Anyone work in crazy conditions?

[Mike41793]

Where can I start lol. First of all, I thank god every day for my job. There aren't too many 23 y/o single parents without a college education who are in as good a position as me. Heck, I'm in a better position than some people with degrees! Either way, it really sucks sometimes lol.

I'm a 911 dispatcher for a town in Massachusetts of about 20-25,000 people. Granted, some people think we just sit here and answer phones...lol that is not the case. I am required to sit in a room, with no windows, in the police station for 8-16 hours a day. Now, we dispatch police, fire, and EMS calls, as well as the control center for our entire county, which is about 22 other towns and cities. That means if anything more than a working fire breaks out in any of those towns or cities, they call us. Not only do we have to dispatch mutual aid to their town, but we also have to keep tabs in our own town. On a good day there are two dispatchers on. More than half my shifts I am alone. That means, if it's busy, I can't even leave to go to the bathroom lol. That also means I am required to answer all 911 calls, even simultaneous ones, within 5 rings. I am also required to give step-by-step medical instructions for all EMS calls, including CPR. Because we work in such a small room, it's usually either extremely hot (especially once the calls start rolling in!) or extremely cold. I don't think I've ever been comfortable here lol. The chairs, SUCK. I think any chair would suck after 8-16 hours though. Basically, when it's slow, it's really not bad. Hell, I'm sitting at work right now (knock on wood!!), but crap hits the fan fast...and when it's busy we get slammed. I guess it's not really considered an extreme condition, but it sure is a high stress job.

1 dispatcher for 25,000 people? Holy hell i would not want that job. How do you take on multiple calls at once, do you like put people on hold lol?

I work security in a hospital in the middle of a ghetto. haha, in addition to having to deal with thugs and drug addicts, we have one of the biggest psychiatric programs in the Greater Toronto Area. So I have to deal with a lot of crazy stuff. I've had knives pulled on me, I've dealt with gunshots, and had people running through the building with assault riffles. I've been bitten, and punched, and kicked in the face haha. I was there when a man slit his own throat in the waiting room, we've had people jump outta windows, murder each other, rapes, fights, etc etc.. the list goes on. We also are surrounded by a ravine, so I've been chased by raccoon, deer, coyote, you name it haha.. I had one woman wreck 4 cars in the parking lot, come back a week later in a rental car and destroy our entire north parking gate with it.

Never a dull day

Do you get to carry a taser or gun for personal protection?
If people were pulling knives on me id be tasing them lmao!