EMT-B or military medic, opinions?

[greensquid347]

First off this may have already been discussed but I could not find another thread here so sorry if this is a duplicate thread.

I have been accepted into an EMT-B course for January 2013, but I really want to enlist as a military medic (either HM or 68W - more than likely NG or Reserve). My question is whether or not, in your opinions, that it would be better to go EMT-B first or the military option first and then come back and NREMT to basic? I understand that they are two separate entities (and daily functions) but just wanted some feedback from the people who have gone either route and what they liked, disliked, or may have changed? Thank you all for your feedback in advance.

Additional info if you need it:
Location: Florida- Prior service: No - Age: 28

 

[Rialaigh]

First off this may have already been discussed but I could not find another thread here so sorry if this is a duplicate thread.

I have been accepted into an EMT-B course for January 2013, but I really want to enlist as a military medic (either HM or 68W - more than likely NG or Reserve). My question is whether or not, in your opinions, that it would be better to go EMT-B first or the military option first and then come back and NREMT to basic? I understand that they are two separate entities (and daily functions) but just wanted some feedback from the people who have gone either route and what they liked, disliked, or may have changed? Thank you all for your feedback in advance.

Additional info if you need it:
Location: Florida- Prior service: No - Age: 28

If your single and don't mind travel get in the military, get through medic, take every course, certification, specialization, everything you can, use the education money, get them to pay for your bachelors, and then rethink life in 4 years...

If your tied down, EMT-B


As far as money and benefits (especially education) you will come out much further ahead by joining the military then by working for 10 dollars an hour in a state that already has a surplus of basics.

 

[Jim37F]

If your talking about National Guard, why not do both?

 

[greensquid347]

Thanks for the reply.
I am currently married with children but my wife is very supportive and wants me to do whatever makes me happy (and pays the bills).

Not surprising but I have lived off less than $10.00 an hour before, from what I have heard some employers where I am in FL have 12 hour shifts so that would be more than I make now (if you count the OT) and I am willing to relocate to get a job (I am not tied to FL).

I have heard that with all of the cut backs that the educational assistance has been suspended for most branches, that is one of the things that is making me kind of think that getting EMT-B might be better first and then going in. Having never been employed in EMS or enlisted either this is my perspective of someone from the outside looking in.

 

[Jim37F]

There was a HUGE backlash when they suspended Tuition Assistance, big enough that Congress stepped in and made them restore TA as normal (even though its Congress' fault that led to the suspensions in the first place, but that's a rant for a different time/place lol).

In addition to TA there's still the Post 9/11 Montgomery GI Bill, and see if you can't talk a recruiter into putting Student Loan Repayment into your contract (I have 10,000 in SLR alone, plus TA and GI Bill) Trust me, when school is being paid for by Uncle Sam and you still have BAH (extra money for housing), your $10/hr paycheck looks so much nicer (not to mention the couple hundred extra in the monthly drill check). And that's just financial reasons to join. There's just a certain amount of pride that comes with putting on the uniform that can't really be replicated.

Just don't get your scopes of practice mixed up, I asked a medic once, and he said 68W is roughly equivalent to an EMT-I or AEMT. Heck, even in Army Combat Life Saver (CLS) a two week course most every Soldier goes through, you'll be trained to start an IV (you will be sticking fellow Soldiers and getting stuck yourself) and even how to do a chest needle decompression, both of which are Paramedic only skills where I'm at, but are essentially first responder level on the battlefield. I just always thought that amusing for some odd reason lol (the rest of CLS essentially boils down to bleeding? Slap a tourniquet on it and call for the medic)

 

[greensquid347]

Jim37F,
Thanks for the reply.

I can and do plan on doing both. I guess my question is if going into the military first is more beneficial than doing the EMT-B then enlisting in the military? (Mainly in regards to working civilian EMS?)

(i.e. If what you learned in the military threw off you civilian EMS work, or if you did the EMT-B first if you found it made your military training any easier? Kind of like your example, so thank you very much for that)

 

[RocketMedic]

If this is to support your family, 68W all the way, but don't play in the kiddie pool of reserves. If youre doing this to feed la familia and maintain la casa, go active-duty on a 4 or 6-year enlistment. Pay isnt horrible, benefits rock, job security is excellent, chance of deploying is meh...we've got a few years of Afghan fun left. However, if you can, I would try for medical imaging or maintenance. Get a real civilian certification that pays a lot.

