911 Call Taker

You're the very first voice someone hears when they call 911 — before the dispatcher, before the cops, before the ambulance. Your job is to answer the phone, figure out what's happening in under 30 seconds, and route the call to the right dispatcher. You'll hear everything: car crashes, chest pains, domestic violence, butt dials, and people reporting their neighbor's music at 2 AM. Training is intense, turnover is brutal, and the emotional weight starts on day one.

Learn the skills

Courses and certifications to get you job-ready

What you'll actually do

• 01Answer 911 calls and determine the nature and priority of each emergency
• 02Collect critical information — location, injuries, weapons, suspects — in under a minute
• 03Route calls to police, fire, or EMS dispatchers based on the situation
• 04Handle non-emergency calls from people who think 911 is customer service for the city
• 05Enter call data into CAD systems accurately while someone screams in your ear
• 06Take your break and try not to replay the last call in your head (you will anyway)
• 07Clock out knowing you'll never find out what happened to most of the people you helped