Its all personal preference, I never tooks notes...at all. I found I learned better by just listening cloesly to the lectures with nothing in front of me....but thats just me.
I wanna say my basic class started with 40 and ended with about 15. Keep your nose in the book. It won't seem hard looking back, but at the time, some concepts may be hard to grasp initially.
Lets not get started with NREMT, does your state recognize it? Some states dont recognize it, and you dont benefit from having it. Just $110 down the drain.
yeah, if no luck on the streets, get your EMD and EFD and dispatch for a while. It will at least get your foot in the door, and give you a good idea of both sides of the radio/