911. What is Your Emergency? -Um.... poverty?
I made it further
than the other applicants today...
...but I still failed.
on test 8 out of 15 successive tests
to qualify locally to be considered for 911 dispatch.
As soon as you fail,
you are kicked out the system.
I'd love the see the whole test set...
a chance to experience what each section *is*
but no,
Emergency Dispatch don't play that.
I didn't practice my number recall...
I needed to listen to a succession of 7-digit telephone numbers,
wait 5 seconds,
and then type the number correctly.
Over and over
and over
at top speed.
The first dozen were easy...
but eventually my mnemonic recall
started fritzing out.
I missed one digit too many,
falling one step behind
the pass/fail line.
Oh, so it goes.
It's 6 months before I can qualify to take it again.
I think I was just lucky I could pass the test
where I had to correctly type a
Name, address, phone number, VIN number and license plate number I was listening to
and make accurate notes about events,
while simultaneously being interrupted by emergency situations
I had to read and correctly respond to/direct.
HA!
I really should have applied
when I first thought of becoming an emergency operator
after I was a service operator for just under a year
once upon a time
many years ago.
That job PRIMED me for emergency dispatch.
The boss was horrible,
and proceeded to break my spirit...
but I loved the job.
I loved the multi-tasking.
Connecting a surgeon MID-OPERATION
to a specialist doctor who is off-duty,
while selling a shirt to some lady who can't decide between green or blue,
while paging a counselor for someone who called a suicide hotline,...
and then a bank panic alarm goes off?
YES! PLEASE!
Well... maybe not that lady who can't decide on her shirt,
so I let her think about it on hold
while I handle people who need
ACTUAL HELP, yes, please, thankyou.
It's disappointing.
I can try again in 6 months.
And maybe SOMEONE will hire me,
someday again
SOMEWHERE?
Then I can be seen as a worthwhile member of society,
rather than just someone who is back in school,
volunteers regularly,
keeps herself delightfully busy
and does her best to occasionally do some housework, too.
Thanks to Sailor,
I'm not starving,
I'm not bored,
I'm not desperate,
and I'm actually.... having a great time....
it'd just be nice
to financially help with our dreams.
than the other applicants today...
...but I still failed.
on test 8 out of 15 successive tests
to qualify locally to be considered for 911 dispatch.
As soon as you fail,
you are kicked out the system.
I'd love the see the whole test set...
a chance to experience what each section *is*
but no,
Emergency Dispatch don't play that.
I didn't practice my number recall...
I needed to listen to a succession of 7-digit telephone numbers,
wait 5 seconds,
and then type the number correctly.
Over and over
and over
at top speed.
The first dozen were easy...
but eventually my mnemonic recall
started fritzing out.
I missed one digit too many,
falling one step behind
the pass/fail line.
Oh, so it goes.
It's 6 months before I can qualify to take it again.
I think I was just lucky I could pass the test
where I had to correctly type a
Name, address, phone number, VIN number and license plate number I was listening to
and make accurate notes about events,
while simultaneously being interrupted by emergency situations
I had to read and correctly respond to/direct.
HA!
I really should have applied
when I first thought of becoming an emergency operator
after I was a service operator for just under a year
once upon a time
many years ago.
That job PRIMED me for emergency dispatch.
The boss was horrible,
and proceeded to break my spirit...
but I loved the job.
I loved the multi-tasking.
Connecting a surgeon MID-OPERATION
to a specialist doctor who is off-duty,
while selling a shirt to some lady who can't decide between green or blue,
while paging a counselor for someone who called a suicide hotline,...
and then a bank panic alarm goes off?
YES! PLEASE!
Well... maybe not that lady who can't decide on her shirt,
so I let her think about it on hold
while I handle people who need
ACTUAL HELP, yes, please, thankyou.
It's disappointing.
I can try again in 6 months.
And maybe SOMEONE will hire me,
someday again
SOMEWHERE?
Then I can be seen as a worthwhile member of society,
rather than just someone who is back in school,
volunteers regularly,
keeps herself delightfully busy
and does her best to occasionally do some housework, too.
Thanks to Sailor,
I'm not starving,
I'm not bored,
I'm not desperate,
and I'm actually.... having a great time....
it'd just be nice
to financially help with our dreams.