Posted: 8/8/2013 8:06:48 PM EDT
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HI all , I am finishing up my internship w/my
"dream"  dept next month. I am in first place out of 16 other interns, as far as all the academic stuff, my BG check cleared (DL, Criminal, Credit, any fuking thing else they could think off, incl my sex life  ) however I am getting killed on my CritiCall testing. They are req 50 WPM and I am stuck at 40-42...I can do the test ok as far as the multi tasking but the alph numeric speed stuff I just cannot keep up. I only have about 18 secs to enter the DL #, name, DOB,addy, Lic plate , ph # and the VIN (killer)
Other than brute force practice, anyone have any stuff on the net that I can DL, I am at plateau of sorts. Tonight we were working w/the Bait Car teams lol. We control the car from our consoles and it is too much fun for the serious job it is.. |
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Well first, relax! I failed my first time I took CritiCall with my "Dream" agency. I then tested for a couple of agencies (in the mean time passing criticall with another department) Ended up working a little while with one before testing again again and getting hired on with the agency I wanted on with in the first place!
As for CritiCall, it sounds like you're primarily having issues with the typing speed, which is fairly common and is something build up with time. I HIGHLY recommend using google and searching for "Typing Tests" (I used this one: http://www.typingtest.com/) Also if you get a chance try to practice on a keyboard similar to the one you'll test on, if you know. I type quite fast if I'm on a desktop keyboard, however I'm noticeably slower on say a laptop without the keyboard. Also, since you have an opportunity to work with law enforcement, try to set up an excel sheet like how you saw on CritCall and practice getting around the screens with your Tab key and typing in information, especially those pesky VINs! Mark 911 Dispatcher Trainee |
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Quoted:
That is definitely a job I couldn't do. Good luck to you OP!!! Thanks, it is very tough and very boring all at once. Mostly its mundane stuff followed by a mom screaming that her 5 y/o is on the bottom of the pool and you hear every last detail when the dad pulls the kid out w/ the crying, yelling, horror, etc... 
I think I will enjoy it, I really want to serve my community here until I die. |
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Coming up on 9 years on the console.
As others have said, online typing tests/tutors are a good resource. Unfortunately, the "VIN" they use in CritiCall has nothing to do with actual legitimate VINs, and the "officers" never give the data in actual normal usable chunks. (i.e., 3-4 character blocks.) This makes it a little tricky, and you are not the only one whose wpm/cph scores suffer in that block. I'm a little surprised you're being allowed to take the test multiple times; most agencies I know of do it as a one-and-done approach. Wish I had some better advice, but good luck! |
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Quoted:
Coming up on 9 years on the console. As others have said, online typing tests/tutors are a good resource. Unfortunately, the "VIN" they use in CritiCall has nothing to do with actual legitimate VINs, and the "officers" never give the data in actual normal usable chunks. (i.e., 3-4 character blocks.) This makes it a little tricky, and you are not the only one whose wpm/cph scores suffer in that block. I'm a little surprised you're being allowed to take the test multiple times; most agencies I know of do it as a one-and-done approach. Wish I had some better advice, but good luck! Thanks for the advice. I didn't mean to mislead you. We are only allowed 3X , there is a 3 month wait in btw each test. They do that not to punish you, but to give you plenty of time to practice so you do your best. The first time I took it me and the other 5 people failed, but they still brought me in as a "prospect" basically. I have alot of education behind me, 13 years of ER experience, two BS college degrees, etc...I am being groomed as a Medical Emergency Dispatcher I think, which is not want but...my only other option was being p/u by the FL HWY Patrol and have a State job. I turned them down, the work load is insane, only 8 hrs shift, I have to pay my own Turnpike fees of about $10 a day..and my pay is a $14.91 p/hr and get pd once a month...I said thx but no thx.. It would cost me $30 a day just to work w/gas..lolz
Most of the Duty Officers there were people w/lots of kids..as the benefits were top notch and the health insur was great..you could have 100 kids on you plan for $120 p/mth so people jumped on that. I only have 2 kids so.screw that. |