 

[CFal]

If you have a NREMT Basic card you can skip the first few weeks of AIT for 68W.

 

[Akulahawk]

If this is to support your family, 68W all the way, but don't play in the kiddie pool of reserves. If you're doing this to feed la familia and maintain la casa, go active-duty on a 4 or 6-year enlistment. Pay isnt horrible, benefits rock, job security is excellent, chance of deploying is meh...we've got a few years of Afghan fun left. However, if you can, I would try for medical imaging or maintenance. Get a real civilian certification that pays a lot.

I'm not military, but I did play a dependent for 23 years... I would suggest this by a wide margin, especially if your family is still quite young. It gets a lot tougher to move around after your kids get established in their school. You'd still have to move, and your kids will adapt to the new reality they're put in. And do your homework. If you go military medic, you'll (generally) have an EMT-B cert under your belt and no guarantee of a good living once you're "out". If you're able to get training and a civilian certificate in some thing that has a decent outlook, you'll be far ahead, and you'll possibly (almost) have a job waiting for you when you leave active duty. Paramedic is fun, but only a couple of military occupations are required to have that level of certification. Pretty much everyone else in the field will have an EMT-B level + additional skills that vary by assigned unit.

 

[Jim37F]

I'd hesitate to call the Reserves and National Guard the "kiddie pool". NG and RC (Reserve Component) units have been vital to the war efforts. Especially with the drawdown (both out of Afghanistan and total number of end strength troop numbers) NG/RC is going to be more and more important in allowing all branches to accomplish their missions.

Heck, I spent 5 years Active Duty before switching to the Reserves last year, and it often feels like my Reserve unit trains as hard as most of my Active units did. Same MOS, same type of unit with the same MTO&E and I've already been in the field and gone to the range in the last year than in one of my AC units that was prepping to deploy! (Complacency isn't just an individual threat, it can affect a whole unit if your not careful)

Plus on Active Duty most Soldiers tend to be young, fresh out of high school, whereas a Reservist is often times older (and even the 18 y.o. kid) who has a civilian job can bring a wide variety of experience to the table. A RC 68W who's an EMT working on an ambulance can easily see as much (if not more) medical and trauma calls than an AC 68W.

So no I wouldn't call RC/NG the "kiddie pool"

 

[Jim37F]

Whew, rant over

Back to the OP,

If you want to join, sign up. Best decision of my life was to enlist.

IF you decide to go Active Duty, I personally suggest you do that NOW, serve your term, and it'll be easier IMO to transition to EMS.

If you go RC. I still say enlist first and then find a job after AIT. A) the military training looks great on a resume B) 68W AIT is several months long, add Basic and any other schools (say Airborne) and it could be almost a year or longer from shipping off to being back home, may not be the best thing in the world for your employer to hire you just for you to go off

As far as which component you decide, sit down with your family and recruiter and have a serious talk. If they're willing to pack up and follow you around, an Active Duty term can be the ticket. If there's more cons than pros to uprooting from where your at, Reserves might make more sense

 

[RocketMedic]

I'd hesitate to call the Reserves and National Guard the "kiddie pool". NG and RC (Reserve Component) units have been vital to the war efforts. Especially with the drawdown (both out of Afghanistan and total number of end strength troop numbers) NG/RC is going to be more and more important in allowing all branches to accomplish their missions.

Heck, I spent 5 years Active Duty before switching to the Reserves last year, and it often feels like my Reserve unit trains as hard as most of my Active units did. Same MOS, same type of unit with the same MTO&E and I've already been in the field and gone to the range in the last year than in one of my AC units that was prepping to deploy! (Complacency isn't just an individual threat, it can affect a whole unit if your not careful)

Plus on Active Duty most Soldiers tend to be young, fresh out of high school, whereas a Reservist is often times older (and even the 18 y.o. kid) who has a civilian job can bring a wide variety of experience to the table. A RC 68W who's an EMT working on an ambulance can easily see as much (if not more) medical and trauma calls than an AC 68W.

