Slower than average job growth is expected as additional automation increases worker productivity. Many of these occupations are entry level and do not require more than a high school diploma. Typically, they coordinate, expedite, and track orders for personnel, materials, and equipment. 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 to ensure they arrive on schedule. Taxicab dispatchers relay requests for cabs to individual drivers, tow truck dispatchers take calls for emergency road service, and utility company dispatchers handle calls related to utility and telephone service. Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks track all incoming and outgoing shipments of goods transferred between businesses, suppliers, and customers. These clerks may be required to lift cartons of various sizes.