Life After 911 – How to Plan For Your Future When it is Time to Move On
Written by Stacey McShane - July 27, 2020
When I began my career in 911, I was 19 years old. I went through many ups and downs in my 23 years as a police, fire, and medical dispatcher. I served as a CTO, Supervisor and Administrator. I LOVED dispatching and I was good at it. About 5 years in, I started doing the math on the retirement system and realized that at some point, I would need a second career. Retirement wouldn’t let me draw fully until age 63. I could certainly stay that long, but I realized I would make more money in retirement if I retired out of 911 after 20 or 25 years and started a second career in another system doing something else. Doing so would give me a second full retirement. It was time to come up with a plan.
Folks leave dispatch for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes it doesn’t mesh with a season in your life. Perhaps you have a child and the schedule doesn’t work anymore. Or maybe you just burn out. It is always good to have something in your back pocket to make the transition as seamless as possible. While I was looking at what I could be doing, I realized that I pretty much “grew up” in 911. I wasn’t sure how those skills would translate. I decided to return to college and learn some things outside of dispatching. At the time, online school wasn’t a thing and I had to attend classes around my crazy schedule. The good news is, there are now many excellent and fully online programs available to working professionals.
I moved to overnight shift and between 911 calls did a lot of studying and writing papers on my laptop. Over 10 years, I was able to work my way through an Associates, Bachelors and a Masters Degree. Was it easy? No. But it was worth it to give me options for the future. I chose a degree in Public Administration, because I knew it would give me opportunities within a 911 center as a future Operations Manager or Director, as well as outside of it in the public service realm. When things got difficult, and believe me, they did, I would look towards my cohort at school. A diverse and rich group of friends I still stay in contact with today who offered me a lot of support.
So, what possibilities exist or translate well outside of dispatch? More than you would think! As a dispatcher, you have a myriad of sought-after skills. You are an excellent multitasker. You are well spoken. Even if you don’t realize it, you have project management experience. You also are passionate, caring and well organized. These are desirable qualities in every field. My next article will be about how to translate your dispatch experience onto your resume to make you marketable.
My advice for anyone in the 911 field is to always have a plan B in case things get bad, you burn out, or you are ready to retire. Some practical advice:
Sit down and look at your retirement. Talk to the retirement system and do the math. Decide when the best time to exit is.
Make a 3, 5 and 10 year plan. Those plans can be within 911 (training to become a trainer or supervisor) or can be outside of dispatch.
Enrich your resume. This doesn’t necessarily mean going back to school. It could mean volunteering somewhere you are passionate about. It could mean taking on extra projects at work to learn new things. Find professional development opportunities. Take some leadership seminars. Go online and take all of the free FEMA classes. Go for your ENP or RPL certification. The sky is the limit. But don’t ever let yourself sit stagnant. Make the time and create momentum.
Connect with people in professional organizations inside and outside of 911. You would be amazed at what connections will do for you.
ALWAYS maintain an excellent reputation within your organization and outside of it. Opportunities will come your way based on your reputation. You are allowed to have a bad day every once in a while, but if you are known as the workplace victim or bully or someone who gets lazy or throws temper tantrums on the dispatch floor or on social media, it will come back to haunt you. Turn the other cheek, don’t get involved in workplace gossip and always be professional. If you have found yourself doing any of these things, stop immediately and turn over a new leaf. People will notice.
Be a go-getter and volunteer for tasks.
My most important advice is to NEVER, EVER burn bridges. Maintain cordial and professional relationships with all of your colleagues. I don’t care how angry you are. Don’t take others down with you, no matter how much you don’t like “that” supervisor. You never know who is watching and who may approach you 5 or even 10 years from now with an interesting opportunity. It may be that supervisor you didn’t like who has moved on who remembers how professional you are and will offer you a job. Or that same supervisor who no longer works there and isn’t bound by confidentiality could give you a terrible reference when contacted. Your professionalism will dictate which way that goes. Always remain professional.
I get asked where good places are to look for employment outside of 911. It really depends on what your interests are. A good place to start is vendors. Many 911 vendors look for former dispatchers to round out their staff. Look to your user agencies. A natural transition may be to a police or fire department as an administrator, records clerk or grant writer. If you still want your hand in 911 in some form or other, there are a lot of options. Have a knack for I.T. and computers? Talk to your I.T. staff and find out which certifications are needed for entry level I.T. jobs and look to learn from them. Have a knack for accreditation, training or grant writing? Consider starting a consulting firm. Many departments nationwide don’t have time to do these things and contract out those services. Look at the vendor lists for APCO and NENA conferences and check out their websites to see what jobs are available. That will tell you what you need to learn to get there.
After over 20 years of dispatching, I had a child late in life and needed to work part-time and stay home. I switched to part-time in dispatch and was lucky enough to be able to negotiate working fill-in hours that worked for me. A police colleague contacted me about a part time position as a traffic safety manager for the local Sheriff’s office. They thought I would be a good fit, as I had been volunteering for MADD after a family member was killed by a DUI driver. I got the job and it was the perfect fit that worked for my family along with supplementing my income filling in at dispatch a few hours a. week. I learned a lot at the new job and became an excellent grant writer, funding dozens of traffic safety programs in my county.
With a consolidation looming, I decided it was a good time to permanently exit dispatch. After 23 years, I hung up my headset and retired. It was one of the most difficult things I had to do, but the time was right. Once my daughter started school full time, I needed something to supplement my part time income from the Sheriff’s office. Another former colleague just happened to contact me about a program she was heading up at RQI Partners, an amazing company doing amazing things in the dispatch and EMS realm. I was hired part time as a TCPR Coach working from home coaching dispatchers around the country on high-quality T-CPR. This opportunity quickly evolved into me using my grant writing skills to help them start a grants program.
Neither of these opportunities would have come my way if I had burned bridges or maintained a less than stellar professional reputation. The beauty of both jobs is that I got to keep my hand in 911 (even if from the outside) and I was able maintain relationships with the officers, deputies and troopers I worked with when I dispatched. There is life after 911. Your skills are marketable and when you are ready to make the transition, there is a wonderful and fulfilling world awaiting you. There is nothing wrong with having an exit plan or developing yourself professionally should you decide to move on. Work on your plan and you will be ready when the time comes.