I Couldn't Afford to be an EMT

[Futureblue]

Kind of crazy. I have a regular job (non-ems) that I cut back my hours to part time to make room for an IFT/EMT job that pays $10.50 per hour, also part time. The idea being to get some experience, pad the resume and hopefully move on to bigger and better things in the first responder world.

Unfortunately, working 1 or 2 days a week at 50% less pay has become a burden financially. We basically barely made the mortgage and had to pay the minimum amount on the credit cards; and, that's crazy since my non-ems job is the most boring job ever!! And while the IFT/EMT may not be 911, there is occasionally a serious ER call.

Hell, I even saw an ad today where admissions representitives were starting @$15 per hour FOR EMT SCHOOLS! I know right?!?

That's my rant. It stinks and my EMS career is over before it began. I worked a month, but in the end could not afford to be an EMT. Maybe I can volunteer at the local ER, or something. Or better yet get one of those iphone apps and cruise around in my Passat with my AED and wacker bag responding to all cardiac arrests within 30 miles.

 

[JPINFV]

that's crazy since my non-ems job is the most boring job ever!!

Supply/demand.

 

[Anjel]

job that pays $10.50 per hour,

I would love a job that pays that lol

But i think in your case volunteering would be your best bet. Or find a contingent ems job. Just work one or two shifts a month. Still pads the resume without cutting hours at your non ems job.

Now if you'll excuse me I sense there is a cardiac arrest nearby....I'm on it!

 

[freebyrd]

the ems schools are cranking them out,
my school graduates probably 120 twice a year in the fresno clovis area, not to mention those coming out of community colleges and vocational schools/boot camps etc...
they are intentionally making it a cut throat industry, thats why ambulance companies do a lot of private training,
they flood the market drive down wages and pick and choose only the best people, and if you don't tow the line..well there's another class graduating somewhere next week right?

 

[Stingray91]

I would love a job that pays that lol

But i think in your case volunteering would be your best bet. Or find a contingent ems job. Just work one or two shifts a month. Still pads the resume without cutting hours at your non ems job.

Now if you'll excuse me I sense there is a cardiac arrest nearby....I'm on it!

Id love a job that pays that too . I currently (and I stress currently) work at a local supermarket & it sucks.
While in the EMT-B school, Im going to volunteer for a hospital 1 or 2 days a week, but because of insurance issues, I can't touch a patient. So I'm basically stuck answering phone calls & transferring them to the nurse/doctor for the home health dept. At least it looks good on a resume & hospitals hire from within.

 

[Aerin-Sol]

Curious why you didn't look into this before going through school?

Go per diem and work every other weekend. You can be an EMT, pay off the credit cards, and keep your real job.

 

[RoxyGurL]

I am disappointed in this as well. I looked into salaries and such before I started school. It looked like a lateral move money-wise for me. Yeh...that's only if I can get on full-time at the county with built-in overtime. Very misleading.

I got offered a job on a convalescent truck that pays $10/hour. My full-time job pays a lot more than that, so I will just have to work a few Saturdays a month just so I can get some experience to move on. I can't pay my bills on $10/hour.

My school just graduated 200 EMT-IV's. Of those 200 I'd say maybe 25 are really any good. They pass people that shouldn't be passed....it's all a money thing. They are making a killing on the program, but it's flooding the market.

I only hope that I will be able to be full-time on a truck so I can eventually go on to Medic school.

 

[lampnyter]

There are very few full time EMTs/Medics that only work one job.

 

[RoxyGurL]

Yeh...it will just suck working my demanding office job & work on a truck. I'd rather just work 2 part-time jobs. Actually...I'd be working 3 jobs b/c I also teach riding lessons. Why do they pay so little?

 

[Chimpie]

Why do they pay so little?

Because of this...

My school just graduated 200 EMT-IV's.

Why pay more if there is someone willing to do it for less?

I'm not saying this is (morally) right, please don't take it that way. But it is one of the reasons that it's done. "We don't need to pay someone $15/hr to be a medic because XYZ school just proved that 200 people are willing to take the course to only get paid $10."

Make sense?

 

[RoxyGurL]

Yes... but you get what you pay for. If I saw some of these people on the back of the truck I'd run!

 

[Chimpie]

Yes... but you get what you pay for. If I saw some of these people on the back of the truck I'd run!

Not true. Whether they pay was $10/hr or $30/hr, the standards and expectations of the Basic level is just that, basic. There's a reason that medics get paid more.

I don't want to get any further off topic though. Scroll through some of the older threads. There's a lot relating to this topic, Basic vs Paramedic, etc.

 

[fortsmithman]

There are very few full time EMTs/Medics that only work one job.

Here in Canada we got those that do work one job but then again here in Canada one can make a good living in EMS.

 

[RoxyGurL]

I'm not a basic. EMT-IV. Step between basic & medic.

It's a huge letdown. Was looking to go through medic school, but now I may do it just so I can bridge to RN.

 

[rmabrey]

I make $14 an hour working in a restaurant, I plan on working there still when I get a job (hopefully next week). I can at least pull it off the rest of the summer, and possibly into the fall semester.

With the overtime at the company im trying to get on at, Ill make the same money anyway.

 

[sweetpete]

Well, you could try getting on a FD....it's the greatest thing to happen to me!! I love it and I make a decent buck. But it's near impossible with all the candidates anymore. Sheez...<_<

 

[Stingray91]

My school just graduated 200 EMT-IV's. Of those 200 I'd say maybe 25 are really any good. <b>They pass people that shouldn't be passed....it's all a money thing. They are making a killing on the program, but it's flooding the market. </b>

THIS!! My pet peeve is programs (even if it's through technical schools or community colleges) letting through the students that just don't care. If I do well in the program, and another student who doesn't care gets the same job as I do, that's frustrating. The school either just wants to get rid of them or wants that for profit money. Then again, it is only a matter of time until krama comes around.

 

[RoxyGurL]

It's the money. I was flat out told that the EMT/Paramedic program is a HUGE money maker for the school. I busted my butt & got magna cum laude. Did all my homework, studied, busted my butt.....and then some kid who couldn't even walk through the first part of an assessment got passed?!? That's a joke! If people like that actually get employed in the field, they make us all look bad!

 

[angrynuni]

You typically don't do this kind of job for the pay.

Employers know this too, so they stick it to you any way they can.

Edit: Here they start you at $10, not including OT / Overnights / Etc. I've gone into this field because it's what I've always wanted. My mother is a nurse and my father was a FF/Paramedic who also worked for ambos and as a flight medic. If you have the drive, you can do it. Unfortunately people are going to take advantage of this (as previously stated) and shaft you pay wise while piling on extra hours. If you don't enjoy your time on duty then it's probably not the line of work for you.

My current 'plan' involves staying employed by the ambo company for ... well as long as whatever and eventually going to paramedic school. From there I can bridge to RN and if I want to stay in the 'in the action' part I'll have to work my *** off to be best in field so I can get hired on as a flight nurse.

If I choose to get out of the 'in the action' jobs then I've been eyeballing nurse practitioner as a late goal.