Workers in this group are responsible for a variety of communications and recordkeeping operations in business and government. In general, they coordinate, expedite, and keep track of orders for personnel, equipment, and materials.
Dispatchers receive requests for service and initiate action to provide that service. Duties vary, depending on the needs of the employer. Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers, also called public safety dispatchers, handle calls from people reporting crimes, fires, and medical emergencies; truck, bus, and train dispatchers schedule and coordinate the movement of these vehicles; taxicab dispatchers relay requests for cabs to individual drivers; tow truck dispatchers take calls for emergency road service; and gas, electric, and telephone company dispatchers handle calls related to utility and telephone service.
Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks keep track of all incoming and outgoing shipments of goods transferred between businesses, suppliers, and customers. Traffic clerks keep a record of destination, weight, and charges of all incoming and outgoing shipments. Shipping clerks assemble, address, stamp, and ship merchandise or materials. Receiving clerks unpack, verify, and record incoming merchandise. In a small company, one clerk may perform all of these tasks.
Stock clerks receive, unpack, store, issue, and maintain an inventory. The inventory may be merchandise in wholesale and retail establishments, and equipment, supplies, or materials in other kinds of organizations. In small firms, they may perform all of the above tasks, as well as those usually handled by shipping and receiving clerks. In large establishments, they may be responsible for only one task. More detail on these occupations is available in the statements that follow.
Other administrative support occupations in this group include production, planning, and expediting clerks who coordinate and expedite the flow of work and material according to production schedules; procurement clerks who draw up purchase orders to obtain merchandise or material; weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers who weigh, measure, and check materials; and utilities meter readers who read electric, gas, water, or steam meters and record the volume used by their customers.
Working conditions vary considerably by occupation and employment setting. The work of dispatchers can be very hectic when a large number of calls come in at the same time. The job of public safety dispatcher is particularly stressful because slow or improper response to a call can result in further destruction of property, serious injury, or death. Also, callers who are anxious or afraid may become hysterical and be unable to provide the needed information; some even become abusive. Despite provocations, the dispatcher must remain calm, objective, and in control of the situation.
Dispatchers work inside in surroundings that are typical of office jobs. They sit for long periods, often using telephones, computers, and two-way radios. If a lot of time is spent at a video display terminal, as is increasingly commonplace, they may experience eyestrain and back discomfort. Dispatchers generally work a standard 40-hour week. However, evening, weekend, and holiday work is common for those service providers who operate around the clock. Some employers rotate dispatchers among three shifts to divide daytime, weekend, and holiday work equally.
Traffic, shipping, receiving, and stock clerks work in a wide variety of businesses, institutions, and industries. They work in warehouses, stock rooms, or in shipping and receiving rooms that may not be temperature controlled. They also may spend time in cold storage rooms or outside on loading platforms, where they are exposed to the weather. Most jobs involve frequent standing, bending, walking, stretching, lifting, and carrying. Although many use mechanical material-handling equipment to move heavy items, the work can be strenuous. The typical workweek is 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday, although evening and weekend hours are standard for some jobs and may be required in others when large shipments are involved or when inventory is taken.
In 1992, material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers held nearly 3.6 million jobs. Employment was distributed among the occupations in this group as follows:
Total....................................................3,588,000
Stock clerks.............................................1,782,000
Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks................... 824,000
Production, planning, and expediting clerks............... 239,000
Dispatchers............................................... 222,000
Order fillers, wholesale and retail sales................. 187,000
Procurement clerks........................................ 61,000
Meter readers, utilities.................................. 49,000
Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers............... 46,000
All other................................................. 178,000
Nearly 3 out of 4 material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing jobs were in manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade. Although these workers are found throughout the country, most work near population centers where stores, warehouses, factories, and large communications centers are concentrated.
Employers prefer to hire high school graduates, especially those who have taken business courses. Preference also may be given to candidates who have previous business, dispatching, or specific job-related experience. Good reading and writing skills, as well as a basic knowledge of business arithmetic are necessary. Typing, filing, recordkeeping, and other clerical skills are also important. Some employers give applicants typing tests.
Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks and stock clerks who handle jewelry, liquor, or drugs may have to be bonded. Police, fire, and ambulance dispatching jobs generally are governed by State or local government civil service regulations. Candidates for these jobs may have to pass written, oral, and performance tests. A familiarity with personal computers or computer systems is an asset, because computers are increasingly used for inventory control and for dispatching.
