Can someone please give me some insight?

[Mike112]

Hello, my name is Mike, and I am 20 years old.

All my life I wanted to help people, so when my dream of going to med school was shot down, I decided I wanted to be a paramedic.

I was taking the proper steps to become one, until I made a terrible mistake. I plead guilty to an OVUAC (operating a vehicle after underage consumption) in the state of Ohio. It can never be expunged as long as I live here.

What I need is someone to shoot me straight. I'm not looking for a "you can do it!". Will I be hireable? I need to start considering other career options if this is very unlikely.

Thanks in advance.

 

[OnceAnEMT]

Well, for what its worth, there are plenty non-vehicle operating Paramedic positions out there.

 

[Mike112]

Any

Well, for what its worth, there are plenty non-vehicle operating Paramedic positions out there.

Any details on that?

 

[OnceAnEMT]

For your area I couldn't tell you. But give it a search. Paramedics (and EMTs) are hired everywhere from contract work to Dr's offices to urgent care clinics and EDs. Consider talking with an IFT company near you about the charge, and see what they think.

 

[teedubbyaw]

Start looking at disqualifications and see where you fall. A lot depends on the class of the charge and if it counts as points on your driving record.

If it's a class A, it may be a problem.

 

[jpmedic21]

In Ohio you are probaly going to have a very hard time finding a job for the next 5-7 years after your conviction. As they said above, there are some privates that will hire non driving paramedics, but they are few and far between. The 5-7 year window is pretty common accross the country. Some employers require 10 years since conviction to be hired.

 

[Angel]

It is possible, yes positions are few and far between for non driving medics (some companies medics wont drive anyway, but its comes down to insurability) but they exist. Look into ER tech jobs, they wont care about your driving record there, some private ambulance companies are flexible, and last but not least, nursing or RRT. as far as i know (though they do background checks i think its only for criminal chargers (felony, misdemeanors)) driving record doesnt matter too much. it is a longer path but youll make a crap ton more money and nurses can challenge to get their medic (so once all is said and done ~4-5 years from now, you could be a nurse and a medic.

use the time wisely if you absolutely cant get hired anywhere

 

[RMTMedic]

It all depends on the area, the company and how long ago the infraction was. There isn't many other there working on an ambulance that hasn't made a mistake or two, gotten a ticket or two or three. If you show that you haven't gotten additional citations/infractions, you stand a good chance.