology dating from the 1960s, the Center is well overdue for a re-servicing, especially in light of recent 911 outages lasting minutes that could have cost lives. The upgrade highlights not only the importance of keeping infrastructure up to date but also the role changing technology plays in 911 dispatcher jobs in Wyoming. The advent of wireless technology and fiber optic networking in themselves has both revolutionized the scope of services emergency dispatchers can provide as well as placed an added necessity for upgrades.
Last year in Wyoming there were approximately 340 professional dispatchers working at locations across the state, earning an average annual salary of $37,560. 911 dispatchers often report their job to be challenging, but well worth the satisfaction knowing they have made a life-saving difference.
One thing that is not in the 911 dispatcher job description is how to deal with ghosts. However, this is the recent situation a Freemont County emergency dispatcher was in after receiving a call about a woman who had gone into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing after holy water was sprinkled on her to exorcise a demon who was biting the inhabitants of her residence. Luckily, by the time help arrived she had recovered.