Trainees usually develop the necessary skills on the job. This informal training may last from several days to a few months, depending on the complexity of the job. Dispatchers usually require the most extensive training. Working under an experienced dispatcher, they monitor calls and learn how to operate telephones, radio transmitters and receivers, radio consoles, teletypewriters, and data communications terminals. As trainees gain confidence, they begin to handle calls themselves. Many public safety dispatchers also participate in structured training programs provided by their employer. Some employers offer a course designed by the Associated Public Safety Communications Officers (APCO). This course includes such units as interpersonal communications; overview of the police, fire, and rescue functions; modern public safety telecommunications systems; basic radio broadcasting; local, State, and national crime information computer systems; and telephone complaint/report processing procedures. Other employers develop in-house programs based on their own needs. Emergency medical dispatchers often get special training or have special skills. Some agencies bring in trained paramedics or nurses to work as dispatchers, but because this is so costly, many agencies expand the training of their dispatchers to include instruction on how to help callers begin appropriate lifesaving procedures while trained professionals are on their way.
Although there are no mandatory licensing or certification requirements, some States require that public safety dispatchers possess a certificate to work on a State network such as the Police Information Network. Voluntary certification programs are offered by both APCO and the International Municipal Signal Association. Many dispatchers participate in these programs in order to improve their prospects for career advancement.
Stock clerks and traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks usually learn the job by doing simple tasks under close supervision. They learn how to count and mark stock and then start keeping records and taking inventory. Stock clerks whose sole responsibility is to bring merchandise to the sales floor and stock shelves and racks need little or no training. Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks start out by checking items to be shipped and then attaching labels and making sure the addresses are correct. Training in the use of automated equipment is usually done informally on the job.
Communications skills, physical fitness, and the ability to work under pressure are important personal qualities for dispatchers. Residency in the city or county of employment is frequently required for public safety dispatchers. Dispatchers in transportation industries must be able to deal with sudden influxes of shipments and disruptions of shipping schedules caused by bad weather. Strength, stamina, good eyesight, and an ability to work at repetitive tasks and sometimes under pressure are important characteristics for stock clerks and traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks.
Advancement opportunities vary with the place of employment. Dispatchers who work for private firms, which are usually small, will find few opportunities for advancement. Public safety dispatchers, on the other hand, may become a shift or divisional supervisor or chief of communications, or move to higher paying administrative jobs. Some may go on to become police officers or firefighters. In large firms, stock clerks may advance to invoice clerk, stock control clerk, or procurement clerk. Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks may be promoted to head clerk, and those with a broad understanding of shipping and receiving may enter a related field such as industrial traffic management. With additional training, some stock clerks and traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks advance to jobs as warehouse manager or purchasing agent.
Overall employment of material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. Employment growth among the occupations in this group is expected to vary, however. Employment of stock clerks is expected to grow more slowly than the average. The volume of business transactions will increase as the economy grows, but automation will enable clerks to handle more stock, holding down employment growth somewhat. The impact of automation will be greatest in warehouses and stockrooms. Employment of traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks is expected to grow about as fast as the average, although automation and other productivity improvements may enable these clerks to handle materials more efficiently, reducing potential employment opportunities. Employment of dispatchers is also expected to grow as fast as the average as the population increases and with it the need to protect property and to coordinate the transportation and shipment of a larger amount of goods.
Because employment in material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing occupations is substantial, workers who leave the labor force or transfer to other occupations are expected to create many thousands of job openings each year.
Median weekly earnings of workers in all material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing occupations were about $384 in 1992. The middle 50 percent earned between $291 and $514. The lowest 10 percent earned $226 or less; the top 10 percent earned over $688.
Earnings vary somewhat by occupation and industry. Dispatchers earn slightly more than the average for all occupations, and stock clerks and traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks generally earn less. Median weekly earnings of dispatchers were $420 in 1992.
The median weekly earnings of traffic, shipping, receiving, and stock clerks were between $350 and $370 in 1992, with stock clerks generally receiving the higher pay.
Workers in material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing occupations usually receive the same benefits as most other workers. See the introductory section, Keys To Understanding What's in the Handbook, for more information on benefits. If uniforms are required, employers usually either provide the uniforms or an allowance to purchase them.
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Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor