Public safety telecommunicators
SOC Code: 43-5031
Public safety telecommunicators carries a 52% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $50,730 and +3.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 105,200 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 52% AI exposure, Public safety telecommunicators sits 15 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 88% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
38/100
Public safety telecommunicators, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $50,730
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C+ +3.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 52% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Public safety telecommunicators in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Public safety telecommunicators keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Public safety telecommunicators sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Public safety telecommunicators sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
52% Higher than most higher than 88% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Public safety telecommunicators vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Public safety telecommunicators is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Public safety telecommunicators's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 43-5031) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Public safety telecommunicators be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Public safety telecommunicators. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
- 2. Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
- 3. Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
- 4. Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
- 5. Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
- 6. Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
- 7. Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
- 8. Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
- 9. Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
- 10. Operate and maintain mobile dispatch vehicles and equipment.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Learning
Knowledge Areas
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- English Language
- Telecommunications
- Customer and Personal Service
- Geography
- Communications and Media
- Computers and Electronics
- Administrative
- Education and Training
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Public safety telecommunicators?
Public safety telecommunicators has an AI exposure score of 52%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Public safety telecommunicators?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Public safety telecommunicators is projected to grow by 3.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 105,200 workers.
What skills are needed for Public safety telecommunicators?
Key skills for Public safety telecommunicators include Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Public safety telecommunicators earn?
The median annual wage for Public safety telecommunicators is $50,730, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Public safety telecommunicators?
The typical entry-level education for Public safety telecommunicators is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Public safety telecommunicators?
Public safety telecommunicators roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Public safety telecommunicators: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (52% here).
- Gambling change persons and booth cashiers · AI exposure 52%
- Gambling dealers · AI exposure 52%
- Logisticians · AI exposure 52%
- Baggage porters and bellhops · AI exposure 53%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+3.5% here).
- Biological technicians · growth +3.5%
- Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors · growth +3.5%
- Healthcare support workers, all other · growth +3.5%
- Landscape architects · growth +3.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 24 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Public safety telecommunicators' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Public safety telecommunicators side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).