how many hours worked a week?

[Kevswens]

I work for a private company that has 10 or 12 hour shifts. The most hours you can work straight is 24 hours, you then have to be off for 8 hours before you can work again. The most i have done in a week is 84 hours. Typically I try to work around 60 hours a week.

 

[Jim37F]

At my company you can work up to 60 hours in any one stretch, but due to pay rules pretty much has to be 2x24's with a 12 back to back since you have to have a minimum 4 hour break after a 12hr shift before being allowed to work a 24 (apparently less than 4 hour break means you get the 12 hour pay rate for the follow on 24 hour shift which means 24 hours at double time pay, which I would love to get lol). My FTO and his partner didn't know the answer to the follow on question of how many hours after the 60 hour stretch before you're allowed to work again...

I suppose I should also mention our regular schedule not just the max allowed hours (since that's what everyone else is mentioning lol). There are multiple regular schedules, the 24 hour shifts are mirrored to the FD they work with (County fire being 7/8ths of our area.....those are a modified Kelley schedule, one 24 hour shift on, one off, one on, 2 days off, then another cycle of one on, one off, one on before a 4 dayoff period before the whole thing starts again. XOXOOXOXOOOO http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Shift-Calendar-2016.pdf Comes to roughly 2-3 shifts a week, 10 shifts a month). The remaining 8th of our 24hour shifts are on a 48-96 (days straight, 4 straight days off) so also about 2-3 shifts a week, roughly 10 shifts a month. 12 hour "Day Cars" all have staggered start times (so there are overnight day cars lol), most are M-W-F every other Sat, with the corollary Sun-Tues-Thurs every other Sat, and there may still be Sun-Mon-Tue every other Wed and Thurs-Fri-Sat, every other Wed. Either way 3-4 12 hour shifts a week.

So on a regular schedule, if you're on a 24 hour unit you can expect to work 48-72 hours in a week, and a 12 hour unit 36-48 hours a week (plenty of overtime available which is where the 60 hours max at any one stretch come into play) (12 hour units get straight time pay for the first 8 hours, time and a half the last 4 hours of shift, and double time if held over beyond 12, 24s only get time and a half after 40 hours in the week).

 

[Jim37F]

About the OPs desire to work 80 hours a week....scheduling will love you....but they will rapidly expect you to not have a life outside work and attempt to call you in for every single opening when you're not on shift.....I can see 80 hours being doable....only if you're working out of a moderately busy station (say 5-6 calls during the day so you're not bored not doing anything, but not so slammed you don't have down time) and most importantly, a low enough overnight call volume you can actually sleep (and your agency being ok with you sleeping during the day...I've been at places where they still expect you awake all day regardless of how busy the previous night was...)

Add in school and you probably simply will not have enough time in the week to do school, and work 80 hours (you can NOT rely on studying/doing homework at work, as invariably when you have an important assignment/test coming up, that's when you will get slammed with non stop calls all day and night)....and then you risk getting burned out by simply not having any personal time to give your mind time enough to rest and relax and concentrate on something other than work/school..

 

[Tigger]

Very understandable many thanks!. I am trying to rush the funds for medics so i can get hired at UM hospital as an ER Tech. higher my chances of getting hired.

Do you think it's safe to be working 80 hours a week if you're running calls all day on 12 hour shifts? Here's a hint. It's not, and you push for money jeopardizes you, your patient care, and the motoring public at large. But hey, don't listen to us, we're just the people that do the job.

I work a scheduled 56 hour (averaged) work week on 24 hour shifts. I also have a station and work in a rural area with lower call volume, which mitigates some that risk.

My part time private place does 12 hours shift with a 42 hour work week. You can't work more than 24 hours in a row and you must be off for 12 hours prior to each shift. People circumvent that with other jobs, but that doesn't make it right either.

 

[LACoGurneyjockey]

Usual schedule is 84 hours per week. Most I've worked in a week is 168 hours. That's averaging 4-8 calls per day.

 

[StCEMT]

Thanks, really appreciate your response. I'm from Miami, Fl about to take my NREMT licensing exam and looking to work for a private ambulance company as a start. Aiming for 80+ hours a week, trying to fund my medics course as soon as possible. I hear most companies allow as many hours as you can do in south Florida, just looking for reference.

You don't need to rush medic. Take yourself a year to do the basic gig and get yourself settled. Not saying it can't be done, I am in medic after having gone straight from EMT and I maintain one of the top grades in the class. However, there are little details that I think having been an EMT longer would have helped with such as how to manage multiple things at once (scenarios will show this).

Use that time on the private truck to go learn some stuff too. While I am still expanding my knowledge base, I can look at a med list and see furosemide, potassium, metoprolol etc. and know a little more about what is going on with my patient. That's stuff you can easily do to get yourself ready for medic too. I have been working at my company part time for months and I still feel like I am finding my bearings, so slowing down and getting yourself established isn't a bad idea. Medic school will be there waiting for you.

 

[johnrsemt]

48 hours straight 5 days off. overtime once in awhile up to 72 hours straight.

 

[Anonymous555]

EMTs are definitely appreciated, I'm sure a lot of them would say that the job pays for itself

 

[gotbeerz001]

EMTs are definitely appreciated, I'm sure a lot of them would say that the job pays for itself

 

[TransportJockey]

EMTs are definitely appreciated, I'm sure a lot of them would say that the job pays for itself

Maybe the vollies, but I expect to be monetarily compensated for my hours at work. And in a sufficient amount too. That's why I'm not an EMT anymore and I decided that I wanted more money and responsibilities as a medic.

 

[CALEMT]

EMTs are definitely appreciated, I'm sure a lot of them would say that the job pays for itself

$10.00/hr (avg EMT pay) doesn't pay for much. Want to make more money? Become a medic. Still not happy with the pay? Become a nurse.

 

[Tigger]

$10.00/hr (avg EMT pay) doesn't pay for much. Want to make more money? Become a medic. Still not happy with the pay? Become a nurse.

Or go work somewhere that pays decently instead of taking a job not particularly related to that of an EMS provider.

 

[EMTIsee]

8 hours a day 3 days a week dispatch rotation. On call if a intercept is needed

 

[Obstructions]

Usually just 36hr/wk. I'll pick up an 12hr OT every once and a while. That along with a 7 college credit workload and studying for the MCAT.