At a crossroad.

J

jemt

Forum Crew Member
Messages
93
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I have a question I wanted to get opinions on.

I want to attend paramedic school soon, but the closest one is 140 miles round trip away and doing the math it would cost me 800 dollars a month in fuel/tolls for 18 months.

I can afford it right now since I still live at home, but my question is, is it worth it? Has anyone ever went through something similar?


Thanks
 
jemt said:
I have a question I wanted to get opinions on.

I want to attend paramedic school soon, but the closest one is 140 miles round trip away and doing the math it would cost me 800 dollars a month in fuel/tolls for 18 months.

I can afford it right now since I still live at home, but my question is, is it worth it? Has anyone ever went through something similar?


Thanks
Click to expand...

Did you consider your commute for clinicals too?

I commuted 65 miles for paramedic class, but had no other obligations except for my part time job. If you live in a rural area, these things happen.
 
Would it be cheaper to get a real cheap apartment right next to the school while you're going?
 
Those 18 months include clinicals.

I did consider a cheap apartment, but the basic job I have right now is a top notch service that I dont want to leave and still the cheapest Apartment in the school area is 800 a month rent
 
My commute was a little over an hour each way 4-6 days a week for class/lab/clinical/etc. I was working full time as well so the time I spent driving was basically my down time. I would sometimes record lecture and listen to it on the drives as well. The program I went to worked with me on scheduling because of my commute. I could have done it part time but I didn't want to be in medic school for 3 years.
 
Find out if anyone else is a commuter as well. If you can get 4-6 people together you might be able to get a group together to rent a crash pad. Maybe even look into an extended stay hotel and see if they will cut you a deal for a long term commitment. I've seen some of them come down 50% for a 6 month commitment. We do this all the time in the airline industry when we live in one place but are based out of another.
 
If you plan on staying in EMS then yes it is worth it.

If you plan on going Further to become an RN, NP, PA, or MD then maybe not so much.

I definitely would look into alternatives. How many days a week do you have to commute?
 
jemt said:
I have a question I wanted to get opinions on.

I want to attend paramedic school soon, but the closest one is 140 miles round trip away and doing the math it would cost me 800 dollars a month in fuel/tolls for 18 months.

I can afford it right now since I still live at home, but my question is, is it worth it? Has anyone ever went through something similar?


Thanks
Click to expand...

I did it, and lived at a VFD during the week. Tough but doable.

As a side note I picked up some awesome role models during this who may or may not occasionally populate this forum (or their spouses anyway) :ph34r:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I definitely plan on staying in ems. The commute will be 4 days a week 6-10 at night.

I do have family in the area, it's just I would need to go home to work.
 
usalsfyre said:
I did it, and lived at a VFD during the week. Tough but doable.

As a side note I picked up some awesome role models during this who may or may not occasionally populate this forum (or their spouses anyway) :ph34r:
Click to expand...

A live-in??? I was not aware you were that guy. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top