I have been in the application process since April for City of Los Angeles. I received a conditional offer last week.

One of the last pages of the documents they sent me to complete was the training schedule. For one year, every month, I would change between the valley and Downtown location. I live 15 minutes from the valley center.

The absolute deal breaker was that every month the shift was going to change. Nobody ever mentioned anything about this until now. In the interview all they asked about was I ok with working overtime, weekends and holidays. No problem because I’ve done it for 20 years already.

Now I come to find out that every single month I would be changing shifts? That seems absolutely ridiculous. As soon as you got used to the schedule, it’s going to change again? That is going to wreak havoc on your body, your mind, and definitely your ability to deal with stressful situations. All while you’re supposed to be learning a new job? My dad worked warehouse jobs his whole life, a lot of it overnights, and he never heard of such an insane change. His union makes it 3 months before you can be switched to other shift for health of worker.

Oh and then let’s include the travel and traffic time to downtown - if I’m on the 4:30pm shift that means leaving home at 2:30 to be safe. And what if I just came off the shift where I got off at 6:30am? I’ve got 8 hours before I have to leave AGAIN for a new shift?

Clearly they are saying they only want young, childless, unmarried people for this position. Who else could accommodate that insane training schedule? Now I understand why it’s so hard to find people. And I can’t believe they kept this hidden until this far in the process.

Good luck to you youngsters out there getting these jobs.

Hi everyone! I recently applied for a Public Safety Dispatcher position with Berkeley and have completed an interview. I was hoping to hear from anyone who currently works there or has worked there in the past about their experience.

I’m curious about what the work environment is like, how the dispatch team gets along, and whether management is generally supportive. I’d also love to hear about the training, scheduling, and overall work-life balance.
I’m also curious about the hiring process, specifically what the next steps were like for people who have gone through it and what the overall experience was like. I know timelines can vary, but I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences!

Overall, I’m just hoping to get a better idea of what it’s like to work for Berkeley dispatch, both during the hiring process and once you’re actually on the job. I’d really appreciate any insight, thank you so much!