So no I wouldn't call RC/NG the "kiddie pool"

Does it pay consistently, with BAS and BAH and free Tricare? Is your family fed, housed, and taken care of while you're at drill with anything other than your own hard work? I know mine isn't.

The NG/Reserves are like volunteers to a fire department. They may or may not be professional. They are qualified and trained (and certified as such), but the actual proficiency may or not be there- to the point where they may be better than their full-time counterparts. That being said, we are talking about a job here. Just as a volunteer firefighter may be the most professional, best firefighter in the world but not make a living fighting fire, serving in the Guard/Reserves is not a great way to support your family.

 

[Jim37F]

I'm not military, but I did play a dependent for 23 years... I would suggest this by a wide margin, especially if your family is still quite young. It gets a lot tougher to move around after your kids get established in their school. You'd still have to move, and your kids will adapt to the new reality they're put in. And do your homework. If you go military medic, you'll (generally) have an EMT-B cert under your belt and no guarantee of a good living once you're "out". If you're able to get training and a civilian certificate in some thing that has a decent outlook, you'll be far ahead, and you'll possibly (almost) have a job waiting for you when you leave active duty. Paramedic is fun, but only a couple of military occupations are required to have that level of certification. Pretty much everyone else in the field will have an EMT-B level + additional skills that vary by assigned unit.

This too. Whatever branch or component, bug your command to get you into as many schools as you can. If you want a career EMS or FF job, getting Uncle Sam to get you into Paramedic (I'd personally try for a flight medic on a Dustoff MEDEVAC chopper) will open up lots of doors. Even if your a Reservist you can still get those "high speed" schools as long as your not just a "60%" soldier just doing the minimum to get by without getting in trouble

 

[Jim37F]

Does it pay consistently, with BAS and BAH and free Tricare? Is your family fed, housed, and taken care of while you're at drill with anything other than your own hard work? I know mine isn't.

The NG/Reserves are like volunteers to a fire department. They may or may not be professional. They are qualified and trained (and certified as such), but the actual proficiency may or not be there- to the point where they may be better than their full-time counterparts. That being said, we are talking about a job here. Just as a volunteer firefighter may be the most professional, best firefighter in the world but not make a living fighting fire, serving in the Guard/Reserves is not a great way to support your family.

I get full BAH for an E5 w/ no dependents under the GI Bill as long as I'm in school full time. Yes that can be a serious limitation when you can't be in school full time like I am this last semester.

If your looking to the military to feed house and care for your family then yes, active duty all the way hands down. But your family won't be any less taken care of as a Reservist than in any other civilian job, and there are still plenty of programs to help you out in that regard if you need it. I don't know all the details about those programs since I neither have any dependents nor am I a recruiter.

Are there :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty Soldiers and units out there? Sadly yes, but they exist in both Reserve and Active components.

 

[greensquid347]

Thank you all for the opinions.

I still have some time before I am going to do anything, I want to really research all the options (pros and cons) and come out with the best decision for me and my family, but you have given me a lot to think about so again thank you.

As far as the moving I grew up as a military dependant and am quite used to moving every three-four years (something that I have done in my adult life without realizing until just now:rofl. I saw some of the most beautiful parts of the world and feel that it was something that my children would possibly enjoy.

Is there anything beyond EMT-B/P that would help as far as certifications in the civilian EMS market that you can earn while in the military?

 

[CFal]

Thank you all for the opinions.

I still have some time before I am going to do anything, I want to really research all the options (pros and cons) and come out with the best decision for me and my family, but you have given me a lot to think about so again thank you.

As far as the moving I grew up as a military dependant and am quite used to moving every three-four years (something that I have done in my adult life without realizing until just now:rofl. I saw some of the most beautiful parts of the world and feel that it was something that my children would possibly enjoy.

Is there anything beyond EMT-B/P that would help as far as certifications in the civilian EMS market that you can earn while in the military?

Not exactly EMS but you can get Fire I/II, Hazmat classes also cross over, but you might have to retake the test, you can also get a CDL. There's probably more too that I can't think of.